Glencree has been involved in the delivery of youth-focused peace education projects and programmes on a cross border, north-south basis for over 40 years. Since the early 2020's, this work has expanded into Europe through a number of EU-funded project initiatives aimed at increasing young people's engagement in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes.
Glencree’s Youth Engagement work promotes engagement among students and young adults from across the island of Ireland through peace education, shared learning and cross border, cross-community relationship building. At European level, this work aims to build the capacity of youth workers and organisations to engage young people - particularly young women - in peace and reconciliation efforts.
This programme engages young people as active contributors to peace and reconciliation by providing spaces for learning, reflection and shared understanding under the core areas of:
A significant concern is a lack of, or insufficient, education and awareness among young people about the historical events from the period of the Troubles and the peace process. This gap in understanding risks undermining the sustainability of peace, especially amid evolving political debates such as the prospect of a border poll on unification.
Glencree has long recognised the critical need to engage young people in dialogue, education and peacebuilding.
Over the past two decades, our youth engagement work has created safe spaces for young people from both North and South of Ireland to explore their shared history and envision a peaceful future together. More recently, we expanded this focus to include intergenerational learning, creative storytelling and developing partnerships to build capacity within the youth sector across Europe to support and nurture the next generation of peacebuilders.
Glencree’s youth engagement initiatives focus on fostering inclusive dialogue and creating spaces for shared learning among young people from diverse backgrounds across the island of Ireland, and students from visiting international universities. Through peace education workshops and facilitated dialogues, young participants explore the history and legacy of the Troubles, the peace process and current issues impacting a reconciled future on the island of Ireland.
More recently, we have also been facilitating intergenerational knowledge exchanges and strengthening networks with youth organisations across Europe to enhance youth participation - in particular young women - in peacebuilding. By closing knowledge gaps and amplifying young people’s voices, our aim is to build shared understanding, break down barriers and support the development of a strong, inclusive civic society capable of sustaining peace for future generations.
Our current and more recent work in the area of youth engagement includes:
Click below to learn more about each area of work.
Developed under the 'Missing Peace: Youth, Peace and Reconciliation' project, this Toolkit is a free resource designed to help youth workers, educators and community engage young people in peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts so they are empowered to think critically, develop empathy and engage in meaningful conversations about peacebuilding and conflict.
Hear from the women of the BRIDGE Intergenerational Storytelling project as they share insights, challenges and lessons learned about the power of storytelling in building understanding and connections across divides.
An initiative of Glencree and Politics In Action which will run during the 2020/21 school year with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Education.
During 2020/21, five student-politician engagements took place between senior students from Ballyclare High School and Dominican College, Co. Antrim, Loreto Community School, Co. Donegal and Dublin’s Luttrellstown Community College with politicians north and south of the border. Click on the links below to view these student-politician dialogues.
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