Dóchas Awards Celebrate the Inspiring Work of Irish International NGOs

The Dóchas Awards 2019 – honouring the humanitarian and development work of Irish individuals and organisations – were presented at a ceremony in Dublin today, Wednesday, 23 October.

The Awards recognised inspiring work across four categories – the Lifetime Achievement Award, Collaboration Award, Global Citizen Award and Public Engagement Award. The theme of this year’s Dóchas Awards was Collaboration, highlighting the importance of building effective relationships and working with diverse actors towards a common goal.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Mary Lawlor, Founder and former Executive Director of Front Line Defenders, in recognition of her lifelong commitment and contribution to the international human rights movement.

Dóchas Chairperson, Finola Finan, said: “Mary Lawlor has worked tirelessly to defend people who have experienced fear and injustice because they have stood up for what’s right for their families and communities; she has always made it her business to make their voices heard.  This Award is an acknowledgement of her lifetime of work as an advocate and defender of human rights.”

The Collaboration Award – recognising an organisation that has demonstrated the importance of building effective relationships and working in collaboration with diverse actors, including promoting dialogue, tolerance, and understanding – was presented to GOAL for their innovative collaboration with Dropbox Foundation.

The Global Citizen Award – celebrating an outstanding individual, who inspires and empowers others to work towards ending global poverty and injustice – was awarded to Mary Sweeney, Gender and Social Inclusion Advisor with Self Help Africa. Mary’s tireless commitment and dedication to working for justice, equality and dignity for all has inspired co-workers and peers across the sector for many years.

Trócaire was awarded the Public Engagement Award, for their ‘Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign’, which culminated in an Oireachtas Bill, which was signed into law by President Higgins last year, making Ireland the first country in the world to commit to divesting its sovereign wealth fund of investments in the fossil fuel industry.

Dóchas CEO, Suzanne Keatinge, said: ‘It is wonderful to welcome our fantastic winners, finalists and special guests to today’s ceremony. The Dóchas Awards are a great opportunity for the network to celebrate the inspiring work carried out by individuals and organisations across the sector.

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For further information please email awards@dochas.ie or call 014053801.

Winners and finalists are available for interview.

Notes for the editor:

• Dóchas is the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations. It provides a forum for consultation and cooperation between its members, and a platform for them to speak with a single voice on development issues. For more information, visit: https://dochas.ie/.
• Dóchas currently has 55 member organisations, who are working in Ireland on issues related to international development. For a full list of Dóchas members, visit: http://dochas.ie/membership/our-members. 
• The Dóchas Awards recognise inspiring and innovative people and programmes working in international development. Nominations were submitted by members of the public and scored by internal and external judges.