Peacebuilding a shared Northern Irish society
Without fear or favour: 30 years of Troubled Images by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 28 November 2016 The latest incarnation of the Troubled Images project — the launch of a free downloadable iBook — was cause for a reunion of sorts at the Linen Hall Library for the original team that compiled and... Continue Reading →
A Lagan College birthday: The story of integrated education in Northern Ireland by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 11 November 2016 Just past the reception desk is a small, black-and-white photography of the simple and utilitarian building that housed the first enrolment of students at Lagan College in 1981; today, celebrating its 35th birthday,... Continue Reading →
Confident. Ambitious. Prosperous. Distinctive. Launch of Successful Belfast. by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 27 October 2016 Walking past the students at their tabletops, working on their assignments with mock constructions at the School of Architecture at the Ulster University Belfast campus, there was no mistaking that I found the venue for the launch... Continue Reading →
Digitising the peace process by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 1 September 2016 “You have to go to the archives!” an academic supervisor once advised me. At the time, this meant physically travelling to where the precious documents were stored, with your official letter requesting access permission, and spending hours transcribing (sometimes with only... Continue Reading →
(St) Patrick deported by citizen jury by Allan LEONARD for Shared Future News 19 March 2016 A public jury of citizens of Ireland voted to deport (Saint) Patrick, after hearing testimony in a staged hearing of his immigration application for the right to remain, at a “provocation” event by Kabosh Theatre Company at the Oh... Continue Reading →
Bringing our own lens: Visualising conflict in Palestine by Allan LEONARD 15 March 2016 The rear room at Common Grounds Cafe was the venue for a display of three types of imagery — participatory, documentary, and expository — for the Imagine! Festival of Ideas & Politics event, Visualising Conflict in Palestine, which was attended by... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →