Funded by Youthnet under the Peace and Reconciliation programme and the Ireland Funds, these 6 month cross community programmes provided 30 young adults with an opportunity to develop skills and contribute to social change by ‘giving back’ to communities through a 6 month public service activity.
Participants worked 4 days/week at host organisation sites and attended training on the 5th day. Participants supported the overall activity of the host organisation and also developed and delivered a project to clients of the host organisation. Each project acted as vehicles to promote the themes of social responsibility and citizenship. In year one the intake completed a portfolio; in year two the intake attained OCR in Youthwork and in year three the intake completed OCN Equity, Diversity & Interdependence.
Funded by Proteus under Peace and Reconciliation programme, these cross community programmes aimed to enhance the skills and abilities of young people from West Belfast and Shankill, within a structured full time work context, leading to employment opportunities and/or community project establishment. There were three programmes over a three year period involving 18 participants.
Funded by the Leonardo programme, this 13 week cross community programme aimed to build the capacity, skills and ability of young people in West Belfast and Shankill to contribute to the development of their own community through skills training, community projects and experiencing community development awareness. Participants spent 4 weeks in Hungary placed within community development centres.
Funded by the European Commission DG X/A/5 this year long cross cultural programme involved 200 young people from working class areas of West Belfast, Greater Shankill, Tallaght in Dublin and Turin in Italy. The campaign aimed to raise the awareness of European issues amongst young people, about the European Union, its policies, structures and future through a series of interrelated activities. Young people participated in workshops which focused on the origins of the European Union and its’ daily impact on peoples lives and produced videos and newsletters highlighting issues such as racism and xenophobia, european citizenship and european electoral system. Project findings were collated into a newly developed web page with contributions from young people in the three areas.
CELEBRATING DIVERSITY CONFERENCE 1999
In their third annual conference and as we approached the new millennium, the Associate Forum organized the ‘Celebrating Diversity’ conference. Attended by over 100 young people from working class communities in Belfast, Dublin and Turin, the delegates discussed and shared their views and experiences of Europe and the current European policies and initiatives that affected them. Workshops focused on European Citizenship, Government & Law, Education, Economy and Youth and Community Issues. The event was attended by Jim Dougal Head of European Representation in N Ireland, by youth and community workers and celebrated the bringing together of three cultures and traditions. The conference was funded by the Interenational Fund for Ireland and European Commission DG X/A/5.
SHAPING A NEW SOCIETY CONFERENCE 1998
In 1998 with the ongoing development of the peace process, the Associate Forum organised their annual conference around ‘Shaping a New Society’. Delegates shared and discussed their views on what was the current and future role of young people in Ireland, North and South in this new society. How could this be maximised? What are the routes to active participation? How would they ensure young people had a voice? Following feedback from the morning workshops, local politicians presented ten minute submissions on ‘A New Society and the Role of Young People. Politicians included, Roy Garland (Ulster Unionist Party), Billy Hutchinson (Progressive Unionist Party), Alex Maskey (Sinn Fein) and Brian Hayes (Fine Gael). This was followed by a lively debate with the delegates, experiences and solutions were exchanged. The conference was funded by the International Fund for Ireland and Combat Poverty.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE CONFERENCE 1997
Organised by the Associate Forum, the ‘Making a Difference’ conference provided an opportunity for up to 150 young people from West Belfast, Greater Shankill and Tallaght in Dublin to discuss current issues and influence future planning within their working class communities. Delegates shared their views on employment, training, politics, education and youth provision, with experiences from the northern and southern perspective exchanges. Politicians then participated in two live ‘question time’ sessions chaired by BBC’s Conor Bradford. Politicians in the first question time session included Joe Byrne (Social Democratic Labour Party), Chris Flood (Fianna Fail), Dennis Naughten (Fine Gael) and Tom Hartley (Sinn Fein). During the second question time session the politicians included Jeffrey Donaldson (Ulster Unionist Party), Pearl Sagar (Womens Coalition), Eileen Bell (Alliance Party), Gary McMichael (Ulster Democratic Party) and Eddie Kinnnear (Progressive Unionist Party). The conference was funded by the International Fund for Ireland, N Ireland Voluntary Trust and Combat Poverty.
