Summit Storytelling Session 2026

A couple of months ago, Sharon was asked if we would take over facilitating the Storytelling Session at the summit for this year 2026. In previous years, the Summit’s Storytelling session was hosted by our lovely colleague Claire MacGowran, the We Act manager. However, Claire has moved on to pastures new and Sharon was asked to pick up the task.

Amplifying fabulous people being fabulous leaders and doing fabulous work in Irish civil society? Yes please.

The transformative social movements of the past century, such as gender equality, disability and LGBTQ+ rights, social inclusion, community development and climate justice, did not start in the corridors of power; they were sparked by grassroots action in community halls and around kitchen tables. And every change begins with a story.

Stories are the lifeblood of our sector and we wanted to shine a light on that with this year’s theme: Community at the Heart of Our Democracy. Stories put faces to the figures, courage to the causes, and truth to the challenges. Above all, they remind us why our work matters.

At this special Summit session, we were thrilled to have five voices from across Ireland’s community and voluntary sector share their stories with us.

In case you missed it, I’ve included some notes here. I’ve also included the bios in case you are interested in featuring any of them at your own event.

L-R Damian Quinn, Amina Moustafa, Sorcha Killian, Paula Soraghan, Sharon Hughes, Kiren Khalid.

Amina Moustafa

Amina Moustafa has extensive experience in using community development and sports-based approaches to promoting social inclusion, building community resilience and addressing social issues. Amina currently works with Louth Local Development, supporting families and communities experiencing marginalisation and poverty.

Amina previously worked with the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, supporting women who have been affected by conflict and connecting women peacebuilders on an all-island basis. She is passionate about using sport for social inclusion and has been involved with Sport Against Racism Ireland since 2014. She holds a BA in Neuroscience from Trinity College and a Degree in Global Youth Work and Development Education from Maynooth University.

Amina told us about alternative approaches to community building and how sport can be used as a tool to address social issues. She spoke of her invite to join a Muslim women’s football project in 2014 after the ban was lifted on the hijab while playing football. She spoke of the friends that she made, the space that sport gave her and her teammates to discuss the issues they were facing and form friendships. Amina added that when people come together, they can find solutions to problems.

Paula Soraghan

Paula Soraghan is a proud disabled woman who is very passionate about activism through an intersectional lens. She understands the importance of collective empowerment and representation.

Paula is employed as the VOICE Community Development Worker for Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford and Waterford in Independent Living Movement Ireland since January 2022. As part of this work, Paula is connecting with disabled people from different backgrounds and working collectively with them in online spaces to make social change.

Paula’s story was about the importance of identity and perspective in community. She spoke about the value of “the invite”: that pivotal moment where someone personally invited her to an event, and how attending that event changed everything for her.

Damian Quinn

Damian Quinn is the founder of Spéire Nua, an organisation supporting people to rebuild their lives through lived experience leadership, peer mentoring, personal development, policy entrepreneurship and innovation.

Damian’s story was about how the third sector led him on a journey towards policy entrepreneurship and a deeper understanding of governance that now guides his life and work. He spoke about a challenging childhood, and how the people who helped his family most were often those with the least.

Damian’s time in prison became the beginning of a journey of lifelong learning. Later, while studying, he came across Changing Ireland in college, which broadened his understanding of community development and grassroots action nationally.

Kiren Khalid

Kiren Khalid is Programme Manager of the Women’s Programme at Nasc, where she works to support migrant and refugee women to overcome barriers to inclusion, employment and participation.

Kiren’s story talked about inclusion and how the building of community is the first step to democratic participation. She shared her personal story of arriving in Ireland as a new migrant and the emotional journey that followed.

She spoke about how, as time went on, she grew quieter and more reserved and eventually began to believe that her voice was worthless. But gradually she realised that her voice did indeed have worth as she got involved in her local community.

Sorcha Killian

Sorcha Killian is the Co-Founder and Head of Operations of Hygiene Hub, a national social enterprise working to address hygiene poverty through community-led distribution and systemic change.

Since co-founding the organisation, she has led its growth from a grassroots initiative to a nationwide network supporting over 30,000 people per quarter through more than 160 community partners.

Sorcha’s story was about how community-driven collaboration can help address unmet societal needs, and how when we design work to be built into other communities, it brings everyone in the charity and social enterprise sector forward together.

Don’t worry, if you can’t choose, we have them all nicely bundled into one handy video for you, and you can see the crew in action in the photo gallery below.

Thanks so much to all of the speakers who put such time and care into preparing for the event. It really showed.