Panel: Brian Higgins (CEO Pieta House), Razan Ibraheem (Syrian Journalist), Dr. Easkey Britton (Surfer and Environmentalist ), Joan Mulvihill (Centre Director for the Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce)
How we be true to each other while living in a post-truth world? How can we stay connected in age of nihilism and narcissism? Where do we go from here? At A Lust for Life and Pieta House we deal with people every day suffering from crippling levels of stress, anxiety, depression and desperation. This echoes and reflects reports all over the world of increasing human suffering amid chaos and destruction. One think tank estimated that 50 percent of present-day jobs would be taken by robots by the year 2050 while scientists warn that Earth’s sixth mass extinction event is underway. Are we are regressing or progressing as a society? This conversation explores the role of media, technology and environment in connecting the human race? Who are the gatekeepers? Will nature strike back? What does the future look like and what we can do to create a more interconnected world?
Brian Higgins is the CEO of Pieta House. He previously held the position of Director of Services for Missing People. a national UK charity which aims to bring missing children and adults back together with their families. Prior to that he spent a number of years as a member of the senior management group of Depaul Ireland, in service development and management.Brian has significant international experience, having worked as National Coordinator and Director of Children’s Services with Rainbow Project International in Zambia and as the founding Executive Director of Depaul USA. He has a Master of Social Science degree in Criminology and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
Razan Ibraheem is a Syrian born journalist. She came over to Ireland to do her MA (ELT) at the University of Limerick. The escalating violence in her country made her seek stay on in Ireland. She works as a journalist in a leading social media news agency, Storyful. Her deep sorrow for the tragic situation in Syria made her volunteer to go to Greece to help refugees last year. The people she met and the stories she heard from Syrian refugees there changed her perspective in life. She became an activist fighting for human rights and the rights of refugees, especially women and children.
Razan is a regular contributor to various newspaper articles and current events programmes on Irish radio and TV, endeavouring to explain the intricacies of Middle East politics to the Irish public. She gave a speech with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Last year she was invited by the UN to a high-level meeting on global responsibility sharing through pathways for admission of Syrian refugees. She has also been involved in projects with RTE, Amnesty International, Brighter Futures and Immigration Council. Razan was rewarded the International Woman of the Year by the Irish Tatler.
Dr. Easkey Britton, founder of Like Water, is 5 times Irish surf champion, international big-wave surfer and marine social scientist. Her work explores the relationship between people and the sea, using her passion for the ocean to create social change and connection across cultures, pioneering surfing with women in Iran. In her current role as a postdoctoral fellow with the NEAR-Health Project at NUIG, she researches ‘Blue Health’, or how water environments and human health are linked and the restorative benefits of nature.
In her new role at DCU as the Centre Director for the Irish Centre for Cloud Computing and Commerce, Joan Mulvihill is at the very heart of research and innovation in Ireland. During her 7 years as CEO of the IIA, Joan has been a change advocate and agent with her irrepressible enthusiasm and energy. An original Trailblazery contributing speaker at The Office of Non-Compliance and on the Wonderlust stage, Joan moves freely between very personal truth telling in a field to big picture policy shaping in a board room. A professional disruptor, Joan balances creative thinking with ordered action. The Innovation Champion for Ireland at the inaugural Innovation Luminary Awards, Joan has a longstanding reputation for being a #bossygirl.