METRO Monday, September 14, 2009 D The Annual General Meeting of the Dublin City Community Forum will take place on Monday, 28th September 2009at 6pm in Wood Quay, Dublin 8 The Dublin City Community Forum is the channel through which city-based community / voluntary groups and organisations are represented on, and link into, the local government process in Dublin City. At this years Dublin City Community Forum AGM, members will discuss and propose changes to its constitution in order to facilitate the development of Local Area Community Fora. A new information booklet entitled, Dublin City Community Forum, A path to participation, has just been published outlining how the Dublin City Community Forum proposes to base itself locally. This booklet, which also contains an membership application form, is available upon request. If your group would like to join the Dublin City Community Forum with a view to participating in the AGM, or would like a copy of our new information booklet, contact us at: 01 222 3259 community.forum@dublincity.ie For more information on the Dublin City Community Forum visit our website www.dublincommunityforum.ie The Annual General Meeting of the Dublin City Community Forum will take place on Monday, 28th September 2009 at 6:00pm in Dublin City Councils Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8 A LEADING jobs expert claims that volunteering abroad may be the answer for many of the countrys young unemployed. Stephen McLarnon is urging the Government to follow the lead of other countries and establish a part-funded gap-year scheme for newly qualified graduates or young unemployed. He says launching a scheme for under-25s, offering up to 5,000 per person, would offer immediate savings to the social welfare bill while helping young people gain experience overseas, but denies this would lead to a brain-drain from this country. US SECRETARY of State Hillary Clinton has appointed Irish businessman Declan Kelly as her governments economic envoy to Northern Ireland. Mr Kelly, 41, born in Portroe, Co Tipperary, advised Mrs Clinton (pictured) during her campaign for the US presidency. Current chairman of the US Foundation Board of NUI Galway, where he once studied, Mr Kelly will travel to Belfast where he is to meet local business leaders. A GOOD deed turned sour after a woman attempted to lead a stranded calf across a road to join its mother. But the calfs mother was angered by her intervention and charged the woman, knocking her over. The 38- year-old was not badly hurt but had to be rescued by a motorist, who moved the angry cow away using their car in Gloucestershire, England. Launching a new area for eight- to nine-year-olds on financial website Moneyville are twins Keava and Kaya Connolly, eight, from Swords, Co Dublin. The site aims to help children better understand how money works On yer bike: Amy Gannon from the Dublinia Scouts tries out one of the new unisex bicycles Picture: Jason Clarke Bike scheme should reach the suburbsBy BriAn huttOnDUBLINS new public bicycle scheme should be extended beyond the city cen- tre to the suburbs, Environment Minister John Gormley said yesterday. More than 2,000 people have signed up for the dublinbikes service, which allows commuters to use 450 unisex bikes sta- tioned at 40 bases around the capital. Dublin City Council said the take-up ahead of yesterdays launch was better than in similar schemes in other cities around the world. On the back of the ini- tial interest, Mr Gormley said it was a signal that cycling was going main- stream in Ireland. I would like to see a considerable ex- pansion in the dublinbikes scheme from its current level of 400 cycles, he said. It needs to be spread out further through- out the city and into its suburbs. The Green Party leader said statistics showed cycling in Dublin has increased by more than a quarter since 2006. Cycling is no longer a niche interest, he said. People realise that it is in many instances a real alternative to the car, es- pecially in our cities. The dublinbikes scheme runs from 5.30am to 12.30am every day of the week. Users, who must register online at www.dublinbikes.ie, pay a 10 annual membership fee and leave a 150 securi- ty deposit through a credit card or bank draft. The first half hour is free, with six hours costing 4.50 and then 2 for every half hour after that. Several other cities, including Paris and Copenhagen, run similar schemes. METRODigest Expert urges gap-year plan ALMOST three out of every five employers say taking maternity leave damages employees prospects of promotion. An Irish study by Graphite HR Management also found that more than a third of employers think current provisions for maternity leave are too generous. Our survey offers little hope to expectant mothers with a career. Employers are willing to hire women, but not promote them once theyve given birth, said chief executive Simon Mac Rory. Maternity leave harms careers Top US job for Irishman index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html