NICHS.

NICHS provides opportunities for long-term contact between young people and segregated communities. By promoting reconciliation and mutual understanding, NICHS achieves real and meaningful change in the lives of the young people they work with, who are then encouraged to contribute to improving life in their communities. All projects target young people from marginalised and vulnerable communities whose lives are most directly affected by the conflict, or who are most resistant to engaging in dialogue with members of the other group.

Community Training

This project provides training for community workers and young people across Greater Belfast. It takes the Accredited Cultural Relations Training Programme to the community, involving those least likely to be attracted to formal learning. Participants are also those most likely to remain within the perceived safety of their own communities – a potential constraint on their personal development and future prospects. NICHS works with young people and their community leaders to provide the opportunity for participants to develop their understanding of, and respect for, themselves, others and their communities.

Young Leaders Training

The Young Leaders Training project was established in 2001 to allow those involved in NICHS’ Youth Resource Centre more contact time and a tangible outcome for their efforts. Over a year, the project trains participants as peer educators, preparing them for future voluntary work with younger NICHS participants and other groups. Since 2005, the course has been accredited to Northern Ireland Open College Network Level 2. The project offers skills and experiences which are increasingly essential for overcoming prejudice and sectarianism. It includes an exchange with Youth Action, a predominately Muslim group in Blackburn, Lancashire, and this helps participants transcend the exploration of traditional Northern Irish religious and political differences.

Community Partnership Project

The NICHS Community Partnership Project is a progressive personal and community development programme. It delivers an accredited Cultural Relations Training Programme for community workers and young leaders, helping them develop sustainable cross-community or cross-border partnerships which build peace at a grass roots level. Young participants are aged 15-17, and come from eight marginalised communities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The project also supports participants to address social issues like drug abuse and crime. Exchanges with marginalised communities in Great Britain add a further dimension, giving young people an opportunity to explore cultural diversity at first hand.

Youth Resource Centre

NICHS’ Youth Resource Centre was opened in 1997 and serves an area of north Belfast which has the largest concentration of interface Catholic and Protestant communities in Northern Ireland. About one quarter of all sectarian killings have taken place within a 2-mile radius. Few of the young people who visit the Centre have not been touched by personal loss, or suffered the consequences of a family member being involved in the conflict.

The project supports peace in Northern Ireland by providing opportunities for young people and their communities to build relationships. This positive contact creates empowerment, mutual understanding and skills development. Through the partnerships, young people are able to take part in various educational opportunities. The Centre also advises, trains, and supports community leaders, enabling them to take a leading role in establishing their own inter-group relationships.

Link Project

Link, NICHS’ longest-established project, provides a two-year programme for cross-community groups of young people in Greater Belfast. Link Project participants come from communities which have inherited a legacy of social exclusion, brought about through blatant sectarianism, intimidation and years of embittered conflict. Not only does the project create the first opportunity for these young people to meet, it goes much further by building the essential trust to explore similarities and differences, and to discuss issues of cultural diversity which affect everyday life. Young people gain new skills, develop existing ones, and form relationships based on trust, understanding and respect. At the same time they explore alternatives to the hatred and bigotry which has been their only experience.