S.2 Ep.14 - From Journalism to Non-Profit with Sanctuary Runners Founder Graham Clifford

We look into the world of non-profit organisations in this episode with Sanctuary Runners founder Graham Clifford who is also kept busy with Translate Ireland & One Town One Voice where the vision of integration of communities is at its core. His passion for integration, diversity & inclusion stems from his lengthy career in journalism where he spent time working abroad reporting on different cultures & communities.

Graham's career in journalism started unintentionally when he landed himself a job as a reporter for Radio Kerry. A move to Australia saw him covering cultural projects & meeting different communities & cultures. A return to Europe saw him working for the BBC in the UK & freelancing for The Irish Times, The Independent & Radio 1 here in Ireland where he would report from across Europe & Africa. He recounts some of the interesting interviews he conducted over the years.

His journalism career eventually took the back seat so he could pursue his idea of Sanctuary Runners which uses running, jogging & walking to bring together asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and all Irish residents. The idea came following a trip to a refugee camp while working abroad, it was during a marathon he thought to use running as a bridge to build to bring people together. It proved a huge success & led to an expansion across Ireland with over 30 Sanctuary Runners up & running with plans for more in sight.

The success doesn't stop there, the runners have branched out to Sanctuary Swimmers & inspired a creative approach to integration through One Town One Voice national initiative which helps build community singing groups in towns across Ireland with a special emphasis on community integration, diversity and respect. The future is looking good for Graham & we're excited to see the future holds for his many ventures.

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