Alice ─ the award-winning, all-island public relations agency led by Martina Quinn ─ has announced details of its next Alice Academy for Activists ─ the free residential bootcamp that equips emerging activists from across the island of Ireland with strategic campaigning skills.
Taking place over the course of four days, participants will be immersed in topics such as strategy and planning; community organising and coalition-building; fundraising; political engagement; and media relations.
Workshops will be delivered by campaign and communications experts along with lifelong activists, with the 2026 presenters announced as including:
– Ailbhe Smyth, feminist and LGBTQ+ activist and leader of Ireland’s successful campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment.
– Margaret Curran, a Scottish Labour Party politician, who has worked extensively in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe to promote democracy and women’s leadership.
– Eileen Dunne, who spent 40 years working as a newscaster and journalist in RTÉ, Ireland’s state broadcaster.
– David Stanton, who was a member of Dáil Éireann for almost 30 years.
– Stephen Donnelly, a community organising expert, who ─ from his base in Melbourne, Australia ─ works with movements across the globe to build winning campaigns.
The 2026 Alice Academy for Activists ─ which is supported by Community Foundation Ireland ─ will run from 15-18th January in Dublin, with successful applicants provided with accommodation free of charge. Alice would be delighted to hear from PR agencies representing brands or organisations interested in supporting the Academy in any capacity.
Applications are now open until 5pm on Wednesday, 12th November 2025 at www.alicepr.com/alice-academy-for-activists, where the application guidelines are also available.
Alice is a PR agency with a team of 25 working across the island of Ireland, with offices in both Dublin and Belfast.
Announcing details of the 2026 Alice Academy for Activists, Martina Quinn, the founder and CEO of Alice Public Relations, said: “We know there are thousands of committed, hard-working campaigners across Ireland, addressing issues such as racism, the climate crisis, housing and homelessness, gender equality, community safety, and rural development. From our work in the non-profit sector, we also know that ─ very often ─ those involved in grassroots campaigns don’t have funding to invest in capacity-building and training to ensure they can be as strategic as possible in their work. The Alice Academy for Activists addresses this: our aim is to ensure Ireland’s best and most committed campaigners can access the expertise and training they need ─ free of charge ─ to create long-lasting positive change.”
Further information is available at www.alicepr.com.
