More than 100 young people will take part of a new initiative in Belfast which tries to promote respect and peaceful coexistence through the sporting activities.

A pilot programme to foster good relations between young people and sport at the same time will take place at the Ozone tennis centre over 12 weeks.

Youth groups from across the city will meet there to practice tennis, laser quest, basketball, football, and use the climbing wall and dance.

Apart from involving communities in sport, these activities will have another background: working in teams they will allow to look at identity, sectarianism, race, cultural inequality and prejudice.

Chairman of the Parks and Leisure Committee, Councillor Bob Stoker, (pictured) stated: "This project will improve shared civic life by building sustainable networks in our community."

According to him, the project has two priorities: the key of improving services for young people and the key of improving community safety by diverting people from anti social behavior.

Stoker thinks that using the tennis centre to play a sport which some of them have never practiced - tennis has a middle classe image - can also offer them another perception of the things.

All that allows them to work to prevent anti-social behaviour or community conflicts.

The organiser, who is the Tennis Development Manager, Martina McKnigh, said: "Over a period of time the participants will have a better understanding of themselves and the community in which they live.

"They will learn to respect others in their community and learn to accept and respect others."

The project comes courtesy of the British City Council in partnership with the Northern Ireland Children's Holiday Scheme (NICHS).

Around 120 young people are being targeted in eight groups across the city, mixing each group with others groups they probably would not otherwise have had the chance to meet and create friendships.

For example, Lower Falls Community Group from west Belfast is partnered with Dee Street in the east of the city and Knocknagoney youngsters, with counterparts from the Markets area.

The course starts on 23 November, and at the end, participants will receive a National Open College Network qualification in cultural relations.

(CL/BMcC)