Drivers for the strategy
Acknowledging how far Belfast has come and how far it has still to go, is central to the strategy, accepting there are still substantial issues of segregation and ongoing legacy issues that need addressed, as well as new challenges linked to changing demographics in communities.
Driving the new strategy forward will be a series of underpinning themes. These include our Section 75 (2) obligations, continued high levels of sectarianism and racism within the city, the need for a whole council and whole community approach, delivering in a way that is transformative as opposed to performative and improving how we measure success.
The obligations under Section 75(2) are critical and being keen to challenge head on the twin themes of racism and sectarianism are also central. However, throughout the strategy we are prioritising measuring impact which also means adopting a transformative rather than performative challenge to all activities, participants, projects and staff and councillors.
Broadly, the strategy includes five key pillars and an overarching theme, focused on relationships between people from different identities, faiths, beliefs, cultures, opin-ions, backgrounds, or between equality groups, through sustained cross community and intercultural contact.
The key pillars are:
- Continuing to repair and refine relations within a reconciliation lens and reembolden how those relations can improve the lives of people across the community.
- Developing capacity further to sustain and strengthen decision-making and project delivery across the community.
- Ensuring greater openness and transparency in decision-making and delivery.
- Developing trust in key institutions by all people across the community. Key institutions relevant to social cohesion include those members of the Shared City Partnership.
- Delivering better and meaningful social justice outcomes, with a focus on those interface areas that still suffer most from our divided society yet have many needs and issues in common.
These pillars are the foundation of an overarching dynamic strategy for a sense of belonging in the city to which all people can buy in to, participate in developing, and deliver together.
The strategic pillars will be delivered within a context of an outcome-based transformative vision which is why the monitoring and evaluation frameworks are stressed that will be developed hand-in-hand with the strategy and action plans as they are delivered.
The strategy and action plan, therefore, stresses transformative versus performative delivery – for staff, for partner agencies, for projects, and for elected members.
The strategy acknowledges the key challenges for Belfast going forward and represents a significant investment in long-term and systemic responses that will in the short-term develop relationships and change behaviours and attitudes, while supporting a greater sense of belonging for people from all backgrounds inclusive of all section 75 groups.
