Peacebuilding a shared Northern Irish society
Martin honours Mallon’s legacy with ‘Shared Home Place’ programmeby Allan LEONARD22 July 2025 The Navan Centre and Fort recently hosted an event, organised by the John & Pat Hume Foundation, to celebrate the memory and legacy of the respected Irish politician, Seamus Mallon, with a lecture by Ireland Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD. This was followed by a... Continue Reading →
Peace photography: supporting conflict transformationby Allan LEONARD13 June 2025 At an online session organised by Dr Tiffany Fairey, a senior research fellow at King’s College London, participants gathered to explore the intersection of photography and peace. The event brought together a range of experts and practitioners to discuss how photography can foster cultures of peace... Continue Reading →
The vital role of archives for reconciliationby Allan LEONARD12 June 2025 Archives serve as repositories of our collective memory, housing documents, artefacts, and other historical materials that help societies understand their past. In a recent panel discussion, experts from various fields came together to discuss the significance of archives in reconciliation processes, including how community... Continue Reading →
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 →
‘Imagine a time we can draw hope together’: dreams and visions from Korean children by Allan LEONARD 8 January 2024 From 8–12 January, Ulster University hosted at its Belfast York Street campus an exhibition of drawings by children of Korea and its diaspora. The drawings were created as part of programmes in partnership with Okedongmu... Continue Reading →
GRACE: measuring trust for better community relations by Allan LEONARD 21 September 2023 On the International Day of Peace, as part of Good Relations Week, research undertaken through a partnership between the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (Coventry University) and Community Relations in Schools (CRIS) was launched. The research examines the role of... Continue Reading →
Addressing the evil of sectarianism: Bill Shaw on life, faith, and hope by Allan LEONARD 20 September 2023 The retreat and conference centre run by the Passionate community, Tobar Mhuire, was the venue for a guided interview with Bill Shaw, presented as an opportunity “to explore their experience of life, faith, and where they find... Continue Reading →
The memorials in our heads: the Im/material Monument (Gail Ritchie) by Allan LEONARD 11 April 2023 As the information sheet for Gail Ritchie’s exhibition, The Im/material Monument, points out, 25 years after the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement there is no memorial to commemorate the collective dead of the Troubles. Through a series of... Continue Reading →
Offer of help with truth recovery process at Irish Council of Churches centenary service by Allan LEONARD 22 January 2023 The Irish Council of Churches (ICC) — an all-island body with membership from Protestant, Orthodox, Reformed, and independent church traditions — marked its centenary with a joint service of worship at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast.... Continue Reading →
‘A Long Night’s Journey into Day’ — distinguishing process and progress of reconciliation in South Africa by Allan LEONARD 4 August 2022 As part of the Feile programme of events, and supported by the Department of Foreign Affair’s Reconciliation Fund, the award-winning documentary film about South Africa’s truth and reconciliation process, A Long Night’s Journey... Continue Reading →
At first glance, the fencing obscured the artwork. Emily replied, "I like the idea that #reconciliation is under construction." A pleasure to meet and catch up. What Emily has to say is important 👇@emilystanton55 https://x.com/SharedFuture/status/1436249093408501760
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 →