Peacebuilding a shared Northern Irish society
A passion for social justice: Tribute to Anne Moore by Allan LEONARD 8 August 2020 Anne Moore will be remembered for her passion for social justice. I met Anne during my employment as a policy officer for the Alliance Party as I sought out the views of a valued stakeholder, NICVA, where she served as... Continue Reading →
I believe for the most part you can trust respected medical authorities. I believe I’m one of them, so I think you can trust me. But I would stick with respected medical authorities who have a track record of telling the truth, who have a track record of giving information and policy and recommendations based... Continue Reading →
Asking the right questions for a better-informed public by Allan LEONARD 28 January 2020 Representing FactCheckNI and as part of a four-person panel, I was invited to give evidence to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Democracy and Digital Technologies. Fellow witnesses were Ed Humpherson (Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation... Continue Reading →
Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers? by Allan LEONARD 6 December 2019 As part of the annual general meeting of NICVA, the umbrella body of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, there was a panel discussion on the topics of truth, trust, and how everyone engages with a bombardment of information.... Continue Reading →
Considering Grace: An invitation to listen by Allan LEONARD 5 November 2019 Considering Grace, by Gladys Ganiels and Jamie Yohanis, is a new book that explores how Presbyterians responded to the Troubles, through a series of narratives from 120 people who tell their stories of how they coped with trauma and tests of their faith.... Continue Reading →
The polite rebel: Sheelagh Murnaghan by Allan LEONARD 3 October 2019 Sheelagh Murnaghan was the only Liberal Party MP (1961-69) in the Northern Ireland Parliament, representing the constituency of Queen’s University Belfast, which was the venue for a launch event of a new biography about her remarkable life. There were many Murnaghan family members in... Continue Reading →
Great Thinkers is a compilation of 60 short essays -- about 1,500 to 3,000 words each -- published by The School of Life, which dedicates itself to “developing emotional intelligence through the help of culture”. It describes the book as a volume of some of the most important ideas of Eastern and Western culture, drawn... Continue Reading →
Book review: Anna Lo: The Place I Call Home by Allan LEONARD 15 August 2019 Anna Lo writes with a crisp and concise manner, demonstrating her fine skills in English that she makes reference to in her memoir. The Place I Call Home is a chronological story, from her childhood to current retirement. It gives... Continue Reading →
For Northern Ireland: Parity of esteem and reconciliation by Allan LEONARD 1 August 2019 As part of the 31st annual Féile festival, Jim Gibney (a member of the Féile Debates and Discussions Committee) welcomed the audience of a couple dozen attendees of a panel discussion on what parity of esteem, reconciliation, and mutual respect means... Continue Reading →
ARTICLE: Post-Agreement identity narratives: A photographic essay #NorthernIreland #photography #nationalism #politics https://mrulster.com/2019/07/31/post-agreement-identity-narratives-a-photographic-essay/ via @MrUlster
The 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement gives legal recognition to the coexisting and overlapping national citizenships in Northern Ireland, entitling those born in the jurisdiction to be British, Irish, or both. The devolved administration codifies the traditional political identities of “Unionist” and “Nationalist”, as well as an opportunity for “Others”. The accord has also pledged greater... Continue Reading →
#Mural painting @belfastologywalkingtours @Belfastology #politics #tourism #Belfast #NorthernIreland http://bit.ly/2Q38hmC