If you’re looking for a New Years Resolution that could open up a whole new world for you, then why not learn more about politics at the top of your agenda by signing up for a free online course “Introduction to Science.” policy ”for women in January from the award-winning SHESschool.

If you are just interested in learning more about how county council works and the role of a county councilor or if you are even considering running for local elections in 2024, See Her Elected can help provide you with the skills, confidence and knowledge. See Her Elected is a community-led feminist initiative that is open to all women and aims to strengthen local democracy by listening to women and providing them with the knowledge and support they need to participate in local politics.

SHE was recently crowned the winner of the 2021 Policy Innovation Award in the Democracy category. This is the first time that Ireland has won this prestigious award.

The Introduction to Politics course takes place for free on Zoom over three consecutive weeks on Wednesday January 12, 19 and 26. Classes will take place twice on each date in order to adapt to the daily life of women with an option for lunch from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and an option for the evening from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. The course aims to empower women to engage in electoral politics. The free online SHESchool course is for anyone who wants to start learning about what politics is and how it works.

SHE also wrote the first Irish guide to running in local elections 2024 as part of a practical support toolkit for inspired women to run for office and join their campaign teams. The book is free to download from the site. Any woman who signs up for our Introductory Politics course in January will also receive a free copy of the new book in the mail!

“We want to see more women elected to the councils and to the Dáil. Our free online #SHESchool is all about explaining local politics, where you stand and what you can do to have a say in what happens. Only 25% of county councilors in all of Ireland are women and we have a much lower percentage of female councilors in rural counties compared to more urban centers such as Dublin. It is important to have a female perspective at the decision-making level, as this will ensure that more balanced decisions are made on a range of issues that matter to us as women, be it climate change , employment, parenthood, care or violence against women for example, ”explained Dr Michelle Maher, program manager at See Her Elected.

The aim of the introductory course is to demystify local politics, as Dr Maher explained: “The overall aim of the SHE project is to empower women to engage in electoral politics. We want to see more women elected to councils, especially in our rural ridings. But that’s not the subject of our free online SHESschool at the moment. It’s about explaining how politics works in your country, where you stand and what you can do to have a say in what happens.

“We promise there is no homework involved and all you need is an hour a week, an email address, and a device that connects to the Internet.

The first session on Wednesday January 12 will examine active citizenship and examine opportunities for community members to be part of decision-making structures in county councils, and how this can happen to enable better decisions to be made without them. necessarily never. To stand for elections. The second week of the course, January 19, will examine the purpose, structure and function of a county council.

On Wednesday January 26, the session will focus on the daily work of the General Counsel and compensation. This module examines the gender distribution of councilors and examines the latest research on the barriers women face when running for municipal elections.

Register now on Eventbrite with a link on www.seeherelected.ie or contact SHESchool on 086 0320455 or email [email protected] to register your interest in the course.