#SHESchool

About #SHESchool

I can no longer use a throwaway line that the old me regularly trotted out…”I know nothing about politics”…instead I can listen and learn more, thank you for making what seems a very confusing male dominated arena more accessible and understandable, I appreciate it. Theresa (SHESchool participant, May 2020)

Our aim with SHESchool is to demystify local politics. And based on testimony like this, we are succeeding. We solemnly promise that there is no homework involved and all you need is an hour and a half a week, an email address, a device that connects to the internet, and a beverage of your choice to join in.

What’s it about?

The overall aim of the SHE Project is to empower women in the rural constituencies of the North West and Midlands to engage in electoral politics. We want to see more women being elected to councils and to the Dáil. Complementing this is our free online #SHESchool which is all about explaining local politics, where you fit in, and what you can do to have a say in what goes on.

Our free online #SHESchool is for anyone who wants to start to build up a bit of knowledge about what politics is and how politics works.

What will I learn?

The foundation course is 3 classes.

We begin with active citizenship. It is a phrase we hear a lot about, but what does it actually mean? In 2007 we had a Taskforce on Active Citizenship which told us it was largely about volunteering and being engaged in our communities. But this definition doesn’t really see us having a say in what goes on, or being part of any kind of change. We explore a wider definition of active citizenship that allows us to do just that. We will finish the first class by looking at what is meant by left and right in political language, and whether people mobilising under either banner are within or beyond what we accept to be active citizenship.

In the second class we start to try and understand the purpose, structure and function of a council. We look at the relationship between the elected county councillors and the people who work as executives in the council, as well as who has power to do what. We look at the opportunities for active citizens to become part of the decision-making structures in county councils, and how that can happen to allow better decisions to be made without necessarily ever running for election.

The last class examines the job and remuneration of the county/city councillor. We look at the gender breakdown of councillors, and work through the latest research on the barriers that women face in running for council elections. We finish by drawing the word feminism into the discussion about councillors and ask why so ffew identify themselves as feminists.

How does it work?

We are running the classes on zoom. A link will be sent to you on the morning of each class. To participate you will need a computer or other devise, connected to the internet. The device will have to have working speakers mic and camera.

We aim to make the class as enjoyable as possible with plenty of opportunity for conversation and a break mid way. They start at 7pm and will finish at 8.30.

If you’d like more…

#SHESchool is developing based on the feedback of all previous foundation class participants and will continue to evolve to meet the needs of the women engaging with the project.

Please contact us

To get involved please contact Michelle at info@seeherelected.ie or 0860320455