Tairseach ethos and values

Through its first eight years of existence as an Association, Tairseach has evolved a practice which implies and is supported by a number of important values, and constitutes our praxis and our emerging ethos:

- commit to the practice of democracy: respecting the constitution as a living document, inviting new people onto the Management Committee and facilitating their insertion, encouraging the SE student body to get involved and have their say via the student reps.

- embed it in the Irish historical context, the past and present Irish experiences of colonisation, and how they appear as transgenerational trauma in our work.

- assert our clear human rights focus:  Tairseach’s understanding of trauma recovery rests on principles established by pioneers like Judith Herman: “In the absence of strong political movements for human rights, the active process of bearing witness inevitably gives way to the active process of forgetting”, and organisations such as the World Health Organisation which states that “the right to health is indivisible from other human rights”.

- encourage continuous professional development: organising events with a negotiated lower cost for Tairseach members.

- foster the spirit of collective learning: inviting members to contribute from their areas of expertise, inviting members to find their areas of interest and meet to discuss and develop those, inviting members to write short pieces about their developing SE competences or any other related topic they feel strongly about – the importance of Cafés.

- develop a sense of Tairseach’s roots and history by acknowledging ISE’s initiative (celebrating its 10th anniversary) and the strong roots of SE in Ireland.

- develop our voice as SEPs by writing about our experiences (the Blog) and showing our activities (the website).

- develop a strong international voice in the global SE community, in Europe at EASE General Assemblies, or meeting SE Organisers from other countries to present our development as an Association