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16/01/2003
University project on community relations published
A senior lecturer in Community Relations at the University of Ulster has published the findings of a three-year project on trust building and promoting good relations in the community.
The aim of the initiative, which was researched by Dr Derrick Wilson in conjunction with Counteract and Newry and Mourne District Council, was to pilot a new culture of learning in which the council sought to create a culture of diversity, welcoming people from all traditions and backgrounds.
Commenting on the project, Dr Wilson said: “For more than 30 years, people in Northern Ireland have shied away from forming meaningful relationships with people they perceive to be from ‘enemy territory’.
“The logic of segregation has been accepted as common sense. While workplaces and some residential areas remain formally mixed, relationships may be little more than polite interactions.
“Over the years there have been many initiatives aimed at alleviating this situation but there is an absence of any operational core to trust building in Northern Ireland and for many people and institutions, the only way to cope with the fear and tension is to eliminate all traces of them in their inter-community setting."
Dr Wilson said there was a distinct lack of any culture of open-ended innovation in the area of trust building within the public sector, private sector and even vast areas of the voluntary sector. He added that if good relations were to be taken seriously there must be a move towards change led by those at the heart of political, social and economic life.
Over a three-year period 'The Future Ways Programme', Counteract and Newry and Mourne District Council worked together to produce a model of good practice that would improve the quality of life and address local distrust between different political traditions in the community.
The Relationships in Equity, Diversity and Interdependence (REDI) process produced a number of practical outcomes to address the issue of promoting good relations culminating in the evolution of an Equality Unit within the Chief Executive’s Department overseeing a range of trust building measures and programmes of work in community relations.
Tom McCall, Clerk and Chief Executive of Newry and Mourne District Council said: “For Newry and Mourne District Council as an organisation, for its elected members and its staff the REDI Project was a most rewarding and beneficial experience.
“It helped us to grow, develop and mature in ways that might otherwise not have been possible. REDI has left an indelible mark on the Council and has given us confidence to be pro active and innovative in our approach to the promotion of good relations.
“The richness of our cultural diversity is far too valuable to allow it to be weakened or diminished in any way. REDI helped us to see for ourselves how interdependent we are on each other.”
The REDI report was launched at Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast. on Tuesday.
(MB)
The aim of the initiative, which was researched by Dr Derrick Wilson in conjunction with Counteract and Newry and Mourne District Council, was to pilot a new culture of learning in which the council sought to create a culture of diversity, welcoming people from all traditions and backgrounds.
Commenting on the project, Dr Wilson said: “For more than 30 years, people in Northern Ireland have shied away from forming meaningful relationships with people they perceive to be from ‘enemy territory’.
“The logic of segregation has been accepted as common sense. While workplaces and some residential areas remain formally mixed, relationships may be little more than polite interactions.
“Over the years there have been many initiatives aimed at alleviating this situation but there is an absence of any operational core to trust building in Northern Ireland and for many people and institutions, the only way to cope with the fear and tension is to eliminate all traces of them in their inter-community setting."
Dr Wilson said there was a distinct lack of any culture of open-ended innovation in the area of trust building within the public sector, private sector and even vast areas of the voluntary sector. He added that if good relations were to be taken seriously there must be a move towards change led by those at the heart of political, social and economic life.
Over a three-year period 'The Future Ways Programme', Counteract and Newry and Mourne District Council worked together to produce a model of good practice that would improve the quality of life and address local distrust between different political traditions in the community.
The Relationships in Equity, Diversity and Interdependence (REDI) process produced a number of practical outcomes to address the issue of promoting good relations culminating in the evolution of an Equality Unit within the Chief Executive’s Department overseeing a range of trust building measures and programmes of work in community relations.
Tom McCall, Clerk and Chief Executive of Newry and Mourne District Council said: “For Newry and Mourne District Council as an organisation, for its elected members and its staff the REDI Project was a most rewarding and beneficial experience.
“It helped us to grow, develop and mature in ways that might otherwise not have been possible. REDI has left an indelible mark on the Council and has given us confidence to be pro active and innovative in our approach to the promotion of good relations.
“The richness of our cultural diversity is far too valuable to allow it to be weakened or diminished in any way. REDI helped us to see for ourselves how interdependent we are on each other.”
The REDI report was launched at Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast. on Tuesday.
(MB)
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