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News

THE TRUTH ABOUT IRISH TRAVELLERS

Ballymoney Community Resource Centre in conjunction with Department of Agriculture and Rural Development are hosting A Talk by Mark Donahue on "The Truth About Irish Travellers"  in Kilrea Town Hall on Wednesday 23rd March 2011 at 1:30pm.  The talk will provide an honest and frank discussion about who the Irish Travellers are and how they are depicted in the media.  Lunch will be provided.  For further information please contact Adam Farquahar at BCRC on 028 2766 5068 or email adam.ballymoneycrc@hotmail.co.uk

"WE HOLD UP HALF THE SKY"

On Friday 11th March 2011, Ballymoney Community Resource Centre and Kilcranny House are hosting "We hold up half the Sky" at the Magherabuoy House Hotel Portrush. Celebrating International Women's Day this conference will explore the challenges and relevant issues facing women from minority ethnic communities living in Northern Ireland today.

The event which is supported by the Community Relations Council will run from 9:00am until 2:30pm. There will be a number of keynote speakers on the day including Charo Lanao-Madden, Human Rights Commission; Laura Giacani, Foyle Multicultural Forum and Stephnaie Mitchell, South Belfast Roundtable on Racism.  Delegates will also have the opportunity to attend a range of workshops including Setting Voices Free: Using Art with Minority Ethnic Women, Domestic Violence - Crossing Cultural Boundaries and An African Perspective: Womens Experieince of Living in Northern Ireland .

There will also be a short dramatic performance by participants in Corrymeela Inclusive Neighbourhood Project and the launch of the Kilcranny House Global Women's Quilt.

For further information or to register a place at the Conference please contact Adam Farquahar at BCRC on 028 2766 5068 or Paddy McNicholl at Kilcranny House on 028 7032 1816.

LEADERSHIP IN A SHARED FUTURE

Under Programme !b Leadsership in a Shared Society Programme, Ballymoney Community Resource Centre developed and implemented a programme to bring together 40 young people aged 12-16 from different areas within the Boroughs of Ballymoney, Coleraine and Moyle.  These areas included Glebeside, Ballysally, Ballybogey, Bushmills, Balnamore and Mosside.

Twelve adults drawn from across the participating organisations also participated in the programme and supervised the young people on the visit to Glasgow.  To provide these young people with an opportunity to learn about sectarianism; what its impact is; whats its impact is; how it can be addressed and what young people themselves can do to tackle it.

The particpants were drawn from communities where there was little history of this kind of work happening, particularly with young people. To get the young people involved we used football as the catalyst as this was something which many of them were and are passionate about.  The partnerships were formed from shared interests which were identified during training sessions within the 1B Programme 'Leadership in a Shared Society' and in particular the collaboration workshops.  Each of the groups wanted to see better relations between different areas, different communities and different generations.

The participants underwent anti-sectarian training with the Irish Football Association at the Joey Dunlop Centre, Ballymoney in order to start to address the issue of sectarianism and to look at how it impacts on sport and more generally on society. The young people then particpated in a five a-side  competition which helped the group build new friendships.  The young people then broke into groups and listed what they thought was necessary to have included within a group contract.  This information was then compiled and a copy of the contract was given to each participant for signing, firstly by their parents/guardians and then by themselves. This reaffirmed that they were taking responsibilty for their own behaviour and performance during the trip.

The group then travelled on Thursday 11th November 2010 to Glasgow to see how both Rangers Football Club and Celtic Football Club have addressed and are continuing to address sectarianism.  On Friday 12th November the intinerary involved a training session at Glasgow Green Football Centre with Celtic Football Club, followed by a tour of Parkhead Stadium, their home ground. The group also had a training session at Ibrox Complex with Rangers Football Club and a tour of their home ground, Ibrox Stadium. All particpants took part in an anti-sectarian workshop in the Study Centre at Ibrox, this was followed by a street football activity at Maryhill in the evening. The culmination of the trip was attending the Rangers v Aberdeen Match at Ibrox on Saturday 13th November 2010 which Rangers won 2-0.

The partnership feel that the objectives behind this programme were met in that all of the particpants on the programme moved outside of there comfort zone in terms of reaching out to better understand the views and aspirations of others. Engagement of sections of the community irrespective of their gender, age, sexual preference, politics, religion,or disability took place. Attempts to build long term sustainable bridges and contacts that can exist beyond the period of funding have certainly been planted. The partnership hope to get these young people involved in a Rangers FC Training Session which is scheduled to take place at Easter 2011. There has also been the suggestion of a Football Training Camp which will be run in the summer of 2011.

NEW STAFF MEMBERS AT BCRC

In recent weeks there have been three new staff membes who have joined the team here at BCRC.

Adam Farqhuar - Ethnic Minorities Support Worker

Adam will be covering maternity leave for Lee Millen.  Originally from Alabama in the United States. He received a bachelors degree in International Studies and immediately developed the desire to live abroad. He came to Northern ireland to do a Masters Degree in Comparative Ethnic Conflict at Queens University in Belfast, where he specialised Multiculturalism and Northern Ireland. He developed a strong a strong interest in the experience of ethnic minorities and migrant workers living in Northern Ireland , as he believes that they live in a unique set of circumstances from the rest of the UK. From university he went on to do community work on the Shankill Road in Belfast with the Greater Shankhill Partnership being involved in a number of community projects and events.  He is very excieted to have taken on this post and hopes that in time he will be in some way of service to the vibrant and diverse ethnic minority community in Northern Ireland.

Shauna Irons - Community Outreach Worker

Shauna will be working on a part-time basis as a Community Outreach Worker.  She will be sharing responsibility for the effective delivery of capcaity building and good relations support services to communities within the Ballymoney and Causeway Cluster areas as well as promoting cooperation and reconciliation. Part of her role will include implementing aspects of the new Community Bridges Programme and she looks forward to working with the various groups in the area during her time here.  Shauna has previously worked within the community and volunatry sector through her roles at Sports Council Northern Ireland and the Young Farmers' Clubs of Ulster.

Sarah Francis - Work Placement Student

Sarah is currently on placement here at Ballymoney Community Resource Centre. A year ago she graduated from the University of Ulster at Coleraine with a Bachelors degree in English with Psychology. With a keen inerest in community issues, working at BCRC, has been a real treat for her.  During her time here she has been able to get involved with aspects of Disability Advice; the creation of guides, and a wider spectrum of research. She is certain that her time here will continue to be as interesting and enjoyable as it has been to date.

BCRC LAUNCHES NEW COMMUNITY LIBRARY & COMPUTER SUITE

Ballymoney Community Resource Centre’s new IT Suite and Community Library was officially launched on the 11th June by Doris Peden from the Northern Regional College and Leah Tweed from the NEELB. On behalf of their respective organisations and as locals they welcomed the BCRC’s Community Education Initiative. Doris emphasised the importance of further education as it assists individuals to develop self confidence, gain qualifications that may have been missed out first time around, achieve skills and qualifications to enhance career prospects. Leah echoed this sentiment and added that engaging in training and attending a community library is a great medium to create friendships that otherwise may not have happened.

Ballymoney Community Resource Centre is committed to the social, economic, physical, environmental, and cultural development of the Ballymoney Borough area to its optimum potential for the greater good of its people. Its main objectives are to generate extra opportunities for local people, create an atmosphere in the community of capacity and to build sustainability. Following research conducted in the community, in an effort to fulfill these objectives it was decided that developing a computer suite, community library as well as a fully comprehensive training programme would be an invaluable resource for the community of Ballymoney.

The venue has a state of the art  IT suite comprising of 10 PCs, all with internet access. It has already proved to be a great success, with 10 members of the community recently completing an accredited OCN qualification in PC Skills. One participant enthused that ‘I really enjoyed the course due to its relaxed nature, comfortable surroundings and fantastic staff’.

The Computers were supplied and networked by Computing N.I. who were extremely efficient, accommodating, professional with very high workmanship we can fully recommend Computing N.I.  Denis Barker, Computing N.I, can be contacted on 07793 278403.

The suite is available to hire out subject to availability to both community and corporate groups. For further information call BCRC on (028) 276 65068.

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