In Ireland today, diversity and inclusion are crucial as the nation grapples with the complexities of immigration and social integration. Research by ESRI and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission found that Irish people’s attitudes to immigration and migrants were impacted by recession and recovery; decreasing in 2008 with the onset of the recession and improving again as the economic outlook improved.
In the throes of a housing crisis and a “technical recession”, fearmongers and far-right extremists are exploiting these tensions, dividing society along racial and ethnic lines. Now, more than ever, changemakers and voices like Mamobo Ogoro, founder of Gorm, a social enterprise focusing on cultural awareness, are crucial to create and nurture a more diverse and inclusive society.
Ogoro says: “When I began my journey with Gorm, I just wanted to tell stories of diverse communities in Ireland, I had no idea what social entrepreneurship was and had no aspiration to be an entrepreneur – I was doing my PhD at the time and was gearing to be a research assistant, I just knew that we needed to tell these stories.”
In a fully inclusive Ireland everyone, regardless of their background, gender, or history, should have the chance to contribute and thrive.
Damien Quinn, founder of Spéire Nua, which supports ex-prisoners to reintegrate into society and overcome the stigma associated with having a criminal record, was inspired by his own experiences and challenges after exiting the criminal justice system, intent on making a new start.
By validating their commitment to change, Spéire Nua helps these individuals prove their growth and readiness to contribute positively to society. “We don’t guarantee future behaviour. What we can say for certain is, since the time of the offending behaviour, up until now, this person has done a lot of work on themselves, and it has a value.”
Diversity and inclusion ultimately results in every person’s innate value being realised. It is not just a moral imperative – it is a catalyst for innovation, economic growth, and social cohesion. A rising tide lifts all boats; when every person can achieve their potential in an inclusive society, everyone benefits.
Gorm – Mamobo Ogoro
Social psychologist Mamobo Ogoro founded award-winning intercultural consultancy Gorm with a mission to unify people across differences and advance belonging for marginalised communities. The Nigerian-Irish social entrepreneur is doing her bit to spark a movement of unity through evidence-based intercultural training and consultancy, and community-led creative media to bring people together in an increasingly polarised society.
Her experiences from a migrant background led her to see that the voices of people in marginalised communities were not being adequately represented in the media landscape in Ireland.
After being selected for the SEI Ideas Academy she figured out a business model and with the seed funding she began a test pilot. “With that we had some wins and major failures, which ultimately led us to our business model as a social enterprise, and from there we grew. In 2020 we were then awarded the Changing Ireland Accelerator, which not only provided us with the knowledge, skills and capacity to scale our efforts, it gave me the space to lean into my transformative leadership mindset, where now we are deepening our impact and taking strategic measures in realising our vision.”
Initiatives such as the Wideshot Programme, which is planning for its third year, empower young people from migrant and ethnically diverse backgrounds, particularly those from low-income households. Candidates participate in workshops, training sessions, mentorship opportunities, and events focused on digital storytelling and creative multimedia skills, which equip them to share their voices and stories.
As well as engaging with underrepresented and diverse communities through their online community and access programmes, Gorm’s psychologists provide evidence-based intercultural training and consultancy in the area of intergroup relations and cultural competency to businesses.
Ogoro was recently selected as the first Irish fellow in the prestigious global competition, Echoing Green – one of 44 social innovators chosen from more than 2,100 global entrants. She joins a prestigious Echoing Green alumni of transformational leaders that includes Michelle Obama. She will also receive $80,000 in unrestricted funding to accelerate the enterprise.
“Never in a million years did I think that starting an online community project in my room during Covid would land me on such a global stage.”
Spéire Nua – Damien Quinn
Spéire Nua helps the criminally convicted to develop a portfolio of “commitment to change” while facilitating rehabilitation processes. Founder Damien Quinn used his time in prison to educate himself and was intent on making something better of his life upon his release. He quickly realised that he came up against a lot of blocks.
“I got a good education in prison, naively believing that when my sentence was over, the punishment was over,” he says. “The real punishment began when I got out, because I couldn’t get a chance anywhere – couldn’t get a house, couldn’t get into college, couldn’t do anything that was meaningful – so I regressed very quickly. I ended up going backwards then and back into the same old habits.”
He managed to pull back, getting involved with community development. While researching for a paper he spoke to prison governors, Senators, gardaí, probationers and various services that provided support to people with criminal histories. From this, the idea began to take shape: “It described this idea of a safe pass for people with criminal histories that they can apply for; every single one of them could see merit in what I was saying. I couldn’t shake the idea and didn’t know where to go with it, until I saw the Ideas Academy on social media.
“It’s about validating people’s commitment to change when they’re facing Garda vetting,” he says. “Currently, Garda vetting is disabling for anybody that has a background. Very often if you present with criminal history, you are locked out of job applications, applying to college, housing, volunteering, insurances and all these different things ... you try to progress, but you can’t because you’ve got something in your background that you can’t change.”
The Ideas Academy taught him about business formation and how to tell his story and gave him the opportunity to pitch for seed funding to get the project off the ground. Now an app is in development that will house the certificate, and also a learning component teaching essential skills for reintegrating into society.
The full circle moment came with winning a Government tender to provide personal development, bereavement counselling and life skills services to prisoners, as part of a consortium of social entrepreneurs. It’s been a long, hard road but he is determined to help others who want to commit to change to be given a chance.
HerSport – Niamh Tallon & Mohammed Mahomed
HerSport was cofounded by Niamh Tallon and Mohammed Mahomed in 2018 to tackle the lack of visibility of women in sport and the rates at which young girls drop out of sporting activities. Just 7 per cent of girls are meeting the recommended physical activity levels and 50 per cent of young women drop out of sport by the age of 20.
HerSport delivers educational workshops to schools, clubs and businesses discussing barriers for women in sport and how to overcome them, and by creating focused media coverage highlighting and showcasing women in sports, at the website hersport.ie.
Her Sport was developed to bring the latest women’s sports news, celebrating the successes of Irish female sports stars, as well as aiming to inspire more female participation in sport.
It covers a gamut of sporting action from GAA to tennis and rugby to cricket, and the recent Olympic efforts of Irish athletes. It’s been a busy summer at the HerSport newsdesk, topped off by boxer Kellie Harrington’s Olympic gold and swimmer Mona McSharry’s bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke.
With a background in marketing, Niamh Tallon is the editor-in-chief of the website and oversees a team of 10, aligning the content production to the overall strategy.
Tallon explains her role: “I have developed the marketing strategy, managing the social media accounts and analysing the data to make necessary adjustments. We leverage site optimisation, in conjunction with paid marketing strategies to connect with relevant audiences.”
Co-founder Mohammed Mahomed brings a background in finance, having honed his skills as a qualified accountant at KPMG, specialising in aircraft leasing. “This experience allowed me to develop strong analytical, financial and commercial skills while building a robust network,” he says. Her Sport has won several awards including the Federation of Sport’s Best Communication Platform, Three Business Grant and the FedEx People’s Choice Award. However, despite this success, it took them three applications to SEI before they were successful in 2023 with their application to the Changing Ireland Accelerator – proving that sometimes even great ideas don’t make it through the first time.