community

Peace Heroines: Spotlight on Stormont

| Readers 1224

The Herstory project, established in 2016 to elevate the stories of women in national histories, launched an art exhibition at the Long Gallery in Parliament Buildings, Belfast. “Peace Heroines” features nine vibrant, largescale individual portrait paintings by artist FRIZ — women who have made an indelible mark on the Northern Ireland peace process, including Monica McWilliams, Pearl Sagar, Linda Ervine, Pat Hume, May Blood, Ann Carr, and Saidie Patterson. Several took part in an event discussion with Herstory creative director, Melanie Lynch. After …

Read more…

The tricky business of coaxing people back into society…

| Readers 1119
man, sculpture, art

I have been texting an old school friend to meet up for a walk. He replied that he is in such bad shape after a year and a half in lockdown that even a walk might be too taxing. The pandemic affects everyone differently. Some people are living their best lives with more time with family and loads of savings due to the inability to spend to the same level. Others have had it hard with loneliness and isolation taking …

Read more…

‘Cross Community Projects’ are Outdated in Today’s Northern Ireland

| Readers 2733

The concept of a polarisation of politics is one often talked about in today’s society, and in Brexit Britain and Trump’s America and so many other cases it is easy to see evidence of this polarisation. People follow different narratives that offer different (or alternative) facts and there is a demonised view of the motives of politicians that you do not agree with. In Northern Ireland polarisation of politics is nothing new to us, and it continues to this day …

Read more…

Where is the [working class] Protestant Community today? (panel discussion)

| Readers 198
panel discussion on Where is the Protestant community today

A panel discussion around the topic of “Where is the Protestant Community Today?” followed a preview of the play Paisley & Me and two well-received performances/readings by community drama groups in Westbourne Presbyterian Community Church. Noel Thompson strongly chaired proceedings, and started the dialogue by asking the panellists – Sammy Douglas (DUP MLA), Jackie McDonald (UPRG), John Kyle (PUP councillor) and Michael Copeland (UUP MLA) – about their first memories of Ian Paisley. In their own way, each of the …

Read more…

POTD – Parade

| Readers 11

With the Lord Mayors parade taking place in Belfast today i thought i’d post a photo from a parade i saw in Leogane Haiti which was the closest town to the epicentre of the Jan 2010 earthquake. On Easter Sunday i was taken there ostensibly because i wanted to flavour some of the local Rara music. What i wasn’t told was that every year the town holds a parade which commemorates the history of Haiti, from the first slaves arriving, …

Read more…