mapsontheweb: The major walls in Belfast known as the โpeace linesโ that are supposed to separate Catholic majority and Protestant majority neighborhoods There are about 100 ‘peace walls’ in Belfast still, a quarter century after the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Source: Daily Mail
Peacemakers’ ball: woven Belfast stories
Peacemakersโ ball: woven Belfast storiesby Allan LEONARD8 February 2025 In coloured chalk on a black board, a sign outside Belfastโs city centre communal space at 2 Royal Avenue invited passersby to come in and participate in Peacemakers, a craft exercise to make stitches with alternating colours of yarn on an oversized French loom, then return to... Continue Reading →
Peace process as ‘a long, slow murmuration’: the Mark Durkan interviews
Peace process as โa long, slow murmurationโ: the Mark Durkan interviewsby Allan LEONARD27 January 2025 The John and Pat Hume Foundation organised three events to launch a book by Graham Spencer โ The SDLP, Politics and Peace: The Mark Durkan Interviews. Dawn Purvis chaired the event held at Ulster University, interviewing both author and subject, revealing insights from... Continue Reading →
@libranet So, this may explain why I can't log into my venera.social account today: "Login failed because your account is blocked." Research led me to your post here. But it would have been nice to receive an email notice about this. Any way for me to create a new (renew) venera.social account? I can't find... Continue Reading →
The afterlife of Troubles’ memories
The afterlife of Troublesโ memoriesby Allan LEONARD10 December 2024 Why do survivors of the Troubles conflict in Northern Ireland recall what they do when providing their oral histories to interviewers? What is the collective effect? In a seminar, โThe Afterlife of Feelings in Oral Histories of the Troublesโ, Ulster University INCORE visiting professor Graham Dawson... Continue Reading →
Policing divided societies: Kosovo and Northern Ireland
Policing divided societies: Kosovo and Northern Irelandby Mihane HOXHA and Allan LEONARD29 November 2024 Would further exchanges between the police services of Kosovo and Northern Ireland be beneficial, or have recent challenges proved too great? Olga Stefanoviฤ is from the Serbian community, from the village of Leลกak in the Leposaviฤ municipality (in northern Kosovo). She... Continue Reading →
‘Nothing for the likes of us to be afraid of’: Me Oul Segocia review
โNothing for the likes of us to be afraid ofโ: Me Oul Segocia reviewby Allan LEONARD13 November 2024 โWeโre quiet, decent folk. Thereโs nothing for the likes of us to be afraid of,โ says Danny, who wants to assure his fiancรฉe Eileen that the increasingly deteriorating security situation in their neighbourhood wonโt seriously affect them... Continue Reading →
Saddened by the passing of Anna Lo, a genuinely good person. @MadameUlster and I remember her support for stroke survivors. Anna was a trailblazer. Coincidentally highlighted in @SharedFuture article today: https://sharedfuture.news/no-one-sees-us-ethnic-minorities-in-kosovo-and-northern-ireland/
A recent visit to #Kosovo revealed that civic conversations remain vital in peacebuilding processes. And that concentrated listening to others' stories can be very powerful. Here is my summary article about this experience: https://x.com/SharedFuture/status/1841139657200881879
Kosovo revisited: crucial role of civic conversations remains
Kosovo revisited: crucial role of civic conversations remainsby Allan LEONARD5 September 2024 On the desk of my hotel room in Pristina was a postcard inscribed, โDear Allan, Welcome back to Kosovo! As a returning visitor weโre sure youโll enjoy your time here!โ It was signed โAJK Teamโ, from the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the... Continue Reading →
Impossible Peace: a conversation with Brian Rowan
Impossible Peace: a conversation with Brian Rowan by Allan LEONARD 5 September 2024 In a room packed with dozens of guests at the newly established Black Mountain Shared Space, journalist Mervyn Jess facilitated a conversation with Brian Rowan about his Impossible Peace project, to marry old cassette tapes with a document archive to mark the... Continue Reading →
I've walked past this fountain in the inner square of Belfast City Hall without realising it was a #memorial of #TheTroubles. Card reads: "In proud and loving memory: Seamus Sullivan; Murdered by UDA/UFF gunman; 3rd September 1991; Springfield Rd Depot; RIP; Co workers B.C.C."