Progressing Peace: an overview of implementation on the Belfast PEACE IV Local Action Plan

Published: January 2021

Contents

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1. Welcome

Welcome to PEACE IV’s first Progress Report. The PEACE IV Programme is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and is designed to support peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the border region.

On behalf of Belfast City Council, I would like to thank the European Union and the SEUPB for providing funding for the programme. We would also like to acknowledge the contribution to the funding by both The Executive Office and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

I would also like to thank the North South Ministerial Council for their support to the PEACE IV Programme. Belfast is a city with a rich history, and 2021 is a significant year in the development of the city. It is important that we acknowledge its resilience and strength, in particular, in coming together through the unprecedented shocks and stresses that COVID-19 brought in 2020.

The transformational work the projects within the Programme have produced to date, and indeed have continued to do in the face of this period of unprecedented challenges, confirms our confidence in the city’s positivity looking to the future.

Looking to the next generation of relationships between communities, from interfaces and communities welcoming new arrivals - who too see Belfast as their home and the backdrop to their and their children’s future, inspires confidence.

The progress each individual has made and what they have learnt and taught each other, finding new and innovative ways to come together, can only strengthen Belfast as an inclusive, forward-thinking and dynamic place - its residents showing resilience, determination and leadership in the face of tough challenges.

Today’s action is tomorrow’s legacy and the PEACE IV Programme is creating transformative change for so many people across the city. May its work continue into the New Year ahead.

Alderman Frank McCoubrey
Lord Mayor of Belfast
January 2021

Introduction

It gives me great pride, as Chair of the Shared City Partnership at Belfast City Council, to introduce this first edition of the Progressing Peace - a report outlining the progress of the Belfast PEACE IV Local Action Plan.

The Shared City Partnership brings together elected members, statutory agencies and voluntary and community partners to advise and guide on good relations’ issues across the city.

Good relations is a core ingredient in the vision and outcomes of the Belfast Agenda and essential to supporting its vision for a shared city - “a city re-imagined, connected and resurgent, delivering inclusive growth that leaves no-one behind.’” It is also a critical component needed to achieve the vision of the Belfast Local Development Plan, which is that “in 2035, Belfast will be a globally successful and smart regional city that is environmentally resilient with a vibrant economic and social heart.”

Our Good Relations Strategy recognises that following years of conflict, Belfast has made great progress towards “normalisation”. However, there remains key legacy issues that continue to manifest themselves in division between communities regarding levels of trust and levels of residential, educational, physical and social segregation in many areas. It also recognises the persistent issues around the expression of identity, which often result in community tensions and increased polarisation.

The PEACE IV Programme has co-designed local projects taking many forms with local partners, whether they be sports-related projects for children and young people, creating cross-community and cross-border linkages; accredited leadership training programmes for community, voluntary, social enterprise and public and political sector, spearheading local decision-making and grassroots change; or heritage and cultural projects focusing on exploring and celebrating our Decade of Centenaries through dialogue and mutual teaching and learning.

They create more than just opportunities for cross community contact. They create relationships between different identities, increase knowledge of diverse cultures and heritage, respect for diversity, increased trust and decreased prejudice, an increased sense of belonging, tackling racism and sectarianism and indeed, improved perceptions of shared space and confidence to use new spaces. They nurture individual and collective responsibility for our future, building capacity for our shared society, through promoting positive participation in community, initiatives and democratic processes, volunteering to support community, and positive citizenship and community relationships.

During 2020 and emerging into 2021, COVID-19 has drastically changed how we lead our lives and altered how we work, learn, socialise and play. In spite of all the challenges, one thing that hasn’t changed is the resilience, drive and dynamism of our communities. I am delighted to share with you the amazing work our delivery partners have been doing over the last year and a half to deliver PEACE IV projects and the inspirational individuals that continue to build peace and pursue our vision through and beyond the recent challenges encountered by us all.

We are very proud of the progress the PEACE IV Programme has made and the positive change it has galvanised and built upon so far among communities in the city, creating an enduring legacy.

Councillor John Kyle
Chair of Shared City Partnership
January 2021

About us

The PEACE IV Programme is an EU funded, crossborder initiative designed to support peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the border region.

The primary objective of the programme is to promote positive relations characterised by respect, where cultural diversity is celebrated and people can live, learn and socialise together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance.

The programme is financed through the European Union and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

Match-funding has been provided by The Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.

The Belfast PEACE IV Local Action Plan has been designed to address local needs, to be inclusive in nature and provide opportunities for all citizens across the city to be involved in peace building and reconciliation activities.

Since 2018, we have secured over £14 million of PEACE IV funding to deliver our plan to support peace and reconciliation in Belfast across three main themes:

• Children and Young People - £3 million
• Shared Spaces and Services - £5.1 million
• Building Positive Relations - £6.3 million

Belfast City Council’s Shared City Partnership oversees the implementation of the Belfast PEACE IV Local Action Plan.

Children and Young People

The focus of this theme is to enhance the capacity of children and young people to form positive and effective relationships with others from different backgrounds and to make a positive contribution to building a cohesive society.

We have developed a range of age appropriate, creative and innovative activities for children and young people that will be fun, interactive and engaging. The activities also provide opportunities for sustained, purposeful interaction, with others from a different background so every child can reach their full potential.

Our aim is that by the end of the PEACE IV Programme in December 2021, over 4,600 children and young people will have taken part in projects that develop their soft skills and respect for diversity.

A few examples of how we measure impacts in the Children and Young People theme:

• An increase in the percentage of 16-year-olds who socialize or play sport with people from a different religious community.
• An increase in the percentage of 16-year-olds who think relations between Protestants and Catholics are better than they were five years ago.
• An increase in the percentage of 16-year-olds who think relations between Protestants and Catholics will be better in five years’ time.

Shared Spaces and Services

This theme aims to create a more cohesive society by providing shared spaces and services in the city. We will play a leadership role in creating a network of shared civic space in the north and west of the city and will transform land into a shared civic space which will improve connectivity between the city centre and outlying communities and neighbourhoods.

This project aims to promote positive attitudes towards shared public space, help address post conflict issues, improve connectivity in the city and build on the city’s wider potential.

By the end of the PEACE IV Programme in December 2021, we will have engaged directly with 600 citizens who will be involved in creating an exciting shared space.

A few examples of how we measure impacts in the Shared Spaces and Services theme:

• The percentage of people who would define the neighbourhood where they live as neutral.
• The percentage of people who would prefer to live in a neighbourhood with people of only their own religion.
• The percentage of people who prefer to live in a mixed religion environment.

Building Positive Relations

The focus of the building positive relations theme is the promotion of respect, cultural diversity and an environment where people can live, learn and socialise together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance.

Projects in this theme will encourage interaction between residents and groups from divided neighbourhoods, explore history in a sensitive manner, build mutual understanding and promote inclusion and integration of minority ethnic communities.

These projects will improve relations between different communities with 3,260 people taking part in various projects by the end of December 2021. The projects will also give marginalised groups more opportunities to participate in peace and reconciliation.

A few examples of how we measure impacts in the Building Positive Relations theme:

• An increase in the percentage of people who think relations between Protestants and Catholics are better than they were five years ago.
• An increase in the percentage of people who think relations between Protestants and Catholics will be better in five years’ time.
• An increase in the percentage of people who know quite a bit about the culture of some minority ethnic communities

Getting involved

We want as many people as possible to take part in PEACE IV. You can get involved by:

• Taking part in a project.
• Engaging with various projects to address local needs.
• Getting in touch with community networks and forums which will be established as part of the programme.
• Bidding to deliver specific projects or contracts within your area of expertise.

For more information and to take part in PEACE IV, email [email protected]

Children and Young People

4.1 Playing Our Part in the City

Children taking part in a 'Playing Our Part in the City' play session.

Group work around similarities and differences of cultural groups.

Playing our part in the city aims to create real attitudinal impacts for young people and their parents through play by:

• Developing an increased sense of belonging to their community and sense of cultural confidence and competence.
• Improving mental well-being, with increased opportunities for creative expression and opportunity for quality face-to-face time between parent and child.
• Parents and children will gain cross-community awareness, engaging in a local cross-community project with their peers within their local community.

This project is delivered by Active Communities Network - a sport for development charity tackling poverty and social deprivation at the heart of neighbourhoods through grassroots sports.

It encourages young people, aged 11-13 years, to ditch their devices and focus on creative activities and play - using communication, social interaction and fun as a way of exploring identity and culture, as well as, identifying and addressing community issues.

Delivered on a cross community basis, the project also supports the development of skills such as teamwork, communication and problem-solving as well as functional skills including mathematics and literacy through play, games, art, drama and crafts. Parents also have the opportunity to link with other parents to build cross-community relationships and get involved in projects with the children.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

The project has linked up partner groups across interfaces in the four corners of the city, focusing on play, art and drama.

Groups involved are:

• Year 1: Short Strand, Black Mountain Action Group, Roden Street Community Centre, Charter NI, LORAG, Lagan Village Community Association, Studio 5, Clarkes, TSE.
• Year 2: Sunningdale Community Centre, Marrowbone Community Organisation, Walkway Youth Centre, Clonard Youth Club, St John Vianney.
• Year 3: Lagmore Youth Project, St Galls GAA, Aspire to Achieve, Church of Ireland Hockey Club.

First sessions began in early 2019 and to date 150 children and young people have completed the programme. Currently more than 200 people are engaged in the project.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Vicky Moore
Project Manager, Active Communities Network
Email: [email protected]
Call: 028 9024 5969
Website: www.activecommunities.org.uk/playing-our-part-in-the-city (link opens in new window)

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

4.2 On the Right Track! Sports

A boxing session at Kronk gym.

Participants from Abbey Gymnastics and Grove Ju Jitsu Club on a group residential.

On The Right Track! Sports aims to create real attitudinal impacts for young people through sport by:

• Improving self-awareness, understanding, confidence, tolerance, relationships and resilience amongst participants.
• Increasing local skills of young adults to create community programming using sport, to tackle local issues.
• Improving skills amongst participating Young Champions to support young people to make changes in their behaviour and their attitude towards people from different backgrounds.
• Promoting greater understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion and how to promote change.
• Promoting that sports clubs feel like a safe and secure place for people from all backgrounds to play and become a member of.

This project is delivered by Belfast City Council’s Sports Development Unit.

Targeting 13-16 year-olds, it aims to build lasting cross-community partnerships between sports clubs and community groups across the city.

The project facilitates partner clubs to work collaboratively to deliver programming that will build resilience and encourage sports engagement within communities. On the Right Track! provides opportunities for club development - upskilling coaches to deal with peace and reconciliation issues as embedded in their session delivery. Young Champions are identified within the club for sports leadership training - enabling young leaders or aspiring coaches to demonstrate and develop their leadership qualities, including peace and reconciliation skills, and equip them to implement change now and in the future. These Young Champions act as role models within the programme supporting coaches and volunteers.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

The project has linked up partner groups across the city to engage young people in a wide variety of sports: boxing, gymnastics, dance, tennis, cricket, jiu jitsu, basketball, rugby, soccer, GAA and hockey.

Over 300 young people and Sports Leaders have completed the programme since early 2019. Currently there are more than 150 people participating in the project with more than 40 Coaches upskilled through a Vocationally-Related Qualification (VRQ).

Groups involved are:

• Holy Trinity ABC and Ballysillan ABC
• Deanby Jiu Jitsu Club
• Upper Andersonstown Community Forum, Adventum Scouts
• Tigers Basketball and Malone Rugby Club
• New Lodge Youth Club and Monkstown ABC
• Divis Youth Club and Falls Women’s Centre
• Glow NI and Studio 5 Dance School
• Abbey Gymnastics and Grove Ju Jitsu
• CIYMS Cricket Club, Our Lady Youth Club, St. Patrick’s Youth Club
• Davitts GAC and Berlin Swifts FC
• Immaculata ABC and Cairn Lodge ABC
• Kronk ABC and Midlands ABC
• St Galls and CI Ladies Hockey
• Rosario FC and Ormeau ABC
• Phoenix Basketball and Grove JuJitsu
• Tullycarnet FC and Willowbank FC
• CIYMS Tennis and Knock Golf Club
• Rosario FC and PAL

Want to find out more?

Contact: Sports Development Team, Belfast City Council by emailing [email protected]
Call: 028 9027 0344

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

4.3 On the Right Track! Personal Change

Accepting an achievement award at the On The Right Track! Personal Change cohort graduation.

The On the Right Track! Personal Change programme is delivered by Extern.

On The Right Track! Personal Change aims to create real attitudinal impacts for young people through intensive one-to-one and group work including:

• One-to-one support work.
• Creating logs reflecting their experiences.
• Group work - building relationships.
• Co-designing activities.
• Creating plans for the future.

This project is delivered by Extern, a leading social justice charity operating across the island of Ireland, which supports children, young people, individuals and families, to overcome their challenges, empower positive change and support family unity.

The programme is aimed at 13-16- year-olds across Belfast who have been involved in the youth justice system for incidents related to sectarianism and interface issues.

It offers intensive one-to-one support work as well as cross-community work, providing young people with the opportunity to explore issues of equality, identity, diversity and peace-building. By taking part in a series of group work programmes, sporting activities, cultural visits and residentials, the programme helps develop their understanding and confidence. This will create changes in attitude and behaviour as well as an increased knowledge of and acceptance of cultural diversity and difference.

Referrals to the programme are through the PSNI, Youth Justice Agency or Belfast City Council.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

Participants have so far gained OCN level 1s in: Decision Making, Personal Motivation, Confidence and Self Esteem, Prejudice and Discrimination and Understanding Diversity and Equality. To date more than 25 young people have taken part in the programme with tailored one-to-one personal development sessions as well as group sessions and activities.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Catriona Clifford, Project Manager Extern
Email: [email protected]
Call: 028 9027 8189

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

4.4 Young Advocates

The Young Advocates after a session in Belfast South Community Resources Centre.

The Young Advocates Programme aims to create real attitudinal impacts for young people, through making them champions for peaceful social change, including:

• Developing the capacity of young people from targeted areas to become leaders in their community and advocates for peaceful change.
• Improving community relations between young people from interface areas, through the exploration social issues experienced by all.

This project is delivered by leading peace building organisation, Co-operation Ireland, which works to build a shared and cohesive society.

Young Advocates is a citizenship intervention project for young people aged 16-24 to equip them to be leaders of the future and advocates for peaceful change.

Focusing particularly on interface communities and areas that sit within a Neighbourhood Renewal Area, participants have gained recognised qualifications in Good Relations, Diversity and Mentoring and organised and run youth-led social justice campaigns where they live, engaging with up to 800 of their younger peers. By championing issues across the political divide, they will create positive social change.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

Participants have gained OCN level 1s in: Good Relations and Diversity, Peer Mentoring, Child Protection, First Aid and Refugee Awareness. The project has taken place in R City, Saints YC, Belfast South Community Resource Centre, Sandy Row YC, Alternatives Restorative Justice, Ledley Hall YC.

With the first sessions beginning in early 2019, more than 45 Young Advocates have so far completed the programme and have engaged their peers, delivering campaigns, workshops and sessions across the city. Campaigns to date focused on Crime and Mental Health.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Barry Fennell, Facilitator/Programme Manager Cooperation Ireland
Email: [email protected]
Call: 028 9032 1462

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

4.5 Local Area Networks

NIHE and PEACE IV Summer school for Grosvenor Youth Club at Queen's University School for Natural and Built Environment.

The Local Area Networks Programme, delivered in partnership with Northern Ireland Housing Executive, aims to develop six networks across the greater Belfast area for meaningful, purposeful and sustainable cross-community engagement and is aimed at children and young people in the city.

This programme will develop the young people’s skills, citizenship, and vision for the future via themes, such as:

• Digital technology.
• Social justice Issues.
• Health and wellbeing.
• Environment and sustainable development.
• Shared space.

Engaging with participants across the city in a community-led approach, those participating in this programme benefit from:

• Peer mentoring.
• A community safety programme.
• Residential trips.
• Pre-tenancy training.
• An active citizenship programme.

The programme engages and empowers participants from targeted areas to become leaders in their community and champions for change.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Joanna Felo, Programme Manager Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Email: [email protected] or Rachel Clarke, Good Relations Officer, Northern Ireland Housing Executive [email protected]

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

4.6 Tech Connects

Tech Connects targets young people through fun, interactive and digital technology courses.

Tech Connects is a new children and young people project targeting 6-24 year olds across the city.

It aims to future-proof young people through the exploration of free, open and inclusive technology, helping to create positive relationships and peacebuilding skills. It also aims to develop new skills and improve confidence and social interaction. Through fun, interactive and digital technology, the scheme encourages participants to build friendships with people from different backgrounds, enhancing their understanding of differences and their respect for other traditions.

Tech Connects is delivered by GIGA Training and Belfast Metropolitan College, in association with BYTES.

Three programmes are available to schools, community groups/ youth clubs or young individuals:

Digital Arts Academies
Afterschool clubs, community and school settings
​Age group: Primary school children
Contact GIGA Training at: [email protected]

Creative Tech Camps
Halloween, mid-term, summer camps, tech camps
Age group: Post primary school children
Contact GIGA Training at: [email protected]

Technology Insights
Two-day course and mentor support
Age group: Young adults (aged 17 to 24)
Contact Belfast Metropolitan College at: [email protected]

Shared Spaces and Services

Delivered by Belfast City Council, our Shared spaces and services programme aims to:

• Promote positive attitudes towards shared public space.
• Expand and re-connect neighbourhoods.
• Encourage intercommunity and intercultural mingling.
• Promote local assets and resources as shared destinations.
• Change perceptions to a city that is connected and cohesive.

5.1 Capital development projects

Forth Meadow Greenway

Springfield Dam Park

Forth Meadow Community Greenway

Forth Meadow Community Greenway is a £5.1 million project to connect existing open spaces in north and west Belfast along a 12 km route from Clarendon Playing Fields to the new Transport Hub in the City Centre, with enhancements to sites along the route.

It aims to enable reconciliation and interaction between divided communities while regenerating local neighbourhoods by encouraging residents to make more use of facilities in neighbouring communities. There are five distinct sections:

1. Glencairn to Ballygomartin
   Glencairn Park will see improvements including a new entrance at Forthriver Road and a new 3m wide path linking Glencairn Park to Glencairn Road. There will also be improvements to Forthriver Linear Park’s existing path, replacement of fencing at Clarendon Playing Fields and the refurbishment of the footbridge at Forthriver Way.
2. Shared space between Forth River and Springfield Road
   A new shared space including walking and cycling paths will be created on the former industrial land between the lower Forth River and Springfield Road. New paths will also connect the space to Paisley Park and Woodvale Park.
3. Springfield Road and Falls Park
   This section includes the £1.2 million redevelopment at Springfield Dam which received additional funding from Department for Communities. The route connects Springfield Road with the Whiterock Community Corridor and Falls Park. As well as pathways, wayfinding signage and street furniture, work will see enhancements to existing junctions to improve crossings for pedestrians and cyclists.
4. Bog Meadows
   Nature Reserve is owned and maintained by the Ulster Wildlife Trust. Pathways within and connecting to the nature reserve will be enhanced and widened, with additional planting and lighting added. The route will connect to Broadway, where a new, welcoming entrance will be added.
5. Westlink to city centre
   This section, starting at Broadway Roundabout and ending at the new Transport Hub, will see new wayfinding signage installed and improvements to the existing path.

5.2 Programming delivered to date

• Women’s fitness project
  Involving women from both sides of the Lanark Way interface coming together for keep fit sessions and organised walks in Falls and Woodvale Parks and Bog Meadows.
• Youth Civic Education
  A pilot project with Clonard Monastery YC and Forthspring Inter Community Group allowed young people from all community backgrounds the opportunity to discuss and address issues that are affecting them, with the aim of helping make informed decisions about theirs’ and others’ futures.
• Supported detached and outreach work
  This entails engaging with young people involved in anti-social behaviour, from both sides of the interface, in and around Springfield Dam and the Innovation Factory and Invest NI sites.

5.3 Programming soon to begin

• Volunteer Programme
  60 people are training as volunteer ambassadors, with cycle and walking lead training first to begin in January 2021, and history tour guides and nature guides to begin in later 2021.
• Shared history, heritage and identity
  Local people are coming together in organised sessions to develop narrative panels to reflect the shared history, heritage and identity of the local community and area across the length of the Forth Meadow Community Greenway.
• Youth engagement with young people
  This will involve young people from communities along the Greenway - putting them at the forefront in developing and designing projects and activities they feel are more relevant to them and their peers, for example youth violence, sectarianism, racism, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health and suicide, etc.

5.4 Looking ahead

Looking further ahead, we’re also aiming to hold shared community events, such as, family fun days in parks connected to the Forth Meadow Community Greenway including Forthriver, Glencairn, Woodvale and Falls areas. We’re also aiming to organise ‘alternative learning’ sessions with school groups in Springfield Dam Park.

Groups participating in the projects and activities will be eligible to apply for small amounts of funding to support locally based projects, at the connected shared sites, planned and organised by themselves. Details of this funding support will be provided later in the development of the Forth Meadow Community Greenway.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Physical Programmes Department, Belfast City Council by emailing [email protected].

To find out more about the volunteer walking and cycling programme, contact:
Rachael Ludlow-Williams at Sustrans by emailing [email protected]

To find out more about the shared history, heritage and identity panels, contact: Mary Lynch Mediation NI by emailing [email protected]

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

Building Positive Relations

6.1 Cross Community Area Networks

This programme is delivered by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and focuses on developing Cross-Community Area Networks across the Greater Belfast area. The Good Relations element of the programme will use a variety of methods such as:

• Community story-telling.
• Group work.
• Residential trips.
• Digital technology.
• Intergenerational work.

The Visioning element of the programme will involve:

• Place-shaping vision sessions.
• Facilitation of development of shared community vision.
• Production of “Our Future Place” report by a specialist for each CCAN.
• Provision of technical support for plans, such as, business plans, feasibility studies and consultation reports.

Contact

To find out more or participate in the project, contact:

• Joanna Felo, Programme Manager, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
  Email: [email protected]
• Aidan Hamill, Good Relations Officer, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
  Email: [email protected]
• Andrew Charles, Good Relations Officer, Northern Ireland Housing Executive
  Email: [email protected]
• Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

6.2 Creative Communities

Creative Communities aims to create real attitudinal impacts for people living in interface communities, including:

• Increasing different communities’ tolerance and understanding of each other.
• Increasing their access to and engagement with culture, arts and heritage.
• Promoting that communities are strengthened by the recognition of their diversity, promoting mutual respect and understanding and celebrating cultural expression.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

This engaging creative arts and heritage programme aims to bring people together from all sections of the community to engage in a wide range of bespoke arts or heritage projects. Creative Communities has been working across 8 themes and areas of the city to co-design projects with various groups and individuals:

• Themes - football, LGBTQ and After Schools Art.
• Areas - Carlisle Circus, Woodvale/Ardoyne, Divis/ Lower Shankill, Clonard/Mid-Shankill and East/ South East. Five out of eight artists in residence have been appointed and sessions have commenced, to further progress throughout 2021

Group work for the Woodvale and Ardoyne group co-designing an art project for their artist-in-residence.

Creative Communities Woodvale and Ardoyne Group taking part in a workshop at Woodvale Community Centre in February 2020.

Want to find out more?

Contact Creative Communities, Belfast City Council Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Unit by emailing  [email protected] or call 028 9027 0569.

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

6.3 Transform for Change

Group work and brainstorming as part of the Transformative Leadership session in North City Business Centre in Duncairn Gardens.

Transform for Change aims to create real attitudinal impacts for adults living in interface communities, including:

• Increasing the skills and capacity within the community and statutory sectors to promote collaboration in developing public programmes that support and acknowledge diversity.
• Improving partnership working in the community and statutory sectors to improve the design, management and programming within local neighbourhoods for positive cross community relations and shared space.
• To improve the capacity for disengaged and marginalised communities to participate in co-creation of programming promoting shared space and enabling their increased involvement in peace and reconciliation activities within the wider society.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

The Transform for Change project is run by Belfast City Council and comprises:

• A 10-module leadership course called the Transformative Leadership Programme (TLP). This is delivered by NICVA (Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action), Falls Community Council, West Belfast Partnership Board, East Belfast Community Development Agency and Forward South Partnership. This leadership course is open to citizens, policymakers and public and statutory service providers, building leadership skills and solutions-based approaches to work collectively to address issues of segregation, prejudice and hate.
• Funding for collaborative area-based projects - on completion of the TLP, project groups can apply for £4,000 of funding support to jointly deliver projects on the ground within their cluster area
• Opportunities to network and learn from others through community events, cross-Belfast events and best practice visits. Since the programme began in late 2019, over 125 participants have completed it and will be focusing on joint projects within their communities. Areas that have taken part in the programme - Duncairn, Limestone Road/Alexander Park, Whitewell Road/Longlands, Peters Hill/Carrick Hill/Millfield, Crumlin Road/Ardoyne/Glenbryn, Lower Oldpark/ Manor Street, Ligoniel and Short Strand Inner East Belfast.

What does the TLP course look like?

Participants will have the opportunity to do 10 topics including, for example:

1. Transformative Leadership - what is it?
2. Collaboration for Transformation - working with others to make change.
3. Transforming Relationships - building understanding and trust.
4. Social Innovation - new ways of dealing with local challenges.
5. Addressing barriers to change.
6. Leading and Motivating your Community.

Want to find out more?

Contact Helen McLaughlin, Programme Manager, NICVA by emailing [email protected], call 028 9087 7777 or visit www.nicva.org/tlp

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

6.4 Belfast and the World

The Belfast and the World co-ordinator discusses the impact of history on shared identity at a session in the Shankill Women’s Centre in January 2020.

Belfast and the World aims to create real attitudinal impacts for adults living in interface communities, including:

• Promoting ideas of shared history across a city, island of Ireland and European level.
• Increasing connectivity and mobility across the city of Belfast and the island of Ireland through exploration of shared history.
• Increasing pride and awareness of a participant’s own history and culture as well as that shared across communities.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

This programme is delivered by the Corrymeela Community, a long standing peace and reconciliation organisation. It focuses on marking significant anniversaries and centenaries during the 1918 -1921 period, enabling participants to remember the past in a shared and ethical way. Communities across Belfast share their experiences of the past, explore and reflect on events that have shaped our present and develop a greater understanding of Belfast’s diverse cultural heritage. Embracing local and global perspectives, the programme is delivered through evening workshops, lectures and site visits, including tours of Belfast and Dublin.

Participants have the opportunity to explore a number of themes throughout the programme, including:

• Commemoration and today
• Overview of the Decade 1912 to 1922
• Belfast and the Decade (Site Tours)
• Culture and Sport in the Decade
• The Role of Women
• WW1, Ireland and the World
• Labour Must Wait
• Dublin and the Decade (Site Tours)
• Voting and the General Election 1918
• To partition and beyond

With the first sessions beginning in late 2018, over 70 participants have completed the programme and over 60 participants are currently engaged. The project is currently being delivered via Hannahstown Cultural Society, WAVE Women, Shankill Women’s Centre, WAVE Men, Ligoniel Improvement Association, Ballynafeigh Community Development Association, Shankill Women’s Centre Health and Wellbeing group.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Hedley Abernethy, Project Representative, Corrymeela Community

Email: [email protected]
Call: 028 9050 8080
Website: https://www.corrymeela.org/programmes/ legacies-of-conflict/belfast-and-the-world- 191821-marking-a-decade-of-anniversaries

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

6.5 LINCS: Supporting Communities

An online quilting workshop as part of the LINCS project, offering an opportunity to connect during lockdown.

LINCS: Supporting Communities aims to create real attitudinal impacts for adults living in interface communities, including:

• Developing connections between existing communities.
• Reducing isolation, division, prejudice and racism between new and host communities. •
• Increasing marginalised communities’ engagement in taking part in peace building and conflict transformation activities for the long term benefit of the city.
• Celebrating diversity and raising awareness of a variety of cultures, histories and identities.

Who’s involved, what have we achieved so far, and where is it taking place?

LINCS: Supporting Communities is delivered by NI Alternatives in partnership with CRJ Ireland.

As delivery partners, both organisations provide restorative justice programmes that aim to promote and develop non-violent community responses to local issues. The project is designed to bring together people and encourage integration of our minority ethnic communities and newcomers to Belfast. It aims to build relationships, break down barriers and promote change and integration. Local advisory forums will help shape engagement programmes, bespoke and accredited training, volunteering opportunities, intercultural programmes and shared learning seminars. It uses dialogue, civic engagement, training, active citizenship programmes, intercultural programmes and shared learning seminars across all corners of the city.

Currently, there are over 80 participants engaging in this programme.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Denise Hughes, LINCS Coordinator, NI Alternatives

Email: [email protected]
Call: 028 90311420

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

6.6 Roma and Traveller Support

Delivered by Forward South Partnership, the Roma Support Programme will engage with Roma, settled communities and other minority communities to come together in target areas and provide support and access to services within the local area.

Key elements of the programme include:

• Roma Support Hub.
• Building Positive Relations Programme.
• Intercultural Community Programme.
• Skills Development Programme. The project’s key objectives are:
  • Increasing access to local community, voluntary and statutory services.
  • Enhancing the visibility of the Roma community.
  • Increasing cultural understanding and confidence within and between the Roma and settled communities.
  • Promoting Roma culture and traditions through building positive relation sessions and intercultural community events.

Want to find out more?

Contact: Briege Arthurs, Chief Executive Officer, Forward South Partnership
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.forwardsouth.org (link opens in new window)

Or get in touch with the PEACE IV team at: [email protected]

Delivered by Belfast City Council, the Traveller Support Programme aims to celebrate the rich and varied cultures from both Traveller and settled communities and promote integration.

Key elements of the programme include:

• Community Support Hub.
• Traveller heritage/cultural workshops (enhanced with the development of portable Traveller Exhibition Development Programme).
• Intercultural community events.
• Community festivals.

Want to find out more?

Contact:  PEACE IV team by emailing [email protected]
Website: www.belfastcity.gov.uk/peaceiv

Our impacts so far

Some quotes from our project participants:

Speaking about their experience in the On The Right Track! Personal Change project, participants said:

“They’ve started teaching me how to be more mature, how to respect others and now I can sit there and have a conversation in a mature way and I’ve made a few friends and they’re sweet like!”

Speaking about their experience after attending Sewing workshops with the LINCS project during the lockdown period, participants said:

“I enjoyed feeling creative, doing something different and connecting with other participants.” I enjoyed the feeling of togetherness and not feeling alone in my recent concerns.”

Speaking about their experience in the Young Advocates project, participants said:

“I’d recommend it with the experiences you get going different places, with different people, hearing their backstory and how they grew up, it’s nice to hear ‘cause we grow up the same… just in different places.” “For a start I gained a lot of new friends, we’re all the same kind of person, we all like the same things, doing the same things at the weekend, we’ve so much in common, you wouldn’t realise…”

Speaking about their experience in the Transform for Change project, participants in the Transform for Change project said:

“I feel more confident in terms of planning and implementing different types of leadership to engage with people within the community as a result of my learning” “The training will enable me to be more proactive in terms of actively leading within my community. Newly formed relationships will support me to implement new initiatives and projects on a more sustained and long-term basis” “I have been able to learn a lot about my community and about myself.”

Our impacts are measured by participants’ selfreported change in attitudes, using start- and end- of project surveys, with question responses measured on a 5-point Likert scale. For more information on our impacts so far, contact the PEACE IV team: [email protected]

Contact us

PEACE IV Unit Belfast City Council 
Website: www.belfastcity.gov.uk/peaceIV
Email: [email protected]
Call: 028 9032 0202
Text phone: 028 9027 0405