Hunger conference to mark aid agency's 40th anniversary
An international hunger conference will be held in Dublin later this year to mark the 40th anniversary of Irish aid agency Concern.
Concern, which first responded to the Biafra famine in 1968, now has 3,200 staff working in 30 countries across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
A programme of anniversary events is being planned by the Dublin-based NGO including a reception by President Mary McAleese at Aras an Uachtarain and TV documentaries. Concern chief executive Tom Arnold said the world is an entirely different place compared with 1968 but global poverty and hunger hasn't changed.
"Concern is still helping poor people to help themselves to survive, 40 years on,'' he said.
In October, Concern will host an International Hunger Conference in Kilmainham which will feature several high profile speakers. The event will examine the ongoing issue of hunger in the developing world and explore new solutions to it. Mr Arnold is a member of the UN Hunger Task Force set up by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan in 2003.
Next month President McAleese will host a reception to honour volunteers, fundraisers and staff who have worked for and supported Concern for four decades. The event will also hail the contribution of Irish NGOs to tackling poverty and hunger and aiding development around the world.
It is also planned to have a reception to thank Irish Aid for its continuing support in the NGO sector to be held in April or May. Mr Arnold said: "The political commitment from the Irish government to overseas development remains strong and the commitment to reach the UN aid target of 0.7% of GNP by 2012 is very positive…The quality of Irish Aid programmes is very good.''
A number of TV documentaries are also being made charting the history of Concern and highlighting new innovations in development work including Community Therapeutic Care (CTC) which tackles malnutrition.
Former Concern chief executive Fr Aengus Finucane will feature in a documentary being screened on TG4. A Concern spokesman added: "Forty years on, Concern is still fiercely committed to helping the world's poorest people gain access to food and improve their lives, in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.
"The fact is that Concern's work is needed now more than ever. In 2008, hunger and poverty continue to devastate lives in the developing world.
"2008 marks an opportunity to look back at the work Concern has done, to thank all those people who have made it possible and to renew our efforts to help the people of the developing world living in extreme poverty and work to combat hunger.''
This article was originally published on 17 January 2008 by The Press Association. Click here to visit the Press Association site.
