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24 February 2011

Those involved in Theme 1.1 of the EU Peace Programme have held a special ‘Speak Your Peace’ conference today in Armagh on the work of the Peace III Partnerships. Hosted by the North-South consortium of the Community Relations Council and POBAL the conference was an opportunity to reflect on the work of Phase I of the programme, ‘Building Positive Relationships at local level’, as it prepares to move forward to Phase 2.

Those attending were those taking part in the various Partnership projects.

Denis Leamy, Chief Executive of POBAL, said,

‘Each Partnership area is engaged in significant and important work to address sectarianism and racism. So often, this work goes unnoticed, unrecognised, hidden and not acknowledged. Yet it is the cornerstone and life blood of the peace process, building positive relations at the local level.

He added

‘The Peace III programme is a cross border programme and the efforts by Partnerships to build cross-border relationships is a testimony to the commitment by all stakeholders to continue to focus on building positive relationships and breaking down any barriers that exist, perceived or real.’

Duncan Morrow, Chief Executive of the Community Relations Council, said,

‘There has been a lot of learning from the first phase of the Peace III Programme, and as we move forward to phase two, Partnerships will be encouraged to think and act more strategically. The EU Peace Programme has invested much over many years in the peace process in Northern Ireland and the border counties. Its success will be to have helped establish a firm foundation for building a Shared Society that both respects difference and acknowledges our interdependence.’

The conference held three discussion sessions.

The first explored the current context and policy in both north and south to promote and support peace building initiatives. The second heard feedback from evaluations and measurement of the work of the Peace Partnerships so far. The third highlighted two examples of Peace III Partnerships making a practical difference on sectarianism, racism and cross border work (Donegal Partnership and the North East Partnership).

Participants at the conference also had an opportunity to visit two local projects- PLACE in Portadown and County Monaghan Community Network’s ‘Communities Sharing Project’ in Monaghan.

For further information contact

Ray Mullan at CRC tel 90-227500 email rmullan@nicrc.org.uk