Peace and Reconciliation Group

Background to the Project: In September 2007 PRG was invited to deliver some elements of a cross border, cross community heritage project which was part of a partnership between the museum services of counties Fermanagh and Cavan. This involvement provided the inspiration our very own heritage project, which we have delivered in partnership with the Donegal Education Centre.

The Project: The border areas have suffered particular difficulties during the conflict and sharp divisions still remain in the area, both in the form of the physical border, but also socially, culturally and economically. This project aims to address this through the concept of a shared heritage and promote the idea of a shared future by allowing participants to feel part of a wider community without the barrier of the border. The project will help to build trust and respect for each others cultures and create opportunities to explore the shared and diverse culture and heritage of the border region.

There are two elements to this project, a practical workshop based element and the creation of learning resource packs based on the content and outcome of the workshops.

The first element of the project was to recruit eight primary schools as participants, four in the Derry/Londonderry area and four in Donegal. The schools were paired cross community and cross border and each group selected their own heritage trail to collaborate on throughout the academic year.  

Following an introductory meeting, the groups began work together on their chosen trail. A key element of these trails was the active participation of the teachers involved and each trail was tailored to suit the needs and desired learning outcomes of participating schools.

 All the trails involved creating a creative piece of work which demonstrated what the group had learnt from the project. On the final day of each of the trails, each group visited either the Donegal County Museum of the Tower Museum in Derry, where their work was exhibited.

Finally all 200 participating students, along with their teacher, parents, facilitators and funders all came together for a final cluster day, which was held at the Grianan Hotel in Burt, Co. Donegal. The event was an opportunity for all participants to meet and to showcase the work. All students received certificates which were presented by the Chair of the Donegal Peace III partnership, Cllr. Dessie Larkin and the Mayor of Derry, Cllr Paul Flemming.    

Resources Packs: The second element of this project was the creation of teaching resource packs to accompany all the trails and a training programme to enable teachers to deliver the trails independently.

All the practical experiences of the workshops and trails, along with the tasks, exercises and workshop materials which were created have now been collated in the resource packs, which are entitled “9000 years on an Island”. The packs include a 50 min dvd, information sheets, worksheets and a teacher's pack with suggestions for how to deliver the work. This will hopefully be of use to teachers, youth leaders and other organisations and groups to address these subjects and facilitate similar work. The packs are available free of charge from the Donegal Education Centre or the Peace and Reconciliation group and a training programme is currently being devised to accompany the packs.

As this is a cross border, cross community heritage project, and in the planning and delivery of all trails, the utmost effort is made to divide attention as equally as possible between both sides of the border and between both communities, clearly demonstrating both the shared heritage of the area and our unique and defining cultural heritage.

See our News & Events section for the latest news about this project.

This project is supported by PEACE III Programme managed for the Special EU Programmes Body by Donegal County Council.