GeoWeek (Geography Awareness Week) takes place on the third week in November each year. The purpose of GeoWeek is to highlight the importance of geographical knowledge for understanding the world around us and addressing contemporary social, political and environmental issues. We encourage geographers of all ages from across island to share their GeoWeek activities on social media using @geogsocire and #GeoWeek2021 or by emailing us at gsi.procomms@gmail.com
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Following an invitation from the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, the Royal Geographical Society and the International Geographical Union, the Geographical Society of Ireland participated in an online International Geographical Society Gathering on 22 June 2021, ahead of the Conferences of the Parties meeting scheduled for later in the year for Glasgow, UK. The main objective of the ‘gathering’ was to bring together geographers from different geographical societies to find out what is being done by Geographers in these different communities in relation to the climate (and biodiversity) crisis, and what we might be able to do, as Geographers, in order to meaningfully address the issue. 65 people from 30 countries participated at the event and more than 10 geographical societies, including GSI shared their activities and projects related to these important topics.
The gathering also considered a Joint Statement on the climate and biodiversity crises to be signed by a range of the world's Geographical Societies. The GSI look forward to further supporting this and other initiatives so we can play our part in drawing attention to, understanding and developing solutions to these major global challenges of our time. Dr Ruth McManus (DCU) has recently been appointed to the Board of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas as one of two new honorary editors, the other being Dr Jonathan Wright (History, MU). She follows in the footsteps of distinguished geographers Professor Anngret Simms and Dr Jacinta Prunty. The IHTA project, established in 1981 as one of the research projects of the Royal Irish Academy, records the topographical development of Irish towns. It is part of a wider European scheme, with towns atlases containing broadly similar information available for different countries, thereby facilitating international comparative research. In addition to the printed fascicles, digital versions of the atlases and ancillary publications including books, maps and a suburbs series, are also available. These provide a significant resource for research and teaching purposes
Former GSI President, Assoc. Prof. Niamh Moore Cherry (UCD) has been appointed an Honorary Professor at the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London. The appointment was made in recognition of her current and ongoing contributions to the work of the School across research and education domains. Niamh has been actively working with a number of colleagues over the last five years on issues of metropolitan governance, regeneration, and local and regional development with outputs published in European Urban and Regional Studies, Regional Studies and Town and Country Planning. These collaborations have also attracted research funding from the IRC COALESCE scheme as well as having significant policy impact in Ireland and the UK. Niamh has given guest lectures and seminars on the UCL Planning Masters programmes, and her own students have benefitted from her collaborations through guest lectures by UCL colleagues in the Masters level International Urban Fieldcourse: London module. Niamh is absolutely honoured to have been awarded this appointment and is looking forward to deepening collaborations between Irish and UK-based researchers and policymakers over the next few years.
Irish Geographers, in collaboration with others, have made a number of contributions to our understanding of the pandemic, the challenges it poses, its impacts on communities and the implications of management strategies. In doing so, the significance of space, place and location, as well as spatial mobility and interaction as factors that underpin how the pandemic works, has been highlighted. Ronan Foleys’s editorial in the most recent edition of Irish Geography ‘Geography and the Covid-19 Crisis in Ireland’ examines these issues from a number of disciplinary perspectives. In doing so, Foley reminds us all of the fundamental importance of geographical knowledge.
Also, highlighting the importance of knowledge gleaned from spatial analysis is the research by Gerald Mills et. al. ‘Making sense of publicly available data on COVID-19 in Ireland’. Involving a collaboration between geographers and medical practitioners, this work draws on publicly available data to examine the impact and pace of the pandemic as it waxed and waned unevenly across the country. Finally, McCarthy and MacCarron’s work on the spatial analysis of the death notices published on RIP.ie (which has received significant attention in the media) highlights the counties most affected by the saddest impacts of the virus, whilst also reminding us of the real people, families and communities that lie behind the statistics. Our condolences to all those who have lost loved ones during this crisis. |
AuthorPosts are mostly by Mary, our PRO, or Maedhbh, our social media and website officer, but are welcome from all members of the society. Just email us your articles or news updates. Archives
January 2023
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