Denis Rooney, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland pictured with young people who participated in the Away from Violence Heritage Project.

Young people from North and West Belfast, Portadown and Claudy, have been working together on a cross-community basis to address the impact of violence on their lives as part of Public Achievement’s Away from Violence Programme.

At a public event to celebrate the completion of the Programme's Heritage Project phase at Belfast’s Golden Thread Gallery, the young people had the opportunity to showcase a series of visual displays which explore heritage within their local communities. Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland commended the participants on the progress they have made in gaining a better understanding of one another’s communities.

Public Achievement’s three-year Away from Violence Programme helps young people to explore the nature of violence, how it affects them and their communities, and then develop an action project to address a local issue of violence. As part of the Programme a Heritage Project was developed for young people aged 12-18 involving a series of residentials, practical workshops and exhibition visits.

Over the course of the Heritage Project, the young people have applied critical thinking skills to characterising the communities they live in. They have captured this work visually in a series of displays that represent these communities, analyse them, deconstruct them and identify violence within them, both past and present.

The main aims of the Heritage Project have been to help these young people to explore their differences and similarities in a non-hostile environment, ultimately contributing to improved self-esteem and fostering cross-community contact.

The International Fund for Ireland has contributed nearly £280,000 to the Away from Violence initiative under its Community Bridges Programme, which is managed by the Community Relations Council for Northern Ireland. Fund Chairman, Denis Rooney CBE, said: “The insight that these young people have shown through their work on these visual displays is impressive.

“Providing support for initiatives that will have a lasting positive impact on peace building and reconciliation long after the Fund ceases to exist is one of our key priorities. What better way to make a positive impact than to help young people to better understand each other’s communities and heritage.

“The young people who have been part of this project have demonstrated dedication, passion and commitment in the work they have produced,” explains Deborah Erwin, Youth Work Manager at Public Achievement. “Their acute awareness of the issues facing their communities is evident in their own words and pictures as well as their desire to see change happen. It is our intention that the Away from Violence programme continues to support these young people to be part of making change happen in their communities.”

The exhibition will be on display and available for public viewing at the Golden Thread Gallery from Saturday 19^th June until Friday 25^th June. The gallery is open Tuesday-Friday 10.30am-5.30pm, and Saturday 10.30am-4pm.

Throughout the month of August, the exhibition will also be on public display at Belfast City Hall.