Is There a Role for the Social Activist in the 21st Century: An examination of Social Activists in Waterford City
The objective of my research was to examine the role of the activist in Waterford city. In doing so I ask the question; Is there a role for the Activist in the Twenty First Century? To answer this I researched the actions of ten activists across a range of campaigns in Waterford since the late sixties. I found that there has been very little research into this aspect of activism in Ireland which was an incentive and an enticement to me as I have a background of political, trade union, community activism and I am also very much interested hearing the stories of the activists. This gave me creditability with the participants and also allowed me a great deal of trust. It is also a pilot project for me because I want to use my experience of this exercise in attempting to create a fuller study of activism in the area. Waterford is a declining industrial city with one of the highest unemployment rates in the State and this is the current background to which activists carry out their work. When I say work I mean it in the sense that they see it as their primary function even though there is no remuneration for it. I carried out my research by interview at prearranged settings in various locations and collected the data with a digital recorder and that data was the transcribed in the painstaking fashion of the mature student. The data consisted of the activist’s life history or maybe it is better to say their activist history which was then reviewed and developed in my research findings. I think the study illustrates and confirms for me that there is a rich vein of worker and activist out there waiting to be recorded.
National University of Ireland - Maynooth
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