Youthlinks celebration event.
Youthlinks, created by Donegal Youth Service and Tyrone Donegal Partnership, targeted at-risk young people between the ages of eight and 25 through an innovative programme of cross-border and cross-community activities. The regions involved in the Project – Donegal and Tyrone - had traditionally not engaged in such activities and had been deeply affected by civil unrest and violence. Both regions have long been a focus of Fund activity due to the high levels of disadvantage and unique cross-border links.
Despite very high goals at the Project’s inception, Youthlinks exceeded all expectations, providing hundreds of young people from these border areas unique opportunities to learn, work and share together over since the project started in 2008. It delivered activities involving drama, art, language and culture, culture tours and intergenerational projects as well as a full summer programme which directly addressed diversity, sectarianism, identity and equity. More than 600 young people participated, considerably over the initial target of just 450.
Charlene Logue, Senior Youth Worker, Donegal Youth Service explains: “This is just the first step to really address the issues, the deep, innate, issue-based problems, either real or perceived. You have two groups of young people, who may be classified as socially and economically deprived and they’re geographically living on each others' doorstep, yet they perceive each other as being vastly different. So, the Project is about working with young people, getting them to open up and discuss their issues, their prejudices, their baggage, their history, their culture, everything. It’s about exploring similarities, as well as differences.
“Youthlinks’ success was driven by the volunteers in the youth organisations we worked with. One of the strengths of the Youthlinks' approach was that it identified volunteer youth leaders, providing them with training and support in youth work and education so that Youthlinks could leave a longer term legacy.”
