John Hume: Irish peacemaker. Discuss.

John Hume: Irish peacemaker. Discuss. by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 15 December 2015 Sean Farren and Denis Haughey have edited a new book, John Hume: Irish Peacemaker, published by Four Courts Press. As part of this book launch, there is a series of panel discussions, for which this event took place at the … Continue reading John Hume: Irish peacemaker. Discuss.

Hope must lie with the children of Israel/Palestine

Hope must lie with the children of Israel/Palestine: Professor Padraig O’Malley talk at Queen’s University Belfast by Allan LEONARD 21 October 2015 Professor Padraig O’Malley gave a bleak prognosis of the Israel/Palestine peace negotiations, calling the two-state proposal ‘delusional’. At an event hosted by the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice … Continue reading Hope must lie with the children of Israel/Palestine

A lexicon of conflict: Paul Seawright exhibition “Things Left Unsaid”

A lexicon of conflict: Paul Seawright exhibition “Things Left Unsaid” by Allan Leonard 1 October 2015 On the surface, the images shown in Paul Seawright’s work, “Things Left Unsaid”, are just a series of American television news stations. And in a tour that the Belfast-based artist provided as part of Community Relations Week, Mr Seawright … Continue reading A lexicon of conflict: Paul Seawright exhibition “Things Left Unsaid”

Launch of #CivilSocietyNetwork

Launch of #CivilSocietyNetwork by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 2 October 2015 Just a few days before the event, an email was sent to people across the voluntary, community and business sectors, inviting all to the launch of the Civil Society Network. Held in the ballroom at the Europa Hotel, ten individuals spoke briefly, … Continue reading Launch of #CivilSocietyNetwork

Freeing up peace impasse with WD-40

Freeing up peace impasse with WD-40: The David Stevens Memorial Lecture by Rev. Harold Good by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 1 October 2015 At the third annual David Stevens Memorial Lecture, the Rev. Harold Good used a physical metaphor of a tin of WD-40 lubricant to illustrate the need to ‘unlock and free … Continue reading Freeing up peace impasse with WD-40

Forgive for the sake of the future?

Forgive for the sake of the future? A lecture by Duncan Morrow by Allan LEONARD 29 September 2015 As part of the Community Relations Week programme, a former Chief Executive of the Community Relations Council, Dr Duncan Morrow, gave a lecture that explored how unresolved trauma affects the legacy for future generations. Sitting in the … Continue reading Forgive for the sake of the future?

Knitting together: CRC annual conference 2015

Knitting together: CRC annual conference 2015 by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 28 September 2015 As Chair of the Community Relations Council, Peter Osborne, welcomed delegates to their annual policy and practice conference at Stormont Hotel, Belfast, he explained the event theme, “One Place — Many People”: “All of us in this room are … Continue reading Knitting together: CRC annual conference 2015

Northern Ireland Foundation wins civic activism award

Northern Ireland Foundation wins civic activism award by Northern Ireland Foundation 16 July 2015 The Northern Ireland Foundation is delighted to have been given an award from Building Change Trust, to pursue a civic activism project on digital fact checking in Northern Ireland. Working with Transformative Connections, our aim is to tackle the problem of … Continue reading Northern Ireland Foundation wins civic activism award

Convergence can hold photography back: Belfast Photo Festival panel discussion

The theme of this year’s Belfast Photo Festival is convergence – the act of artists mixing other forms of art, such as performance and sculpture, with photographic image making. A panel discussion, hosted at Belfast Exposed, explored these boundaries and overlaps, and mooted the way forward. Francis Hodgson, a photography critic for the Financial Times, … Continue reading Convergence can hold photography back: Belfast Photo Festival panel discussion

The Passion Walk – Belfast 2015

On BBC Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence programme, I learned of a Passion Walk event that would take place on Good Friday. Passion Walk seeks to recreate the experience of Jesus of Nazareth’s final days in a contemporary environment, using local landmarks in place of those around Jerusalem. Based on the success of a previous Passion … Continue reading The Passion Walk – Belfast 2015

Art opens up community imagination

Art opens up community imagination Peacebuilding and the Arts: An Imagine Belfast Festival discussion by Allan LEONARD 11 March 2015 As part of the Imagine Belfast Festival, the Northern Ireland Foundation and Forum for Cities in Transition hosted a discussion event, “Peacebuilding and the Arts”, which explored how art has progressed peace in Northern Ireland. … Continue reading Art opens up community imagination

“Don’t see migrant community as ‘them and us’”: High Sheriff of Belfast

“Don’t see migrant community as ‘them and us’”: High Sheriff of Belfast by Allan LEONARD 6 March 2015 At a launch event for a photography exhibition at Belfast City Hall, the High Sheriff of Belfast, Councillor Gareth McKee, told the audience not to see the migrant community in Northern Ireland with a ‘them and us’ … Continue reading “Don’t see migrant community as ‘them and us’”: High Sheriff of Belfast