DCU Institute for Climate and Society
DCU Institute for Climate and Society
Institute for Climate and Society Annual Conference 2025

Institute for Climate and Society Annual Conference

to
Venue
HG20, Alice Reeves Building (formerly the Nursing and Human Sciences Building), DCU Glasnevin Campus
Target Audience
All Welcome
Is registration required?
Yes

Dispatches from a changing climate: Engaging society through activism, storytelling and the arts

The fifth annual DCU Institute for Climate and Society conference took place on 29 April 2025 in HG20, Alice Reeves Building (formerly the Nursing and Human Sciences Building), on the DCU Glasnevin Campus.

Our keynote speaker was  Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, who delivered a report to the UN General Assembly this autumn on the challenges faced by human rights defenders working in the context of climate change and a just transition.

 

ICS

Dr Diarmuid Torney, Director of the DCU Centre for Climate and Society

Dr Diarmuid Torney, Director of the DCU Centre for Climate and Society

Dr. Diarmuid Torney, Institute Director and Associate Professor in the School of Law and Government welcomed everyone to the 5th annual conference. The theme this year, focusing on activism, storytelling and the arts grew out of the closing reflection of last year’s conference where poet Jane Clarke read three of her poems that connected with the themes of the conference in a very personal and emotional way. This year’s conference expanded on that, offering a variety of ways people are looking to find inspiration and nurture hope in an increasingly turbulent world.


Choral performance

Choral performance

The DCU campus choir opened the conference with two choral pieces: the traditional song “Sumer is icumen in” and a choral version of Robert Burns’s “A red, red rose”. DCU Campus Choir is made up of current and retired staff from across the University’s three campuses and local community members.


Professor Dáire Keogh, the President of DCU

Professor Dáire Keogh, the President of DCU

Professor Dáire Keogh, the President of DCU, thanked the choir for their performance and  introduced Mary Lawlor, the Keynote speaker of the conference. He noted that among Lawlor’s many achievements is a medal from the Red Cross Society, an honour shared by Alice Reeves, the pioneering nurse after whom the conference building was named. Observing that “nothing is more important to us than our planet”, Professor Keogh highlighted the power of the arts and humanities to help us to reflect on our values. He praised the role that the Institute, with its focus on society and culture, plays in facilitating this reflection. The annual Institute for Climate and Society conference, he said, has become a fixture in the DCU calendar and a key contributor to the university’s overall mission.

Keynote Address - Mary Lawlor, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

May Lawlor

Mary Lawlor, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders has had a long and illustrious career in the defence of human rights on a global scale. Currently the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders, she worked at Amnesty International for many years and founded Frontline Defenders. The day of the conference marked the official launch of a new partnership between Frontline Defenders and DCU, which will offer rest and respite fellowships to human rights defenders. 

SR Lawlor delivered a powerful address, leading with the central tenet that climate change is a human rights crisis. She called out states worldwide for their inaction which she argued is akin to wilful destruction. She decried the total impunity of those who violently suppress resistance to environmentally damaging industry. Meanwhile she praised environmental activists for their work in defending human rights and holding states accountable to their international obligations. 

Following her talk, many questions related to the state of activism and human rights defenders in Ireland. SR Lawlor said that while the situation is better in Ireland than in other places, the state’s rhetoric on human rights does not always match its actions, and with the rise of the far right we must not allow ourselves to become complacent. She reminded the audience that progress is not always linear, but that it is important to work locally, embrace the power of storytelling, and always support those who stand up for human rights, whom she referred to as “the hope for humanity in dark times.”


Panel 1: Defending environmental human rights at home and abroad

 The panel was chaired by Dr Rowan Oberman, Assistant Professor, DCU School of STEM Education, Innovation and Global Studies.

Panel 2: The arts and the environment

The panel was chaired by Prof Derek Hand, Executive Dean, DCU Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Panel 3: Climate, science, art and activism

The panel was chaired by Dr Pádraig Murphy, Associate Professor, DCU School of Communications.

Poetry Reading

Grace Wilentz

Grace Wilentz, Poet and writer, Writer-in-Residence at Notre Dame, Dublin 

Before reading an excerpt from a work-in-progress book-length poem about the reintroduction of Lynx in Europe, Grace Wilentz, Poet and writer, Writer-in-Residence at Notre Dame, Dublin spoke about how most of the work of a poet is solitary, but being in community, like at the conference today, is strengthening. She spoke about how we need to think about what we can learn from nature to help us to live in a complex world with our freedom and integrity intact.


Panel 4: Reporting from the climate front lines

The panel was chaired by Dr David Robbins, Institute Co-Director and Associate Professor, DCU School of Communications

Closing reflection - Prof Pat Brereton, Institute Co-Director and Emeritus Professor, DCU School of Communications

Prof Pat Brereton

Prof Pat Brereton, Institute Co-Director and Emeritus Professor, DCU School of Communications

Professor Pat Brereton, Institute Co-director and Emeritus Professor in the School of Communications summarised the conference, noting that it was eclectic in some ways, with music and poetry, as well as discussions of climate justice and human rights. He provided short summaries of the panel discussions, and highlighted a common theme around creating active hope through connecting with people and communities in different and more engaging ways. 


Closing musical performance

Landless

The conference closed with an enchanting performance by acclaimed folk group, Landless, hosted in the DCU Interfaith Centre. Renowned for their intricate, unaccompanied harmonies and evocative interpretations of centuries-old ballads, Lily Power, Méabh Meir, Ruth Clinton, and Sinéad Lynch provided a wonderful end to the conference proceedings.


Exhibitions

Three exhibitions were on display in breakout rooms throughout the day of the conference