The Mary Robinson Centre
The Mary Robinson Centre (MRC) is a Centre for Change, located in Ballina, Co. Mayo in the childhood home of Ireland’s first female President. It will explore the key themes and issues surrounding the legacy of the influential world leader, with a specific focus on human rights in the broadest sense. The Centre will open in 2022.
The Centre’s vision is to establish a world class facility where Mary Robinson’s legacy is used to inspire and foster personal leadership in the service of promoting human rights, gender equality, women’s leadership and climate justice.
The Mary Robinson Centre is developed in partnership with Mayo County Council, NUI Galway and the local community. Mary Robinson’s extensive personal archive and memorabilia, gifted to NUI Galway, will be displayed in the house she grew up in, in Ballina, Co. Mayo, which will become an educational outreach facility for NUI Galway in Mayo.
Exhibition displays and study rooms within her family home will make this important collection accessible via digitisation. The collection will be presented so as to engage a wide range of audiences from school groups to families, allowing for deeper research by academics and students at the same time. Inclusivity is at the core of the design, ensuring universal access throughout the building.
A strong online presence and a programme of community events, learning activities and international conferences are key elements of the wider interpretative scheme. NUI Galway will integrate the Centre and its offering into existing and new human rights, equality and climate undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
The Foundation provides a space for facilitating action on climate justice to empower the poorest people and countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable and people-centred development.
A centre for thought leadership, education and advocacy on the struggle to secure global justice for those people vulnerable to the impacts of climate change who are usually forgotten – the poor, the disempowered and the marginalised across the world.
It is a platform for solidarity, partnership and shared engagement for all who care about global justice, whether as individuals and communities suffering injustice or as advocates for fairness in resource-rich societies.
Further information can be found HERE