Mr Ulster 
What I do
I am a peace journalist, because I believe in transforming conflict-driven narratives. I am editor of Shared Future News, which reports on peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. I am a co-founder and editor of FactCheckNI, Northern Ireland's first fact-checking service, which works improve civic discourse. I also support the conflict resolution work of the Forum for Cities in Transition in Belfast.
My interests include Northern Ireland, peacebuilding, photography, and politics. You can also read my work at Northern Slant and Slugger O'Toole.
Belfast Exposed exhibition talk: Post Truth: The new normal of the undefined, abstract, and make believe
Belfast Exposed exhibition talk: Post Truth: The new normal of the undefined, abstract, and make believe by Allan LEONARD 30 May 2019 Belfast Exposed is hosting a group exhibition displaying the work of graduate students of the MFA Photography programme at Ulster University (UU). The theme is “Post Truth”, which aims to explore how we […]
Is ethical journalism possible in a contested place?
Is ethical journalism possible in a contested place? by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 27 May 2019 At a public lecture event hosted by the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, at Queen’s University, Professor Steven Youngblood (Director, Center for Global Peace Journalism, Park University, Missouri) discussed the ethics […]
Book review: The Colour of Time (Dan JONES & Marina AMARAL)
Book review: The Colour of Time (Dan JONES & Marina AMARAL) by Allan LEONARD 26 May 2019 Released in hardcover in August 2018 and now available in paperback, The Colour of Time, by historian Dan Jones and artist Marina Amaral, is a collection of 200 colourised photographs taken between 1850 and 1960. With accompanying extended […]
“Understanding irrationality to save the human race”: Lord John ALDERDICE
“Understanding irrationality to save the human race”: Lord John ALDERDICE by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 15 May 2019 The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast hosted a spring conference in honour of the 10th anniversary of the awarding of an honorary degree to President […]
Beyond fake news: Working collaboratively to address misinformation #NICSLive
Beyond fake news: Working collaboratively to address misinformation #NICSLive by Allan LEONARD for FactCheckNI 15 May 2019 FactCheckNI is becoming a regular feature of the annual NICS Live event, which brings together figures from across the Northern Ireland Civil Service as well as the wider public, private and voluntary sectors. This year was our third […]
Doing our part: Dealing with bonfires
Doing our part: Dealing with bonfires by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 9 May 2019 Greater Shankill Alternatives, which is part of a co-ordinating initiative on restorative justice across Northern Ireland, hosted a workshop session that explored various aspects of the tradition of bonfires and the organisation’s approaches of engagement with groups who construct […]
Leaving Medium
Leaving Medium by Allan LEONARD 27 April 2019 When Medium appeared, at first glance it could be seen as just a reiteration of a free-to-publish online platform for bloggers and specialist writers. Posterous 2.0 if you will. But its creator, Evan Williams, co-founder of Blogger.com and Twitter, also sees Medium as a democratic means of […]
Art in Trouble: Expressing Shankill’s story through creative participation
Art in Trouble: Expressing Shankill’s story through creative participation by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 28 March 2019 Billed as part of the Imagine! Festival, the Spectrum Centre hosted a European Arts Education Platform session, “Art in Trouble”, on how the people of the Shankill neighbourhood of Belfast have told their stories more recently, […]
Burn/t Out: Crimes against social cohesion
Burn/t Out: Crimes against social cohesion by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 10 April 2019 One of the criticisms of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is that it did not satisfactorily scope out mechanisms for dealing with the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland; the focus was forging a consensus on exclusively non-violent […]
