Last week, CLDC was very proud to support two of our community development workers – Michelle Nolan and Sean MacNamara – as they contributed to the national conversation around the future of work – and what that means for communities – at the Grow Remote Summit in Portlaoise. Michelle and Sean both work as part of the SICAP (Social Inclusion and Community Activation Program) team at CLDC.
The Grow Remote Summit was a national event that aimed to “bring together the remote working community, leaders in government, business innovators, and employers, to explore the future of work.”
Michelle was part of a panel discussion about collaboration and partnerships, where she spoke about responding to community needs, cohesion and the benefits of partnerships. She spoke about her experience within CLDC of partnering and working with other organisations, working effectively together while focusing on a higher purpose. She spoke about the impact that happens for the community as a result of collaborative partnerships.
“I’d like to say thank you to Grow Remote for inviting me to speak at the Summit on connecting rural communities to remote work,” said Michelle, who has been involved with organising several local job fairs in Clare. “The Clare Job Fairs have [been] increasing jobseekers’ awareness and accessibility to remote work. We are delighted to be involved in this work with Grow Remote, amongst other strong partners in the county, and are currently planning our third Jobs Fair in Ennis this coming October.”
Sean facilitated a meitheal workshop at the summit, around Bringing Hope to Local Communities.
“It was an amazing event and had so many great speakers,” Sean said. “It was great to be allowed to facilitate a workshop on ‘Bringing hope to Local Communities’. It really got people talking. Bringing hope to communities is what CLDC does through every program we run, so it was a perfect topic to talk about.” He added, “For CLDC and the SICAP team it was a great opportunity to show case the work we have done, and highlight the SICAP program on a national level.”
We are really proud of our staff for being so committed and involved with the local communities, and for being invited to share their knowledge and experience on a national level. We are glad to be a part of the conversation about the evolution of work for our communities!
To hear more about Grow Remote and the work that is taking place, you can have a listen to co-founder Tracy Keogh speaking on CLareFM. Grow Remote is trying to “make remote work for everyone.” Tracy has said, “It is vital that conversations are had with employers about the reality of remote work.” She says there are 100,000 remote jobs open in Clare today.
Have a listen here.
