Over 260 inspiring events by over 170 local groups and organisations delivered a positive message that ‘Change Starts With Us’ in building a shared and sustainable future for the region as part of this year’s hugely successful Good Relations Week celebration.
Co-ordinated by the Community Relations Council, Good Relations Week 2022 ran from Tuesday 20th to Monday 26th September with an imaginative programme of workshops, lectures, panel discussions, feature talks, podcasts, storytelling, and exhibitions.
The theme for the weeklong celebration was ‘Change Starts With Us’ with a focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to highlight the political, social, economic, and environmental challenges we face.
This year the calendar of events featured everything from sectarianism and racism to shared spaces, peace-building and cultural diversity, as well as tackling issues such as gender inequality, climate change and the environment, improving individual health and well-being, eradicating poverty, and hunger, and removing barriers to improved education.
Events included the live launch of an inspirational music track by talented local musician Rwanda Shaw called ‘Change Starts With Us’ to the T:BUC Young Ambassadors programme participating in a beach clean project at Browns Bay in Islandmagee to help reduce the impact of litter and other environmental damage to the area.
The week also included a theatre production by Partisan Productions, in partnership with Clanmil Housing, that delivered a thought-provoking, moving and often funny exploration of contemporary housing issues and the human lives behind social housing stereotypes.
It also included the screening of a short film called ‘Bananas’ by the Light Theatre Company CIC that tells the story of Rose in her recovery from mental ill health and homelessness; while Towards Understanding and Healing hosted a series of readings from culturally diverse community-based writers exploring how we take personal responsibility for dynamic social, cultural, environmentally, and economical change.
NETLOVE presented a special screening of ‘HUMAN’ by Yann Arthus-Bertrand that is a collection of stories that reflects love and happiness, as well as hatred and violence; and NI Environment Link hosted a workshop on how the local environment sector can encourage a higher level of engagement and participation of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Martin McDonald MBE, Chair of the Community Relations Council, said: “Good Relations Week 2022 has been an overwhelming success and local groups and organisations across the region have gone above and beyond to deliver a positive message that ‘Change Starts With Us’ in their pursuit of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
“Good Relations Week has shone a light on the creativity and enthusiasm of local groups and organisations in their efforts to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us all, exploring how these groups and organisations have made concerted efforts to bring communities together, regardless of background, culture, or heritage.
“It has given a platform to their efforts to tackle important issues such as sectarianism, racism, and other forms of identity hatred and inequality, as well as addressing climate change, eradicating food poverty, and improving people’s mental health. I hope these voices were heard and I hope that we can continue to act as a catalyst for meaningful change.”
Jacqueline Irwin, Chief Executive of the Community Relations Council said: “Thanks to all the groups and organisations who contributed to a brilliant week by pulling together such an impactful and entertaining programme as we celebrated the wide range of projects and initiatives that go on all year round in our local communities.
“This was a fantastic cross community and multicultural showcase of good relations work and we want to thank all of the local groups and organisations across the region who’ve helped us put together this dynamic programme of workshops, lectures, discussion panels, music and theatre performances, exhibitions, archive videos and lots more for people to enjoy.
“We hope the packed programme of face-to-face events, engaging online events and creative pieces of digital content in Good Relations Week 2022 offered everyone an opportunity to celebrate our diversity, reflect on the challenges we face today, and reinforce the message that ‘Change Starts With Us’ with a collective drive to achieve a sustainable future for our society.”
For more information on the Good Relations Week 2022 programme of events visit: www.goodrelationsweek.com.
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Notes to Editors
Good Relations Week is coordinated by the Community Relations Council with the support of a Co-Design Steering Group Committee that includes representation from: The Executive Office, Department for Communities, Department of Justice, Education Authority, Cathedral Quarter Trust, The Nerve Centre, The Rainbow Project, Volunteer Now, Another World Belfast, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and NI Environment Link.
Good Relations Week supports the aims and objectives NI Executive’s Good Relations Strategy, Together: Building a United Community by providing a platform for the 300 groups and organisations, many grant supported by the Community Relations Council, as well as statutory bodies such as the Education Authority, Libraries NI and the 11 local Councils to showcase the work they are doing in their local area in the field of community relations and cultural diversity.
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