by Sarah Clancy | May 6, 2021 | Current, Local Community Development Committee, Members News, PPN News |
Welcome your new Clare PPN Representatives:
Congratulations to Cornelia Wahli, Christy Sinclair and Collette Bradley we look forward to working with you all.
We are delighted to let you know that we received nominations for each of three representative roles we advertised to our member groups on April 20th 2021. We are most grateful to all groups who nominated and in particular to the three candidates who have come forward to represent their communities through Clare PPN.
The vacant Environmental Seat on Clare PPN’s Secretariat will be taken up by Cornelia Wahli who was nominated by Clare Environmental Network and who also represents Clare PPN on Clare County Council’s Local Community Development Committee. As part of the Secretariat Cornelia will join 9 other community representatives to help to run Clare PPN on behalf of its member groups between plenary meetings.
The second environment seat- on Clare County Council’s Rural Development Forum goes to Christy Sinclair – nominated by Clare Environmental Network. Christy was one of the founder members of Clare PPN, his interests are environmental sustainability and social justice and he will make a valuable contribution to the ongoing work of the forum.
The third and final seat in this set of elections was for a Social Inclusion Representative to sit on Clare’s Local Community Development Committee and this seat goes to Collette Bradley of Shannon Family Resource Centre. Collette’s experience in community development and support for marginalised communities will be of great value to the LCDC.
We are so grateful to all who came forward, the ratification of these seats will take place at our plenary meeting which is taking place on May 11th online (contact admin@clareppn.ie if you would like to attend this meeting). Following the plenary we will write to each committee chair notifying them of our nominations and this will complete the formal nomination process.
You can read more about each new representative here:
Cornelia Wahli:
Cornelia’s participation in and membership of several environmental groups, including CEN – Clare Environmental Network, emerges from a deep-felt belief that the current man-made climate crisis, which has lead to global warming and loss of biodiversity, can be healed, but only with individual, societal, corporate and political input and action.
Cornelia lives an organic lifestyle without chemicals in her kitchen, utility room, bathroom and garden using vinegar, bread soda and lemon juice instead, sparingly. She believes that a lifestyle change with similar intensity like that imposed by covid-19 is necessary to assure and ensure a continued ‘food and clean water supply’ for now and the future. Cornelia’s vision is of an ‘Organic County Clare’ that is organic in public spaces, in private gardens as well as in agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, silviculture and arboriculture. Such an ‘organic approach’ can facilitate the protection of the environment welcoming diversity of biological life-forms to flourish and allowing our soil, water and air to return to their natural clean state. Cornelia would like to be a voice for the natural world, a healthy and nurturing environment that is capable of feeding and supporting humans as well as fauna and flora with sustainable development a core value. Cornelia also represents Clare PPN’s member groups as the Environmental Representative for Clare PPN on Clare’s Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) since autumn 2020.
Christy Sinclair:
Christy Sinclair was one of the founding members of Clare PPN. He previously served as a Secretariat member and as part of the finance subcommittee. He specialises in the installation and certification of photo-valtic systems and is a keen environmentalist, rock climber and greyhound adopter. He has been involved with a number of community groups in Clare including the Burren Eco Tourism Network and Clare Bus where he served as a board member. His interests are in securing a ‘living wage’ for those working in Clare and ensuring that communities are takings steps towards sustainable energy use. He will bring all these interests to represent Clare PPN’s member groups on the Rural Development Forum.
Collette Bradley:
For the past 6 years Colette Bradley has been the coordinator of Shannon Family Resource Centre and is committed to the delivery and further development of services and activities for the local community. She also recognises the need for more community services for Shannon and the surrounding areas. Prior to Colette’s Coordination position in Shannon she worked in the Community & Voluntary Sector for 12 years based in Ennis.
Colette was a voluntary member of a number of committees over the years including the group which oversaw the establishment of a community crèche and a resource centre, now North West Clare Family Resource Centre, in Ennistymon.
Colette is committed to working towards a more equal society and recognises social inclusion, equal opportunities and environmental protection as key building blocks to the achievement of a fairer and more progressive society.
She feels privileged to call beautiful North Clare her home living in Lisdoonvarna and prior to that in Kilfenora since moving to Co. Clare from Co. Wicklow in 1998.
You can read more here about the Rural Development Strategy here:
https://www.clarecoco.ie/services/community/rural-development/strategy/
And more here about the Local Community Development Committee:
https://www.clarecoco.ie/services/community/lcdc/
by Sarah Clancy | Feb 13, 2020 | Current, Members News, PPN News |
13th February 2020 Notice of Elections
Clare PPN has a number of vacancies for representatives to sit on the policy committees of Clare County Council and on the board ‘secretariat’ of Clare PPN itself. If you are a contact person for one of our member groups you will receive an email from us today notifying you of which of these positions you are eligible to nominate and vote for.
We need
– two representatives for Clare County Council’s Local Community Development Committee, one from our Community and Voluntary Groups and one from our Environmental Groups
-two representatives to sit on Clare County Council’s Rural Development Forum one from our Social Inclusion Groups and one from our Environmental Groups
-one representative from our Community and Voluntary Groups to sit on Clare County Council’s Social Development Strategic Policy Committee
For our ‘Secretariat’ (the board that runs Clare PPN between plenary meetings) we need
- one representative from one of our groups based in the Ennis Municipal District
- one representative from one of our groups based in the Shannon Municipal District
- two representatives from our Environmental Groups
- one representative from our Community and Voluntary Groups.
These positions are all voluntary and are open to people who are in one of Clare PPN’s member groups. We will be emailing all member groups today calling for their nominations for each role they are entitled to nominate for and following close of nominations should we have more than one candidate for any role we will hold an election from our eligible membership. You can read the full details of each position and how to make nominations in the attachments below.
Please note the following:
- Representatives of Political Parties or Independent TDs, Councillors or MEPS may not hold PPN seats.
- Candidates for any local, national, or EU election may not hold PPN seats for one year after the date of the relevant election.
- People may only represent Clare PPN on one external body or committee – if you already represent Clare PPN but wish to seek a nomination for any of these roles you will be asked to vacate your existing role should you be successful. Please note PPN representatives may hold roles on Clare PPN secretariat and one external committee or body.
Clare PPN Notice of Elections Ennis MD Feb 2020
Clare PPN Notice of Elections Shannon MD Feb 2020
Clare PPN Notice of Elections Community and Voluntary Feb 2020
Clare PPN Notice of Elections Environment Feb 2020
Clare PPN Notice of Elections Social Inclusion Feb 2020
by Sarah Clancy | Mar 27, 2019 | Current, Members News, PPN News |
March 27th 2019 Notice of elections for four roles on Clare PPN Secretariat
Nominations are open for four positions on the Secretariat. The secretariat is a group of people elected from community and voluntary groups in Clare who manage the Public Participation Network between plenary meetings of its members. Four of our current secretariat members are due to step down and so we are opening nominations for their replacements. They have been brilliant and have brought Clare PPN from an idea to a network with 280 member groups, 2 staff and its own premises. We are looking for nominees to carry on their work of building Clare PPN into a thriving network which is inclusive and has the capacity to engage with all local government and national decision making bodies that affect the wellbeing of people’s lives in County Clare.
Only groups who were members of Clare PPN on March 27th 2019 are eligible to vote in these elections.
The secretariat must keep to the following composition:
One representative for each municipal district in the County – there are currently four municipal districts in the County – West Clare, Ennis, Killaloe & Shannon. 2 X representatives from each ‘college’ of the Clare PPN – there are three colleges in the PPN – Environmental, Social Inclusion and Community & Voluntary. Each of are member groups is a member of one of these colleges.
What are the vacancies we have at present:
Election 1:
2 Community and Voluntary Secretariat seats are open for the Community and Voluntary College member groups from every area of Clare to nominate and elect-. If your group is a member of the Community and Voluntary College you can nominate and vote for both of these positions. Nominees must be members of a community and voluntary group that is a member of Clare PPN and must be nominated by a Community and Voluntary group that is a member of Clare PPN. People can nominate themselves so long as that decision is agreed by their group. Every C&V member of Clare PPN can nominate one candidate for each of these two positions which means that this time C&V groups can make two nominations.
Election 2:
1 Environmental Secretariat seat is open only for member groups of the Environmental College to nominate and elect. Nominees for this position must be members of an Environmental member group of Clare PPN and must be nominated by an Environmental member group of Clare PPN. Each environmental member group of Clare PPN can nominate one person for this role.
Election 3:
1 Municipal District Seat is open to all member groups from the Shannon Municipal District to elect whatever college they are in. Nominees for this position must be a member of a Clare PPN member group from any college that has an address in the Shannon Municipal District. They must be nominated by a member group of Clare PPN with an address in the Shannon MD. Every member group of Clare PPN with an address in the Shannon MD can nominate and vote in this election.
Nominations will open March 27th and close on April 8th
How to nominate a candidate:
Groups wishing to nominate a candidate must seek their consent first and then must send us an email to admin@clareppn.ie with the following information on or before Monday April 8th at 5.00 pm:
-Name of Community Group.
-Position number for which they are nominating a candidate.
-Name of proposed nominee(s).
-Contact details of proposed nominee- phone and email.
-A short paragraph (up to 200 words) detailing the nominees’ suitability and experience for the role- this will be shared on social media and on our website in advance of voting.
-A photo of your nominee which we may share with our members and social media followers.
-Clare PPN will confirm receipt of nominations by email.
Elections will then be held by survey with voting open until April 17th. These surveys will be circulated to all eligible groups via our mailing list.
*Please note that irrespective of how many groups a person is a member of, no individual may vote more than once for any single position. No individual can hold more than one secretariat position.
What is involved?
A minimum of six meetings per year held usually in Ennis
Email or phone contact for decisions in between meetings
Willingness to be a director of Clare PPN (company)
Attendance at other PPN events depending on availability and interests.
Willingness to work in a ‘flat structure’ with decisions taken by consensus or by vote
Possibility of being part of financial subgroup or staff liaison sub group
What are the benefits?
Opportunity to be a part of a growing positive movement in Clare.
Opportunity to help grow participation and civic engagement in Clare.
Opportunity to help provide valuable support to the community and voluntary sector.
Out of pocket expenses paid.
Training opportunities.
Diversity: Clare PPN is committed to working to represent all communities in Clare and as such we would especially welcome nominations to our secretariat from communities who feel under represented. We particularly welcome nominations of young and older people for any of the above roles (the majority of our representatives are between 35 and 65), members of the Travelling Community, those who might themselves experience social inclusion, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, and ethnic minority groups. All nominees who step forward will be subject to election by the relevant PPN member groups.
by Sarah Clancy | Dec 4, 2018 | Current, Members News, PPN News |
Clare PPN is seeking nominations for three representatives to sit on Clare County Council’s Rural Development Forum.
December 4th 2018
NB: Closing date for nominations is December 14th
The Rural Development Forum which meets three times per year is comprised of more than 40 representatives from organisations in County Clare. One of its key achievements so far has been the consultation and launch of Clare County Council’s Rural Development Strategy 2026 which can be read at the link below:
http://www.clarecoco.ie/services/community/publications/clare-rural-development-strategy-2026-26009.pdf
Clare PPN’s representatives on the Rural Development Forum will have the chance to discuss and influence policy decisions, projects and strategies for the development of County Clare and to network with the other 40 members of the forum. We are seeking energetic people for all three roles who are willing to play an active role in both the Rural Development Forum and in consulting and feeding back to Clare PPN’s member groups.
We are now seeking nominations from Clare PPN member groups for the relevant positions:
1 Clare PPN Environmental College Representative
2. Clare PPN Community and Voluntary College Representative
3. Clare PPN Social Inclusion College Representatives
All groups who are members of Clare PPN on December 4th 2018 can nominate one person for one of these positions. If you don’t know which ‘College’ your group is in please contact us at admin@clareppn.ie and we will check it for you.
Election Rules and Process
- Only groups who were members of Clare PPN on 4th December 2018 are eligible to vote in these elections.
- No individual can represent Clare PPN on more than one external committee or body.
- Only groups who are members of the particular college can nominate a candidate for that college’s seat.
- Each member group may nominate one candidate and may then cast one vote in the resultant election should we receive multiple nominations. It is each group’s named contact person’s responsibility to consult with their own members in regard to this.
How to nominate a candidate:
Nominations are open from December 5th 2018 until December 14th 2018
In the event of an election being necessary voting will be open from December 14th – December 21st.
The next meeting of the Rural Development Forum is January 15th 2019 and it is our intention to have representatives in place for that meeting.
Groups wishing to nominate a candidate must seek the person’s consent first and then must send us an email to admin@clareppn.ie with the following information:
- Name of Community Group.
- Position number for which they are nominating a candidate.
- Name of proposed nominee.
- Contact details of proposed nominee.
- A short paragraph (up to 200 words) detailing the nominees’ suitability and experience for the role- this will be shared on social media and on our website in advance of voting.
- A photo of your nominee which we may share with our members and social media followers.
What happens then?
- Clare PPN will confirm receipt of nominations by email.
- Following the close of nominations, Clare PPN will circulate details of candidates to our eligible members and online voting will be open for seven days.
- The successful candidates will be informed immediately.
- NB: Even if you have nominated a candidate you will still need to vote for them once voting opens to support their election.
For any further information about any of the above roles or Clare PPN’s election processes please feel free to call us on 087 1617375.
by Sarah Clancy | Nov 13, 2018 | Joint Policing Committee, Members News, PPN News |
Who do you want to represent you on Clare’s Joint Policing Committee?
Clare Public Participation Network is delighted that two excellent candidates have been nominated as to sit on Clare’s Joint Policing Committee. Unfortunately there is only one seat allocated to the PPN so we have to get you to vote for the nominee of your choice. Voting is open until 5pm on Monday 19th November and all member groups are eligible to cast one vote in this election.
Details of both candidates are below and you can vote by clicking this link below:
‘My name is Ladigbolu Abiodun, I am the President of the Association for the Nigerian Community in Clare. I have been in the position for the past 3 years and worked my way right from the position of the PRO up. I have vast of experience and training in community activities and organisations. I am the current president of egbe omo Yoruba in Clare. I have been representing my association at the quarterly meetings of the garda and the community groups since year 2009. It would be an honour to give more to the community as their representative on the JPC.
Over the last 25 years, Madeline McAleer has worked with, provided training sessions and completed funding applications for a number of community groups in Clare e.g. Clare Haven Services, Clare Family Resource Centre, Disabled People of Clare, Irish Refugee Council / Clare Immigrant Support Centre, Ennis Community Development Project and Haven Horizons.
Madeline was the co-founder of the Clare Family Resource Centre, the first community childcare centre in Clare. Madeline completed the successful application for capital funding for the purpose built community crèche.
When working as the project development officer with Clare Haven Services, refuge accommodation and comprehensive outreach services for victims of domestic abuse in Co. Clare were established. Working in Clare Haven Services involved building positive interagency relationships and working closely with An Garda Síochána.
Madeline is currently the Research and Development Director of Haven Horizons. Haven Horizons focuses on domestic abuse prevention; providing awareness sessions and education / training modules and promoting international models of best practice which change public attitudes and professional responses to domestic abuse.
Haven Horizons is currently working with local and national Gardaí to establish Co. Clare as the Demonstration Division for the St. Paul ‘Blueprint for Safety’ model of domestic abuse prevention, which involves greater collaboration between police, prosecution services, court services, advocacy groups, prison and probation services to close the gaps in the criminal justice system.
Clare Public Participation Network is extremely grateful to all candidates who come forward for election to represent their community and whatever the outcome we are sure you will join us in thanking Madeline and Ladigbolu for coming forward.
