Waterford Diversity Festival 2.95

A group of interested organisations have come together to organise the second Waterford Diversity festival in 2015. The festival which will extend to the whole of Waterford aims to demonstrate and showcase how we practice inclusive policies and practice and celebrate diversity in our work across Waterford City and County. The festival is planned to run from Wed 16th Sept to Sat 19th Sept 2015. All community groups and organisations are invited to be involved. A grande finale series of events will be hosted on sat 19th at a venue to be decided.

Backround: Waterford City’s Integration Strategy 2012-2016, launched in May 2012, aimed to contribute to the creation of a more integrated society in Waterford City. It highlighted the diversity of Waterford, noting that minorities represent 26% of the City’s overall population; these include ethnic minorities of immigrant background, people living with a disability, members of the Traveller Community and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).
On 15th October 2013 Waterford Integration Forum organised a public seminar to explore various forms of diversity among Waterford City’s residents. This was done with the support of ISU Mount Sion and in partnership with Waterford Childcare Committee, TENI, sOUTh LGBT Group, Waterford Travellers CDP, Brothers of Charity Services and Waterford Disability Network. The event was attended by over 70 people and was reported in local media at the time.

Successful “Diverse-city Festival 2014”
A very successful week of events were hosted in 2014. This series of events were opened with a launch event on Friday 22nd August and culminated in one larger event on Sunday 31st August 2014, which in turn linked to Waterford City’s 1100 Anniversary Celebrations this year. The grande finale event was hosted in the new Street gardens in Waterford City.