The Social Inclusion Forum (SIF) is part of the Government’s structures to monitor and evaluate the State’s strategy to address poverty and achieve social inclusion. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 – 2025 is the current strategy. The Social Inclusion Forum is held annually to provides an opportunity for wider public consultation and discussion on poverty and social inclusion issues and the implementation of the strategy, in particular for people experiencing poverty and social exclusion and the organisations/groups that work with them. The Forum also provides an opportunity for engagement between officials from Government Departments, community and voluntary organisations and people experiencing poverty. Social Inclusion Forum (SIF) 2025 will be held on Thursday 8th May in Corke Park – Title for SIF 2025: Reflecting on the Past and Informing the Future of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion Each year the Department of Social Protection selects a number of thematic areas which will be the focus of the workshops at the Forum each year. This year, the focus is on: 1. Travellers and Roma 2. Families and Children 3. Disabled People 4. Older People 5. Building Inclusive Communities – addressing racism and wider discrimination SIF 2025 will also provide an important opportunity to engage with the Government’s consultation of developing a successor strategy to the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 – 2025. CWI & EAPN Ireland Preparatory Workshops Community Work Ireland (CWI) and the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) Ireland collaborate annually to organise a series of workshops to support participation at the Social Inclusion Forum and to and provide the opportunity for civil society, communities and stakeholders, and in particular people affected by poverty and the organisations working with them, to discuss the issues. Each workshop will provide an overview of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion and will focus on the thematic areas that are the focus of SIF 2025. Feedback from the workshops will be presented at the Plenary session of SIF 2025. Registration is now open for two online and two regional in-person Preparatory Workshops, hosted by CWI and EAPN Ireland. each of the online workshops will cover two themes, and each in-person workshop will cover all thematic areas. EAPN Ireland and CWI would like to encourage people with direct experience of issues that emerge from the workshops to participate in person at SIF 2025. A small budget will be available to support the participation costs of a number of participants in the workshops from unfunded or under-funded groups and unwaged individuals to attend SIF 2025. Further information will be available at the workshops. PREPARATORY WORKSHOPS: Tuesday 25th March 11am-1pm ONLINE Travellers and Roma; Older People, Building Inclusive Communities HERE Tuesday 1st April 11am-1pm ONLINE Disabled people, Families and Children; Building Inclusive Communities HERE Tuesday 8th April 10:30am-1pm (Registration from 10am) CORK CITY Blackpool Community Centre, 90 Great William O’Brien Street, Blackpool, Cork T23 TR7A All Themes HERE Wednesday 16th April 11:30am-1:30pm (Registration from 11am) GALWAY CITY Westside Resource Centre, Seamus Quirke Road, Galway, H91 C1KX All Themes HERE |
