Northern Ireland Community Relations Council - About Us - Press Releases - Jean Brown and Renee Crawford receive Community Relations Award

01 May 2009

Two women who reached across one of Belfast’s most contentious peacelines to bring polarised communities together, today (Thursday April 30, 2009) jointly received a prestigious award for their important work.

Jean Brown from the loyalist Suffolk estate in West Belfast and Renee Crawford from the adjacent republican Lenadoon, have together tackled violence and division in the troubled area for more than 25 years - often in the face of significant threat.

The two brave peace-builders were presented with the annual Northern Ireland Community Relations Award for their impressive track-record at the flagship event of Community Relations Week 2009 in Newtownabbey’s Corrs Corner establishment.

Duncan Morrow, the chief executive of the Community Relations Council, which presents the annual award, says: “The success of the highly important Suffolk and Lenadoon Interface Group is in many ways a personal triumph for Renee and Jean, such is the commitment and effort they have put into it and the personal risks that they have taken so that it can succeed. The positive change that Jean and Renee’s work has brought to this area has significantly improved the lives of many, many people.”

The award is open to nominations, with the recipient chosen by a panel of Community Relations Council members.

Maria Bannon, operations manager of Suffolk and Lenadoon Interface Group (SLIG), said about them: “Jean and Renee have been instrumental in the development of peacebuilding in the Suffolk and Lenadoon area. Through their efforts, they have transformed the physical shape of the interface, helped to create jobs, helped to ensure income generation was possible for the area and have restored a sense of hope to a deprived community.”

“Jean and Renee have taken personal risks throughout the life of the Suffolk Lenadoon partnership and believe strongly in the ethos of a shared future. They have continuously stepped up to the mark and spoken out on issues they believe in and have led the communities into a phase of willingness to discuss contentious issues,” Ms Bannon continued.

About Jean Brown

Jean Brown has lived all of her life in the Suffolk estate and has been involved in community development work in Suffolk for over 30 years.

A founder member and former chairperson of the original Suffolk Strategy Group - now the Suffolk Forum - Jean played a key role in helping to develop both the Suffolk Lenadoon Interface Group (SLIG) and the award-winning Stewartstown Road Regeneration Project.

About Renee Crawford

Reneé Crawford has been involved in community work in Lenadoon for over 25 years. She is a founder member of the Lenadoon Community Forum and has worked for the forum in since its inception - currently as Strategic Development Coordinator. She represents the forum at both the Suffolk Lenadoon Interface Group (SLIG) and Stewartstown Road Regeneration Project (SRRP).

Reneé represents the Forum as community representative on the West Belfast Partnership Board and is currently secretary of the board; she is also chairperson of the Environmental Sub Group of the West Belfast Partnership Board.

Reneé also sits on the Lenadoon Neighbourhood Partnership Board and the Board of the Women's Support Network.

About SLIG

The communities of Suffolk and Lenadoon are neighbouring areas on the Stewartstown Road interface in outer West Belfast. Suffolk is a small, protestant/unionist community of approximately 900 people, that was developed throughout the 1950s and 1960s and was then a vibrant, attractive much sought after place to live.

The much larger catholic/nationalist area of Lenadoon, with a population of approximately 10,000 people, grew as a result of many catholic families being displaced to the area from elsewhere at the beginning of the ‘troubles’ in the early 1970s.

Similarly many families in Suffolk originally lived in Lenadoon and were displaced from there to the current small estate during those years, which were characterised by high levels of population movement across the city as people were forced to seek safety within their ‘own’ community.

Throughout the following 25 years, the Suffolk / Lenadoon interface was characterised by high levels of intercommunity violence, fear, mistrust and division, which included shootings, bombings and large-scale rioting. There was little, if any, contact between the two communities and little obvious hope that this would change.

Lenadoon Community Forum (LCF) was formed in 1992 following a lengthy process which highlighted the need for a coordinated approach to community development in the Lenadoon area and currently has over 20 member groups. Suffolk Community Forum (SCF) was formed in 1994 to act as a voice for the Suffolk community and promote and develop projects that would help to ensure a long-term sustainable future for the community. It currently has 16 members on the management committee.

In 1996 tentative contact was established between the two communities when the Belfast Interface Project (BIP) was funded by the Community Relations Council (CRC) and conducted a scoping exercise within the Suffolk and Lenadoon areas.

Over a period of a year, the two separate groups participated in a series of interviews, sharing opinions and views from a distance with no formal contact between the two until the suggestion was made that perhaps they could meet to share views face-to-face.

Contact was established and representatives from both areas began meeting in a local hotel on a monthly basis to share common concerns.

Given the relative normality in which we now live, it is perhaps difficult to fully appreciate what an unprecedented, brave and challenging step this was. The first joint contact between these representatives was taken during some of the worst years of violence the interface had ever seen, linked to the ongoing situation in Drumcree and against the backdrop of deeply held reservations within the two communities which often lead to open hostility.

In those early days it was important that solid ground rules were established and the group made several key decisions that have continued throughout the years.

It was agreed that, despite the inequality of size, it was critical that both communities were in the process as equal partners and that both very different sets of cultures, identities, values, politics etc were recognised as equally valid and important.

This was not about either community compromising on things that were essential elements of its identity and it was also agreed that language was important as it was often open to misinterpretation.

Many exciting and groundbreaking projects have developed and it is without question that 12 years later this work has completely changed the shape of the interface.

SLIG’s work is widely recognised by both government and funders alike as a role model of reconciliation, peacebuilding and economic regeneration.

Chris Harrison MCIPR

JPR

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232-240 Belmont Road

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+44 28 9076 0066

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chris.harrison@jprni.com