Mercy Global Action Emerging Leaders Fellowship Dublin Immersion Graduates Second Cohort

From 10-17 July, Mercy Global Action staff and the 18 women comprising Cohorts 1 & 2 of the Mercy Global Action Emerging Leaders Fellowship gathered at Mercy International Centre in Dublin for the final immersion and graduation of the second cohort of the fellowship program. Members of Cohort 1 were reunited after their virtual graduation in 2021, and together all were able to join in celebration in Catherine's House.

During the immersion, members of Cohort 2 presented their research projects, covering topics related to the Degradation of Earth and Displacement of Peoples, including access to tertiary education for forcibly-displaced students in Australia, food for education programs in Kenya, public branding of Church leaders in the Philippines, countering stigma around suicide, addressing mental health in humanitarian situations, looking at environmental degradation through the lens of big rivers, highlighting the leadership of women in responding to the climate crisis, examining the relationship between population growth and sustainable food systems, and entering into non-violent practice.

Other sessions helped to provide Fellows from Cohorts 1 and 2 with further tools for leadership, and planted seeds for future engagement beyond the end of the Fellowship. Margaret Endicott rsm from Australia conducted a three-day workshop on Mercy Facilitative Leadership, and Colleen Swain and Jemima Welsh presented the beginnings of a new Alumni Engagement strategy.

The immersion concluded with the graduation of Cohort 2. We were very honored that Azza Karam, Professor of Religion and Development at Vrij Universiteit Amsterdam, was the graduation speaker. She spoke on "Mercy as Faiths Working Together for the Common Good." You can read Professor Azza Karam's full graduation remarks here. Congratulations to all the Fellows!