In a brand-new event, the Kennedy Summer School is set to host a panel discussion exploring how we can all work towards a sustainable future, working together for policy and political change in combination with personal responsibility.
Senator Grace O’Sullivan – A key panelist in this year’s event hosted by Kennedy Summer School
Opening the Kennedy Summer School events on September 8th at 10.30 am will be panelists Senator Grace O’Sullivan, Dr Matthew Jebb, Michael Kelly, Jo Linehan, Alannah Wrynn, and Anabel O’Hora. David McCullagh will moderate the panel.
The 2022 Summer School will focus on topical issues in Irish and U.S. politics with leading expert speakers from both sides of the Atlantic along with a focus on Russia and Ukraine and their political impact. More than 40 guest speakers will participate in debates on a wide range of subjects with the U.S. and Ukraine featuring prominently.
The United States Ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin is set to officially open the event with the Irish American State Legislators’ Caucus joining a panel discussion. Minister Simon Harris will give the keynote address at this year’s Speakers Lunch and US politician Joe Kennedy will join the event remotely.
Additionally, there will be a plethora of politicians, political commentators, and leading global academics who will all join in the discussions billed for the annual Kennedy Summer School which is set to take place in New Ross, Co. Wexford, this September 8th to 10th 2022.
Senator Grace O’Sullivan – A mother of three, an ecologist, and an environmental education specialist, Senator Grace O’Sullivan is also a former Greenpeace activist, a former Irish surf champion, and a green entrepreneur. At the age of 21, she took a job with Greenpeace, where she spent the next 20 years of her career travelling the seas and oceans of the world, taking part in actions for peace and climate justice. She was a crew member of the Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed by the French Foreign Intelligence Service in 1985. She continues her work as a peace and environment activist, these days within the political sphere.
Dr. Matthew Jebb – Dr. Jebb studied at Oxford University where he undertook his primary degree and D.Phil. His Ph.D. looked at the taxonomy and tuber morphology of rubiaceous ant-plants. Following a 5-year appointment as Director of the Christensen Research Institute at Madang, Papua New Guinea, Matthew took up a 2-year post-doc position at Trinity College Dublin. This work involved the preparation of a revision of the Araliaceae for the Flora of Thailand project. Matthew has revised the family Nepenthaceae for Flora Malesiana.
Jo Linehan – A lifestyle and sustainability journalist, co-founder of GAFF Shop, and host of The Futurist Podcast, Jo’s work is all about highlighting and celebrating ways we can all live eco-friendlier lives. She is currently a columnist with The Sunday Times and Irish County Magazine and is working on her MSc in Management for Sustainable Development at Dublin City University
Alannah Wrynn – A seventeen-year-old activist, and 5th-year student from Dunmanway, West Cork. Growing up on a farm, the natural world has always played a significant role in her life. She is an active member of Fridays for Future Cork where she has campaigned for a just transition to more sustainable methods of food production and the protection of Ireland’s biodiversity. Alannah serves as Chairperson of Cork County Comhairle na nÓg (Youth Council), she is currently working on the topic of Gender Equality and she is a delegate of the Irish National Youth Assembly. She has also worked with the YMCA as part of the ‘Future Generations Climate Justice Project, which works to capture youth voices and educate them on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Anabel O’ Hora – A sixteen-year-old activist, Anabel was born in Manhattan and moved to Ireland at the age of six to be closer to family. Anabel is passionate about sustainability, the environment, biodiversity, and climate action. She is a member of a range of different youth environmental organisations; she became involved with ECO UNESCO through the Youth for Sustainable Development program, and now represents them at the newly founded National Youth Assembly of Ireland. In June 2022, Anabel was a panelist at the National Biodiversity Conference and is a member of the Youth Advisory Group for the Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss.
David McCullagh – An author and journalist with RTÉ, David’s most recent book, The Great Irish Politics Book, published in 2021, is a guide to politics for younger readers.
The 2022 Kennedy Summer School has been created for secondary school students and will be hosted in conjunction with the OPW at the JFK Memorial Park.
The programme of events and tickets are now available online at www.kennedysummerschool.ie, or call St. Michael’s Theatre on 051 421255.
SOURCE: Materials provided at source
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