It Takes a Village to Raise a Child - Conference

Established in 2001, Akina Dada wa Africa-AkiDwA (Swahili for sisterhood) is a national network of migrant women living in Ireland.  The organisation promotes the equality of migrant women in Irish society, free of gender and racial stereotyping and applies a holistic approach to integration, promoting a migrant and gender-specific approach to public services, as well as encouraging migrant women’s access to mainstream services and initiatives. AkiDwA employs several strategies to achieve its objectives, outreach, networking, research, policy work and capacity building.For AkiDwA, the term ‘Migrant Women’ includes not only recent immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, but also migrant workers, students, trafficked and undocumented women. It also includes those who have acquired Irish citizenship but who still consider themselves to be outside the mainstream society in terms of their linguistic, racial or cultural backgrounds, and who therefore still define themselves as Migrants.

AkiDwA

Conference exploring the issue of children of African descent in state care in Ireland

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

The 2021 report by Childcare Law Reform highlighted that ethnic minority parents —migrants, travellers and Roma—were disproportionately represented in child care proceedings. The particular issues posed in such cases included trans-national or trans-ethnic placements, children being left behind by a parent, language barriers, and a lack of cultural sensitivity. Some cases involved engagement with cultural and traditional practices like early marriage and strict parenting styles. The report recommends commissioning research on the reasons for and implications of this disproportionate number of children subject to care proceedings originating from Traveller and ethnic minority backgrounds.In 2014, the interim report on the Child Law Reporting Project indicated that African families are 20 times more likely to end up in the childcare courts. By international standards, the removal of a child from familial environment should be a measure of last resort, and, if they are removed, the reunification of the family must generally continue to be under active consideration. However, in practice, it appears that most of the African children are only released from care when they turn 18 years old, which is too late for family reunification leading to other issues linked to their migrant status, right to family reunification and settlement often resulting in family dysfunction.This conference is the final instalment of the &#x27;It Takes a Village to Raise a Child” project—the title of which references an African proverb exemplifying the communal nature of child rearing. This project seeks to explore African culture in parenting and child-rearing, which too often is misunderstood in Ireland. The objective of this conference is to raise awareness about cultural differences in child-rearing and to promote positive aspects of the African culture among service providers, frontline services and decision makers. It also aims to advocate for the provision of culturally competent support and services provided by frontline services and within mainstream services, institutions and policy development.AkiDwA invites you to attend our conference which will be taking place at the EPIC museum, Dublin on the 31st of May. We will be launching a collection of stories from migrant mothers from African backgrounds in Ireland. We hope to invite representatives from the United Nations (OHCHR), the International Decade of People of African Descent (IDPAD), the Irish Human Rights and Equality Council (IHREC), the Child Rights Alliance and migrant parents to speak, shed light on and devise solutions for this incredibly pertinent issue. This conference is an opportunity to listen to the voices of migrant mothers who will be sharing experiences on the day. We hope to see you there!

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It Takes a Village to Raise a Child - Conference

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It Takes a Village to Raise a Child - Conference

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