Mark Dowds

Party In The Park

For the past 4 years Muskoka Woods has organized a leadership event in Canada for young people who have demonstrated some aspect of leadership within their communities in Ireland. This experience is supported by the Ireland Fund of Canada and this year 22 youth representing a good cross-section of Ireland participated. The group was screened and organized by the Northern Ireland Youth Forum and YMCA.

The group was in Ontario for a total of 2 weeks. This time was divided between touring the usual sites around Toronto, a wilderness trip, and a week at MWSR. Throughout the time I had the opportunity to facilitate a lot of dialogue and learning that led towards each person discovering more about their passion and contribution as well as detailing a plan for change in their lives and their local communities. It was an honor to participate and see the transformation in each person.

Every year is different. This year everyone came with a desire to face change and a commitment to discover what difference they could make in the world. Each person came and left with a different story but the commonality was that everyone went back to Ireland with clarity and commitment to create effective change. I am looking forward to hearing more of the stories that surface over the years to come.

On our last day we gathered at Ireland Park for a BBQ sponsored by Shopsys. The setting was outstanding and appropriate to represent Canada as a place that embraces all diversity from Ireland. Here are some of the pictures that Smitty shot on the day.

Thanks again to everyone who financially supported this venture. It was a great success.

Irish Web Apps

Julian Scarfe just sent me over this article about Irish Web Apps that highlights some of the interesting web innovation coming out of Ireland. It is amazing to me how things have changed in Ireland over the last 10 years. I get to go back "home" a few times a year and every time I notice significant changes. It gives me hope for Canada and what is possible here. I think that innovation and entrepreneurship has the opportunity to change the fabric of our culture.

Northern Ireland

Almost 8 years ago Claire and I moved from N.Ireland to Canada. After a short stop in BC we found our way to Toronto...

Since we have been in Canada we have heard about all the stories of the property boom back home. The following BBC article captures the statistics well. Why did I sell my home in Comber?