Social Inclusion and Outreach
Presentation Ireland’s main social inclusion work is in Cork city with "The Lantern Community Project" on George’s Quay. Nano Nagle, the foundress of the Presentation Sisters, began her work in this area with the setting up of schools for the poor. "The Lantern Community Project" continues this work of welcome, inclusion and learning as a living legacy.
The vision for "The Lantern Community Project" is:-
...a place of welcome where people, no matter what their background, race, age or gender can feel at home, voice their hopes and take action in working for a better world...
"The Lantern Community Project" is an inclusive and evolving community where people feel welcomed, safe and have a sense of belonging. We are pioneering the concept of "user led design", as a process for finding out what people need and coming up with ways to make it happen.
We understand ourselves to be designers creating the right environment for people to express themselves, by listening and allowing discoveries and new connections to be opened up to bring forward solutions to problems in the community.
We have engaged in large scale consultation, action research and implementation. Our core activities to date include developing: a learning space; a young people’s space; a welcoming meeting space and a gardening space.
We are proud to be partners with the Cork Migrant Workers Centre, The Social and Health Education Project and Foroige.