Archbishop Tutu blesses a Welcome Plaque for The Mary Robinson Centre ahead of the 4th Annual Desmond Tutu International Lecture

'God, we thank you for the gift that is Mary.  Thank you for all that you have accomplished in and through her, what you will still accomplish.  And so, bless this plaque and bless the place where it will be placed.  May it be a source of inspiration and empowerment for all of your children.  In the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.'

Archbishop Desmond Tutu's blessing for The Mary Robinson Centre welcome plaque.  Ballina Arts Centre joined this event via live video link, where Archbishop Tutu gave his blessing to The Mary Robinson Centre and its work in fostering and developing women's leadership, symbolised by a welcome plaque that will take pride of place at the entrance of The Mary Robinson Centre.

Archbishop Tutu had planned to visit Ballina, County Mayo after a meeting of The Elders in Dublin in 2013, but sadly had to cancel his visit to Ireland.  Speaking from South Africa, Mary Robinson said 'We are a very resilient people in Ballina and when Archbishop Tutu couldn’t come, it was decided that the plaque would come to him and have him bless it.'

Mary Robinson's lecture was on the theme 'Women at the Heart of Sustainable Peace'.  Drawing on her own experiences, specifically in the Great Lakes Region of Africa and with The Mary Robinson Foundation - Climate Justice, Mary outlined how empowering women and involving them in all aspects of decision making leads to a more inclusive, proactive and dynamic approach to addressing pressing issues of peace, human rights, equality and climate justice.  Women's propensity to mentor, communicate and collaborate encourages greater female participation, creating a very different approach which breaks from tradition and seeks to build a more equal global society.