REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CONFERRING CEREMONY OF THE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES PROGRAMME
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE CONFERRING CEREMONY OF THE DEVELOPMENT STUDIES PROGRAMME HOLY GHOST COLLEGE, KIMMAGE
Tá lúcháir orm bheith anseo libh inniu. Míle buíochas libh as an chaoin-chuireadh.
I am delighted to attend this graduation ceremony at the Development Studies Centre and I am especially happy to greet the many students from developing countries here today.
This occasion is of added interest arising from my recent visit to Honduras where I had the opportunity to observe many of the concepts and ideas which you have studied at this Centre, being applied in a practical way. I would like to acknowledge and commend the work of Irish NGOs, Trócaire, Goal, Concern, APSO, Irish religious and indeed personnel from the Irish Army, who, with funding from the Irish public and from the Government’s programme of official development assistance, have been doing extraordinary work in Honduras. Most of all I would like to pay tribute to the determination and commitment of the Honduran people especially the women as they struggle to rebuild their lives and their country in the aftermath of the terrible destruction wrought by Hurricane Mitch.
I know that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Development Studies Centre and, as we celebrate the occasion and laud the tremendous achievements of the Centre, it is perhaps appropriate to reflect on the ways in which development work itself has changed as we enter the new Millenium.
The origins of the Centre go back to the far-sightedness of the Spiritan Congregation (Holy Ghost Fathers) and the perception, even in 1974, that additional education and training had become essential for missionary-associated development work. Many individuals have played notable parts in making the Development Studies Centre what it is today but I’m sure that no one will quarrel with my singling out the name of Fr. Dick Quinn, the pivotal architect of the Centre’s early years. In the intervening 25 years, with the growing awareness in the developed countries of our responsibility to assist the less developed ones and - it has to be said fuelled by the intense publicity arising from human tragedies in Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Honduras and through to the terrible events unfolding in Kosovo today - a highly advanced group of development practitioners has emerged.
I wish here to extend a warm welcome to the refugees from Kosovo who are coming to live with us. I am sure that local communities around the country will take them into their hearts and help them regain a sense of security. Their presence can enrich us. For their sake, however, we fervently hope that the situation in Kosovo can be resolved so that they can once again live in peace in their own homes.
The approach to development has also changed in other ways. There has been a growing recognition – and this is as true of Ireland as any developing country – that the communities being assisted have to be partners and active participants in the process if it is to have any hope of sustainability in the long-term. Representatives of the partner community have to be enabled to develop the same level of expertise as the aid workers and experts from the donor countries. Only then will they improve their own capacity to promote sustainable social, economic and political change as their particular situation demands. Only then can they be truly equal partners, and have the respect and self-respect to break the cycle of dependency to which they were too often subjected in the past.
It is in this very important aspect of the development process that the Centre, whose graduates we honour today, excels. The Development Studies Centre has, as its essential goal, the education and training of development practitioners working at grassroots level. In so doing, you, its graduates, contribute to the reduction of poverty and the creation of a more equal and just world by strengthening the skills and confidence of those you work with. It is clear from the balanced mix of Irish and overseas students that the range of courses on offer impacts in a fundamental way on development thinking, not only in developing countries but in Ireland itself – and indeed the very make-up of the student population here epitomises the growing partnership approach to development.
I would like to congratulate all of you on your hard work and commitment in successfully completing his programme. Our world needs more people like you – people who do not stand by and say ‘it is the way it has always been’ – people who look at difficulties as challenges to be overcome, people who recognise the right of every human being to live a life of decency and dignity, people who are ‘doers’.
I wish all of you – and everyone associated with the Centre – the very best in your future work. In particular, I would like to pay tribute to Paddy Reilly, the Centre’s Director, for all the hard work that he and his staff have contributed to make the Centre such a success.
Is iontach an obair atá ar siúl agaibh agus gúim gach rath aic san am atá le teacht.