(from left to right) Rose-Mary Farrell, IFI; Seamus McAleavey, Chief Executive of NICVA and Nuala McKeever, who entertained the graduates at the event, celebrate the successful end of year one of the Community Leadership Programme in Cavan

On Friday 14 May the International Fund for Ireland (IFI), in conjunction with NICVA, celebrated the end of year one of the £2.1 million Community Leadership Programme with a final roundtable learning event and graduation ceremony.  The event took place in the Radisson Hotel, Farnham Estate, Cavan. 

All 27 groups who participated in the Programme successfully completed all training courses, and an action learning project, which received £2,500 (€2,750) as part of the Fund’s Community Leadership Programme investment.  The end of year event is an opportunity for all groups from Northern Ireland and the southern border counties to get together and share their experiences. 

Rose-Mary Farrell, Board member of the International Fund for Ireland commented: “The Community Leadership Programme allows the Fund to identify, nurture and train potential leaders and agents for change, particularly in areas of weak community infrastructure. To this end we have been delighted to support the Community Leadership Programme since its inception in 1993. The aim of this new £2.1 million three year investment Programme is to empower communities to develop their leadership skills to enable them to build more effective communities and improve the conditions in which they live. I am delighted that the hard work of NICVA in designing and delivering this training, along with their partners from Stellar and University of Ulster, has gained such excellent results in year one.”

She continued: “I would also like to thank our international donors for their generous support – the USA, the EU, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We appreciate their continued assistance to make Programmes such as this possible.”

Una McKernan from NICVA commented: “ NICVA is delighted that the first year of this fantastic training programme has gone so well.  The first 27 groups, over 120 individuals, through the Programme are already showing lots of evidence of improved leadership skills, which can only benefit how their organisations are run and the local communities they operate in.”

Groups who graduated on the day include:

This celebration event marks the end of the first year in a three year Programme.  Year two of the Programme is already underway and recruitment for year three is due to commence in June.