The Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards were bigger than ever in a year that’s been unkind to integration bodies. Viktor Posudnevsky reports.
This year’s MAMA Awards ceremony was held at the Abbey, Ireland’s national theatre, which shows the extent to which diversity and integration have become rooted in the very heart of Ireland. There were very few free seats in the hall as hundreds of spectators enthusiastically clapped and cheered the host, nominees and winners.
This year’s MAMAs were also the biggest for the sheer number of high-profile guests attending. Among the dignitaries were Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan; billionaire entrepreneur Denis O’Brien, one of the main sponsors of the awards; Lucy Gaffney, chair of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR); Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne; and ambassadors and diplomats from 16 countries.
All attendees, both Irish and immigrants, were impressed with the event, which included live music and dance performances, superb hosting by broadcaster Shalini Sinha and NewsTalk 106fm presenter Ger Gilroy, and a cracking speech by comedian (and award-winner) Des Bishop.
“I felt welcomed at this event and I think it encourages immigrants in Ireland to fulfil their potential,” said Paul Akpegho from South Africa. “I had a great afternoon”.
“I think it was an excellent event,” added Colm Maguire from Ireland. “It encourages integration and I really empathised with some of the speakers. I hope that funding doesn’t cease for activities aimed at integration, and hopefully this event will get full backing from the Government.”
With celebrating ideas and projects that encourage integration in Ireland being a key feature of this year’s event, one of its main concerns – and one that was touched upon in virtually every speech on the day – was the alarming prospects that integration could face in an economic downturn. The subject of Government cutbacks to organisations and projects aimed at integration also dominated nearly every conversation after the awards ceremony.
In a year that has already seen dramatic cutbacks in Government funding, the Judges’ Special Award went to Philip Watt, director of the now defunct National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI), which is one of the biggest victims of these cuts.
As Watt went up on stage to receive his award, the audience cheered him passionately and continuously. “Racism is still an issue in Ireland,” he said from the podium, “and I would call on the Government to recognise this.”
The year also marks the final year of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR), which has lent support to hundreds of projects aimed at integration and inclusion. It is yet unclear whether the present Government will allocate funds for the plan’s continuation. But in recognition of her work, a special citation was given to the NPAR’s chair Lucy Gaffney.
Speaking earlier, Gaffney said: “I hope that the same level of commitment, focus and drive that created the NPAR will be taken up by the present administration... It is crucial that we protect the people who helped to build this economy when the times are not good. It would be very short-sighted to make cuts now as this may create social inequality which in the future will take a lot more money to fix than the Budget cut”.
The same level of alarm was present in the speech given by Denis O’Brien of the Iris O’Brien Foundation. “There is a real danger that the issue of integration could be ignored,” he said. “There is a notion in some circles that the majority of people who made Ireland their home have now gone back to their own countries, which is absolute nonsense.
“We need to increase efforts at integration and not decrease them. Making the right investments and developing the right policies now is critical… I would like to remind the government and the ministers that we really need more action.”
A little more optimism was shown by Dublin’s Lord Mayor Eibhlin Byrne. “As a northsider who is in exile in the southside for a year, I can relate to these awards,” she said. “We don’t have a recession in Dublin, we just hit a minor hiccup along the way and we’re still very much open to business. And the people who are gathered here will help the city grow. Everyone who lives in Dublin now will define the city in the future.”
It was also clear that regardless of the Government’s actions, integration work will continue. This will be ensured by private sponsors and the sheer dedication, energy and resourcefulness of individuals, of which there were plenty of examples at the MAMA Awards ceremony.
These included several private companies, such as the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Northwood, north Dublin, which successfully implemented a broad diversity programme, and computer firm Dell, whose spokesperson Ingrid Devlin said: “In Dell international activities and diversity have become such a part of our day-to-day business that we have a festival or a celebration almost every day of the year.”
Mary Nally of the Third Age Foundation, who developed the Fáilte Isteach Project, accepted her award in the Non-Governmental Groups category with gratitude on behalf of all the pensioners who, thanks to her work, have made such great use of their time and made so many new friends as they teach conversational English to immigrants.
“Some of the awards went to big organisations like RTÉ,” commented Lucy Gaffney after the event. “But what impressed me most were people with no access to big budgets that nevertheless made a huge impact. They did it by contributing their own time and energy into getting things done.”
