Youth Ambassador Story: Aimée Kielt helped to organise a visit from inspiring economist, Kate Raworth 

“I became involved in the group in July, due to my position as an Oxfam Youth Ambassador. I attended weekly meetings with the group to organise the IDEN and Allies event, Living Doughnut Economics.” 

“At the IDEN & Allies event, there were attendees from various backgrounds who have been applying Doughnut Economics within their work, life and wider communities. To begin, we all took part in a Step into the Doughnut with Kate Raworth, which she disclosed was her first experience of the activity, making it even more special for all in attendance.” 

“The event opened with Kate giving a timeline of the journey of the DEAL and the role the Irish contingent had in the growth of the movement. When DEAL was launched online four years ago, Roisin Markham was the very first person to use the platform. She put out an invitation for the first online event which was a gathering of 17 people for a virtual cuppa. This event was the catalyst for the creation of IDEN, which four years later continues to support, encourage discourse and apply doughnut economics across Ireland. Kate also gave a background to how she came to design the doughnut economic framework. When she was sat at her desk at Oxfam in 2012, she made a doodle of the planetary boundaries as a circle and added a second interior circle for the standards of living for all people.” 

“When organising the event, we decided it would be important to illustrate the inter-generational aspect of our work and the distributed nature of Doughnut Economics through those who spoke. Veronica Rafferty from the Dominican Sisters delivered a poem by Denise Levertov called “Beginners.” The event was concluded with three of the young leaders, reflections from our keynote listener Mair Kelly, a personal harvest lead by Israel Ngombo. Finally, I expressed gratitude on behalf of IDEN to all those involved in the event - both funders and volunteers.” 

“In the afternoon I was privileged to support the An Taisce event facilitation as an IDEN volunteer. That evening, I attended dinner with Kate and a number of University College Dublin Sustainability staff, where I got to hear about the work done in their higher education institution on sustainability, which is something I am passionate about.” 

“On the Wednesday I got the opportunity to help facilitate a Step into the Doughnut with IDEN at UCD, which was a great learning and teaching experience. That afternoon I got to attend Kate’s lecture at UCD, where I was joined by Michael McCarthy Flynn, Head of Policy and Advocacy at Oxfam Ireland. Hearing a lecture from Kate was amazing, as I have read her book several times and studied it in my masters, but during the week I was able to experience it in a new way.” 

“Overall, I am incredibly grateful to both Oxfam and IDEN for allowing me to be part of this week of activities. It has enabled me to see what is already occurring across the island of Ireland, and see the opportunity to bring such practices into reality.”