Offaly Public Participation Network host Midlands meeting

To mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Public Participation Networks (PPN) around the country, Offaly PPN hosted the Midland Regional Public Participation Network (MRPPN) meeting at the Tullamore Court Hotel.

PPN staff and representatives from the secretariats were in attendance from Offaly, Westmeath, Laois, Longford, Kildare and Meath.

The meeting included a number of presentations illustrating a flavour of the many activities which come under the PPN remit, including:

* Promoting Volunteering: Opportunities & Challenges

* A review of Environmental activities 2023

* Establishing Linkage Groups to inform PPN Representatives on a broad range of Committees and boards.

* An Annual Report on JPC activities 2023.

The PPN is the network of community and voluntary groups in each county, with 31 PPN's across the whole country, one of each of the 31 local authorities. This equates to over 18,000 member groups across Ireland.

650 groups in Offalu have membership of the PPN, representing community and voluntary, social inclusion and environmental activities throughout the County.

Membership of the PPN is free of charge and open to not for profit groups. Their three key areas of work are:

* Information Sharing & Networking

* Capacity Building

* Informing and directing local and National Policy formation

Midland Regional PPN meetings are held quarterly, and offer a great opportunity for members to network, share Information and learn from each others experiences in the Midland region.

To find out more, check out the PPN website: www.offalyppn.ie or email ppn@offalycoco.ie