Peace and Reconciliation Group

Following the successful pilot project in 2007-08, the Journeys Out Project was officially launched on Wednesday May 27th 2009.

The Journeys Out project is spearheaded by INCORE, the International Conflict Research Institute at the University of Ulster’s Magee campus, in association with Intercomm Ireland, Belfast, the Peace and Reconciliation Group, Derry / Londonderry and the Glencree Centre for Reconciliation.

Over the next two years, Journeys Out will work with 44 emerging community leaders from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who are working in Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, Strabane and Ballymena.

Gráinne Kelly Policy/Practice Coordinator with Incore says the project aims to engage a new generation of community leaders in the debate about dealing with the past.

“These community leaders are working on a daily basis with individuals and groups in their own communities who have been affected by the conflict such as victims, survivors, church groups, sports clubs, former combatants and young offenders. This will help us explore some of the issues within their local communities and enable them to learn more from international experiences. It will also help address the gap between formal mechanisms for dealing with the past such as the Eames Bradley recommendations and the reality of day-to-day living with the legacy of conflict at a local level.”

Over the next 12 months, the first group of community leaders selected to participate in the Journeys Out will engage in a programme of training, community research, workshops and policy seminars, culminating in an international study visit to South Africa to explore the successes and failures of the mechanisms used for dealing with the past in the post-apartheid context.

This PEACE III programme is part financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation managed for the Special EU Programmes Body by the Community Relations Council / Pobal consortium.

Speaking at the launch of Journeys Out, INCORE Director Dr Brandon Hamber said:

“I am delighted that we have been given the opportunity to explore the important issue of dealing with the past with those working at a community level that have to address the legacy of the conflict on an daily basis. At the end of the project we hope to have empowered and equipped a new generation of emerging community leaders with the skills and competencies to explore the opportunities and challenges which come with the transition from conflict to peace.”

“This is a particularly timely and relevant project for INCORE to be leading at this time. The issue of dealing with the past is squarely on the agenda in Northern Ireland and it is vital that those debates are taking place at a community level, as well as a political level.”