Dear Friends

At the time of the last national census here in Ireland myself and my great friend Mari Kennedy created an alternative census called Census of the Heart. It was produced by the good team at The Trailblazery.

Our intention was to capture the emotional state of the nation by including the deeper dimension of people’s lived experience, in the data we collected in 2016.

"While the national census asks who we are, Census of the Heart wants to know how we are. We want to get straight to the heart of things and explore what really matters to people living in Ireland today. We want to know how you feel at this pivotal moment in time…"

— CENSUS OF THE HEART 2016

We are thrilled to announce that we have been invited to donate the Census 2016 ‘collection’ to the National Library of Ireland.

To celebrate we have created a special live event to mark the occasion on Wednesday March 30 at 7pm in advance of Sunday April 03, national census day in Ireland. We are inviting people to join us to explore the connections between the data we collect, the national census and our emotional wellbeing.

This will be a participatory event so that together, we can explore other ways of knowing and understanding the world and our place in it.

In this age of AI, algorithms and Big Data we want to pay attention to Deep Data and what Brene Brown calls Data with Soul. We are curious to see if what really counts can be counted.

Mari and Kathy will share the story of Census of the Heart and host a conversation with the National Library of Ireland. There will also be a space to reflect on how each of us would like to complete the Time Capsule Question, a message for future generations, in the national census. To find out more about Census of the Heart 2016 go here.

If you cannot attend this event live, we will send the recording to you within 24 hours.

Beir Bua,

Kathy & all at The Trailblazery