Draft Good Relations Strategy 2026 to 2035

Many issues of public importance in recent years have been debated in Council or been reflected in news stories. Often these issues relate to ongoing legacy discussions, young people, education, policing, and health amongst others.  We may refer to some of them also as social justice type issues.  Many are summarised here arising from research, surveys or further consultation.

Recent events, including public disorder, reflect a need to reinforce anti-racism work but also to acknowledge the causes of either misunderstanding or fear of demographic change. Other areas of these islands have developed programmes to manage that change, sometimes in areas where there has been more substantial violence than anything Belfast has experienced.  The last good relations strategy suggested Council staff visit areas of good practice to learn about those successful initiatives and the circumstances have not changed in 2025. The need has, in fact, increased.

Given the highly segregated nature of Belfast and the continued existence of many peace barriers, or interfaces, and the perceived divisiveness of politics still, it is only to be expected that there are still caveats in many peoples’ sense of belonging, from all sides of the community; a sense that their cultural identity is respected, but sometimes not always.

The issues that are referenced in the strategy as social justice issues include those associated with educational underachievement, disadvantage, access to green space, and access to stable housing tenancy or employment, amongst others.

The feedback from the consultation indicates that these issues were priorities for communities as well as at times a sense of loss, challenges associated with redevelopment in some areas, and ongoing uncertainty on what some might call unresolved legacy issues.

Additionally, maps and geographical data show that these social justice issues are most prevalent in areas close to interfaces and peace barriers, and in working class communities across all community backgrounds, in all parts of the city. 

Key issues

More generally in Northern Ireland, and sometimes in Belfast, there is a sense that in promoting and delivering work on good relations:

• There has been significant success, easily overlooked, in the last decades in building relationships along with the positive progress made in ensuring political stability and the development of reconciliation.
• Whether in local or central government, delivery should include a commitment toward ‘transformative’ dialogue and decision-making rather than a ‘performative’ approach.
• There could be greater utilisation of an intersection of good relations with social and economic issues of relevance to those areas where good relations efforts are most acute. For example, the environment or employability could be the type of issues that could deliver excellent, issue-based good relations work.
• While still intending to encompass all aspects of work within a local government setting, the notion of good relations being integrated into the core work of a council is often left on the periphery rather than as a central component.
• While recognising the progress that has been made by those supporting good relations, Belfast and Northern Ireland is still a highly segregated society epitomised by politics, cultural identity, physical barriers, faith and ethnicity.
• New challenges, including for example demographic change, need to be better integrated into the good relations and social cohesion responses of government, local and central. However, these discussions should be about the organisation of services and resource scarcity rather than suggesting a narrative that new communities are necessarily a drain on resources.
• Recognising the increasing number and relative proportion of race hate incidents and crimes is important; while understanding the fear evident in all communities from change, or being left behind, cultural loss, what people have come from or what reaction there will be to people locally. There appears to be significant tensions around, for example, housing in relation to newcomer communities.
• Tensions around housing stress and lack of adequate service provision contributed to a recent rise in hostility towards newcomers and subsequent or associated racist behaviour and crime.
• The impact of social media and the level of misinformation which is widely circulated appears to be fuelling negative perceptions. While a proportion of this is believed to be a deliberate attempt to escalate tensions, much appears to be the result of fear or lack of accurate information.
• There are currently programmes which work with young people to address developing issues related to social media and its misuse. Should they prove to be successful they could potentially be rolled out more widely.
• Programmes which seek to address misinformation and support engagement between people who are from minority ethnic backgrounds and those who are from the established communities in Belfast could potentially support greater understanding and respect across different cultures and faiths.
• Perceived criminality or/and media coverage relative to newcomer communities particularly among young males has contributed to negative perceptions.
• Within the minority ethnic communities there is very real fear and questions as to whether Belfast is a safe place to live and work. This may have economic as well as social consequence, not least for the health service which is heavily reliant on migrant workers. With the major universities being situated in Belfast, racist incidents have a potential to deter overseas students.
• Concern about the impact on tourism should also be taken into consideration particularly in relation to the high visibility of passengers off cruise ships visiting the city centre.
• Young minority ethnic people and children are reporting racist incidents within schools and feel that they are not being addressed. Associated mental health issues and anxiety around school attendance should racism and Islamophobia not be effectively dealt with, are having consequence around both educational achievement and wellbeing.
• There also a sense that inadequate cultural awareness or induction programmes for newcomers can result in neighbour disputes and misunderstanding on all sides.
• Cultural competency/awareness for service providers and those working in communities across Belfast is needed. The view was expressed that often staff are anxious about making mistakes or being labelled as racist which can lead to avoiding people from minority ethnic backgrounds or not dealing with tensions. Such awareness would support those in decision-making positions to have wider perspective and be better informed.

These issues, applicable to Northern Ireland, are considered for relevance in Belfast through this new Strategy.