Dr Hadjer Taibi (Group lead and Board representative)
I am a a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Evaluation, Quality and Inspection in the Education department of Dublin City University. I’m originally from Algeria, and completed my PhD in Applied Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2022. My research interests involve a range of topics related to language, communication, and education, which fall within the various areas of sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, online communication, intercultural communication, language teaching and learning, and social justice in educational settings, particularly in higher education.
Ann Creaner
I grew up in the historic town of New Ross, County Wexford, where it was difficult not to be interested in the past and how it affects today and the future. As a student teacher, my area of interest was historical geography and this fed into my career, teaching in Dublin. Now that I am retired from teaching, I still want to share that interest with the young people around me, including my own beautiful grandchildren.
Dr. Sinéad Matson
I am a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Adult and Community Education at Maynooth University. I am very interested in social justice and examining ways to be more ethical and equitable when co-researching with children. I was a Montessori teacher for 18 years, a principal of a Montessori Primary School, and have worked on initial teacher education programmes from all across the lifespan since 2008. I am passionate about children’s rights, particularly their right to have a say in matters that affect them. I am particularly fond of artistic or non-traditional forms of voice.
When I was a child, I loved art, writing, animals, music, and playing outside. I loved to go up to a local farm and help out. Today, I live with my husband, two children, two dogs, two cats, and nine chickens! I still listen to music and use stories and art in my work as much as I can.
Cathy Wan
Hey everyone! I’m Cathy, one of the facilitators for the Children’s Advisory Team at MOCI. I was actually a CAT member before, where I got to share my thoughts and ideas with my teammates to help shape a childhood museum. Now that I’m an adult, I’ve stepped into a facilitation role!
A little about me: I was born in Hong Kong, moved to Taiwan when I was 15, and then came to Dublin in 2022, where I live now. If you know me, you’d know I love debating. Whether it’s in competitions or at Model United Nations conferences, you’ll probably find me on stage, talking (maybe a little too passionately) about politics. For sports, I enjoy running in parks and playing a bit of golf or tennis.
I also love getting involved in decision-making whenever I can. I truly believe young people have important voices and amazing ideas to contribute to our communities.
Super excited to work with the rest of the facilitation team and see what we can accomplish together!
Harry Shier (Convener)
I was born in Belfast in 1954, and was a teenager during civil war we call “The Troubles”. Then I left Ireland and lived overseas for 40 years – first in England, then in Nicaragua, Central America. I worked first as a playworker, then I got interested in children’s rights, and especially the child’s right to have a say and be heard in decision making.
At the turn of the millennium, I moved to Nicaragua, where I worked with child workers on the country’s coffee plantations, supporting them in claiming their right to education, to play, to live without violence, and to have their voices heard.
I lived in Nicaragua for 11 years, and finally returned to Ireland in 2012 to do a PhD at Queen’s University Belfast, and so I became a doctor of children’s rights. Since then I’ve lived with my family on the banks of the River Liffey in County Kildare, from where I’ve worked on many child rights and participation projects for different organisations and universities, supporting children and young people around the world in researching and defending their rights. I’ve also written a lot, and you can see all my published work from 1984 to the present on my website www.harryshier.net.