Published: Wednesday, 17th February, 2010 10:00am
You can change the world - O'Gorman tells AIT students
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The passionate individual can help change the world, Amnesty Ireland excecutive director Colm O'Gorman told an Athlone audience last week.
O'Gorman was speaking at the opening lecture in a new child care and social care seminar series at Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT). The founder of the charity One in Four and Executive Director of Amnesty Ireland addressed a packed lecture theatre on the theme of children's rights.
Speaking about his own personal experience and the changes that have occurred in Ireland over the past two decades, Mr O'Gorman said: "Nothing ever changed in the world that was the result purely of leadership. Real change happens through the concerted effort of individuals, people who are outraged at something or care passionately to try to do something about it.
That's the real force for change that exists in the world; the power of the individual to speak out in an impassioned way, based on a conviction, based on truth, based on a belief that things should be different."
He commented that while people may, at times, feel overwhelmed by the horrific details emerging from various inquiries and reports, that their "outrage and desire to see things changed is real. We are a changed society as a result," he stated.
We should acknowledge the past and society's collective failures, he continued, and recognise that as individuals, people have power or control over the direction that society takes.
In his introductory remarks, AIT President, Prof. Ciarán " Catháin, said "through his work as a human rights defender and social justice campaigner, Colm O'Gorman has made history by casting a light on the darker side of life".
"He has changed lives and brought comfort to the many survivors of sexual abuse who are living with their own experience of this universal crime. By challenging the State, the church and Irish society to recognise and address the issue of child sexual abuse, he has perhaps done more than any other to protect and vindicate the rights of children."
The Child Care and Social Care Seminar Series provides an opportunity to explore topical issues arising within these fields in Ireland today. Organised by the Department of Humanities at AIT, it is planned to host one seminar per semester. Speakers will be leading experts in their discipline and will offer an opportunity to learn at first hand from those at the cutting edge.
For video footage of the speech
