For our final episode in our Amplifying Voices series, the Public and Regulatory team of international law firm, Fieldfisher, discuss legal challenges that refugees face regarding family reunification and accessing proper accommodation in Ireland.

Rasha joins us on our latest podcast in our Amplifying Voices series. Rasha beautifully gives a very heartfelt account of the circumstances which forced her to leave Syria. She shares this journey with her family and accounts how the family unit provided support and assurance along the way. Finally, she details how her hard work and diligence has allowed her to continue her education now in Ireland.

Our newest podcast in the Amplifying Voices series tells the story of Okaila. Okaila speaks about her life as a child growing up in Palestine and the obstacles facing stateless people in regards to accessing education, securing employment and having a secure family life. Her passion and determination to succeed inspire her words throughout the podcast.

Our guest for podcast number four in our Amplifying Voices series is Hicham. Hicham was forced to leave Syria during the ongoing conflict. When he left, he felt compelled to support the people who remained in his home country by sending supplies and organising for the building of houses. He shares with us the skills he learned along the way, his current efforts and the lesson of how doing something helped to relieve his feelings of helplessness.

Daniella is next up to share her story on our Amplifying Voices podcast series. Daniella shares her unique challenges associated with raising a child with autism under the circumstances of fleeing Syria due to the ongoing conflict. Her story contains a message of inspiration for all parents.

Our second podcast in our Amplifying Voices podcast series tells the story of Flo. Flo shares with us the challenges of seeking asylum in a new country without knowledge of the language, its culture and without a strong support network. She also shares about how she overcame some of these challenges and the people along the way who supported her. It is wonderful also to hear about her hopes for the future.

We are very excited to introduce our new Amplifying Voices podcast series. For this series, we worked with a group of six asylum seekers and refugees who wish to share their perspectives on the journeys that have brought them to Ireland. Before taking part in the podcasts, the participants attended a series of four workshops which involved an introduction to storytelling and learning basic podcasting skills of recording and editing.

In our first podcast, we hear the story of Jennifer. Jennifer shares her educational dreams as well as the challenges associated with achieving her goals as an asylum seeker. It is a story of resilience, determination and hope. You can listen here:

A huge thank you to Fieldfisher for supporting this project.

On Monday, June 29th 2020 Saolta hosted an online workshop taking a critical look at education from the perspective of Empowerment and Emancipation with regard to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Emeritus Professor, and previous director of AONTAS, Tom Inglis was the guest speaker for the evening and delivered an eye-opening and insightful talk on the nature of power in society and education and the relationship between empowerment and emancipation.

This workshop was hosted as part of a national Development Education programme called Saolta funded by Irish Aid.

On June 18th 2020 Development Perspectives invited Dr. Julie Norman, Teaching Fellow in Politics and International Relations at University College London and a regular contributor to BBC, Al Jazeera and others and Irish-Syrian journalist and activist Razan Ibraheem, to discuss the global perspective on refugee integration, some of the startling figures on displaced people and the importance of giving a clear and accurate representation of refugees and asylum seekers in the media.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought a surge in so-called "fake news" and "conspiracy theories".

This webinar, hosted by Carmine Rodi Falanga, covered some of the latest stories, discussing how knowledge and the practice of old and new storytelling techniques can be effective tools against the spread of such narratives along with teaching valuable skills for navigating the media and information landscapes.

This podcast was developed as part of Saolta. Saolta is a Development Education strategic partnership programme for the Adult and Community Education sector in Ireland. Development Perspectives is the lead partner in the consortium, which also includes AONTAS, Concern Worldwide, Irish Rural Link and the Adult and Community Education Dept of Maynooth University. Find out more at https://www.developmentperspectives.ie/saolta