The Association of Ghanaian Professionals in Ireland (AGPI) has held its 2nd international conference on racism at the Clarion Hotel in Dublin on Friday the 24th of August 2012. The under the theme ‘Overcoming racial barriers and achieving full potentials’, the conference was attended by 61 delegates drawn from 18 countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Cameroon, Ukraine, Slovakia, Latvia, Germany, Netherlands, South Africa, Poland, Bulgaria, India, Australia, Switzerland and Ireland. The chairman for the occasion, Mr Chinedu N. Onyejelem, Managing Editor of the Metro Éireann newspaper, decried the lack of political will on the part of successive governments and the Irish police force to fight racist crimes in Ireland. He encouraged migrants in Ireland to stand up for their rights. He admonished them however to make sure that they uphold the laws of the land when insisting on their rights. Delivering his welcome address, the chairperson of AGPI, Dr Vincent Agyapong acknowledged that most indigenous Irish citizens do their very best everyday to live lives free of discrimination. He said that this notwithstanding, too many destructive ideas are gaining currency in Irish society today including proclamations from prominent individuals and politicians which “should fill us all with outrage”. He said there are too many people in Ireland, both white and black, who seek to sow division for their own purposes and he encouraged the delegates to help root out racist sentiments and remain one people. He was hopeful that in the near future, Africans in Ireland, “like it was the case for the USA, France and the U.K; black people would win Olympic Gold Medals for Ireland. One day black people would be elected members of parliament and be appointed cabinet Ministers and Ambassadors and like it is presently the case for the USA, one day a black person would be elected President or Prime Minister of Ireland”. In his speech, Rev Dr. Stephen Ojo said Ireland has lost many young and talented African sports men and women to the U.K because of a lack of opportunities for them in Ireland. Dr Fidèle Mutwarasibo, Integration Manager, Immigrant Council of Ireland, outlined work being done by the Immigrant Council of Ireland to help combat racism in Ireland. He said that most migrants fail to report racist crimes to the police because they are scared that coming to the attention of the police for any reason at all may affect their application for citizenship in the future. Mr James-Emmanuel Wanki, an Irish Aid Anna Lindh Fellow and an European Commission Marie Curie Fellow in Sustainable Peace building, University of Bradford, U.K, said that the story of Ireland should make it better placed to understand the experiences of people who are victims of racist crimes. He said that unfortunately, the conduct of a few citizens blights the generosity of the Irish people. He encouraged the state to ‘Read, Apply and Review’ existing research recommendations on how to tackle the problem of racism. Sgt Dave McInerney from the Garda Racial, Intercultural & Diversity Office, Community Relations & Community Policing, Garda Headquarters said his outfit stood ready to assist any victim of racist crimes and encouraged people to report such crimes. He acknowledged that as long as people are categorised into certain boxes, it would be difficult to deal with the issue of racism holistically. There was a question and answer session as well as contributions from other delegates. Mr Kwame Takyi, Director of Technical Operations of AGPI was assisted by Mr James Evans to confer an AGPI Fellowship on Mr James Wanki for his substantial contribution to towards the objectives of the association. The event was also attended by the Latvian ambassador to Ireland, H.E. Mr. Peteris Karlis Elferts and the South African Ambassador to Ireland, H. E. Jeremiah Ndou. Rev Dr. Stephen Ojo- Member of the Ministerial Council on Migrant Integration, Mr James P. Evans- Solicitor and Advocate, James Evans Solicitors.