Innovative leadership project for Belfast - PEACE IV’s Transform for Change - launched today
4 Nov 2019
Transform for Change, an innovative leadership
project for Belfast, was launched today in City Hall, as part of the council’s
PEACE IV Local Action Plan.
This citywide project aims to develop new, collaborative,
cross-sectoral approaches to peace-building and reconciliation, addressing prolonged
social and economic disadvantage across 15 cluster areas in Belfast. The
project is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the
Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
Transform
for Change will build the leadership skills of citizens, policy makers and
public/statutory service providers to work collectively at addressing issues of
segregation, prejudice and hate. The project will incorporate Leadership Skills
Development, Best Practice, Networking Events and Community Engagement Events.
Speaking at the launch, Lord Mayor, Councillor John
Finucane, said: “I’m delighted to launch the Transform for Change project and
look forward to seeing how it will enable us to work together differently for
peace and reconciliation with our communities.
“It is through programmes such as PEACE IV and
projects like Transform for Change that will help the Council to deliver its
vision for the city that is welcoming and inclusive for all. We all have a
responsibility to achieve and maintain lasting peace.”
Councillor John Kyle, Chair of the council’s Shared
City Partnership, added: “Among the aims of the Shared City Partnership is
promoting good relations and community cohesion across Belfast and partnering
with organisations to proactively engage on peace and reconciliation issues on
behalf of the citizens of the city.
“Strong, positive and transformative leadership
with community change makers is a key outcome of our Good Relations Strategy.
We very much welcome the launch of the Transform for Change project today as it
strengthens our message that good relations is everyone’s business.”
Welcoming
the project, Gina McIntyre, CEO of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB),
said: “Peace-building is a delicate and long-term process. Therefore, we need
to continuously invest in new and innovative approaches to reconciliation that
are responsive to the changing needs of our society. This EU PEACE IV funded
project will help to deliver upon that need. It will develop the leadership
skills of local people, as well as the community and voluntary sector so that
collectively they are better resourced to combat division, segregation and
prejudice.”
Belfast
City Council is working in partnership with
delivery partners, such as, NICVA and their community partners to build trust,
create understanding, address local peace-building issues and to ensure that
the impact of peace is maximised within communities. Representatives from NICVA
attended the launch today along with community partners’ Forward South
Partnership, East Belfast Community Development Agency, Falls Community Council
and West Belfast Partnership Board.
Match-funding
for the Transform for Change project has been provided by The Executive Office
in Northern Ireland and the Department of Community and Rural Development in
Ireland.
For more information on the council’s PEACE IV
programme, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/PEACEIV
To find out about the SEUPB, visit www.seupb.eu