The Election Project „Vote! You are at home!” is a non-partisan campaign co-organised by School for Leaders’ Association (Poland)and Forum Polonia (Ireland). It aims at supporting the integration and participation of the Polish community in public, political and social life in Ireland. „Vote! You are at home!” is also designed to strengthen the role of the Polish other migrant communities in Ireland.
Primary goals of „Vote! You are at home!” campaign are as follows:
• Educate and inform the Polish community of the functions of the Irish Local Government and encourage active participation in same and in the forthcoming local elections
• Engage with community leaders
• Encourage debate within the Polish community about their local issues and local Government activities.
To achieve these goals the campaign aims to encourage Poles to participate in the forthcoming Local Elections 2014, both as candidates and as voters.
Background
The Polish community now forms a significant percentage of the population in Ireland c.3% and represent the largest national minority in the country. The census of 2011 recorded c.122,000 Poles residing in Ireland, however the Consular Section of the Polish Embassy in its report to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2013) recorded an increased figure of c. 150,000. The Polish language is the most spoken language after English and indeed ranks before Gaelic – the official language of the Republic of Ireland. There more than 4 Polish organizations, many informal groups, dozens of community webportals, radio stations and six local magazines published in Polish within Irish borders. There are also over 28 Saturday Polish schools where about four thousand children are taught.