National Women’s Council of Ireland welcomes recognition as Sustainable Development Goal champion

Published: Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) today (18 September) was delighted to be recognised as one of the first Sustainable Development Goal champions by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton T.D. at the Ploughing Championships in Fenagh, Co. Carlow.

Together with 11 other organisation, NWCI was chosen to lead by example in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and highlight practical ways in which they can be achieved.

Orla O’Connor, Director of NWCI said,

“We are delighted to be recognised for our work as one of the first SDG champions in Ireland. The Sustainable Development Goals are central to everything we do in close collaboration with our more than 190 member groups across Ireland. In particular Goal 5 which relates to achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls underpins all of our work and we also have a proven track record on delivering positive change on many of the other goals."

Since its establishment in 1973, NWCI has been instrumental in bringing about key advancements for women in Ireland. With its members, NWCI campaigns on realising women’s right to health and bodily integrity (SDG 3), ending violence against women (SDG 16), recognising and valuing women’s care roles (SDG5), ensuring economic independence for women (SDG10) and promoting women’s leadership and representation in decision-making (SDG16).

In recent years, NWCI’s achievements included successfully campaigning for the introduction of gender quotas for candidates in the general elections, repealing the 8th amendment and ensuring access to abortion services in Ireland and campaigning for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on violence against women.

Orla O’Connor concluded,

“As an SDG champion we will continue to campaign for positive change for women in Ireland and beyond.  We believe the Sustainable Development Goal programme is a unique opportunity to re-emphasise the need for the Government to take action on achieving all of the goals and create a fair and just society for all.”

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For more information, please contact Silke Paasche, Head of Communications, NWCI, Tel. 085 858 9104, silkep@nwci.ie

Note to Editors:

NWCI is the leading feminist women’s organisation in Ireland. Our vision is of an Ireland and a world where every woman and girl can achieve her full potential in a just and equal society. We represent and take our mandate from our over 190 member groups from diverse backgrounds, sectors, and locations and our growing individual members who support our vision for a feminist Ireland.

As an SDG Champion, NWCI has been chosen to particularly champion the following SDG goals:

Goal 3 Good Health and Well-being - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-beingfor all at all ages
Goal 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 10  Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels