Belfast Community Area Networks celebrate positive relations
A celebration marking the work of citywide cross-community networks has taken place at The MAC in Belfast.
Six Community Area Networks worked across the city in a scheme organised by the Housing Executive and Belfast City Council, funded under the PEACE IV, Building Positive Relations Programme.
Organisations who helped deliver the programme included Verbal Arts, Fearon Consulting, Tides, Parkhood and Carlin Planning.
Local groups took part in good relations, capacity building, visioning and place shaping activities within the project, and the celebration event was an opportunity to showcase the results of their work.
Denise Conlon, from the Housing Executive, said: “This has been an incredible programme which will leave positive and lasting benefits across Belfast.
“Great credit must go to the tenants, groups and community activists who helped establish the six community networks and focused on delivery for the areas in which they live.
“Activities included 30 hours of workshops which involved walking around neighbourhoods with specialists, identifying weakness and opportunities.
“Groups looked at examples of best practice improvements in other areas and outlining possible developments for their own communities,” she said.
“New ideas included eco-friendly schemes, recreation facilities and refurbishment projects.
“Building positive relationships and forming long-lasting partnerships over 18 months was another important outcome.”
The project was part of Belfast City Council’s PEACE IV Local Action Plan funded through the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
Match-funding was provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development in Ireland.
For more information on the Belfast PEACE IV programme, visit www.belfastcity.gov.uk/PEACEIV