8/6/2023: From November 2022 to May 2023, the Peace Summit initiative carried out a series of in-depth consultation events with over 700 peace builders, local communities and young people from across Northern Ireland and the border counties who gave their views on progress made over the past 25 years and the steps still to be taken in relation to the Northern Ireland peace process.
The Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation was pleased to partner with the John and Pat Hume Foundation and Community Dialogue in consultation on this important work. The other Peace Summit partners are the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ulster University, Integrated Education Fund, Holywell Trust, Youth Action Northern Ireland, and the International Fund for Ireland.
Consultation responses have been distilled and included in the Peace Summit Report – A Call to Action which includes an agenda for the future that speaks to issues from the past that still need to be addressed and require a renewed commitment to create the sustainable peace and reconciliation we desire and deserve.
The full report can be read here: Peace Summit A Call to Action 24 May 2023.
Tim Attwood, Secretary of the John and Pat Hume Foundation, commented: “John and Pat Hume dedicated their lives to building peace and reconciliation in the North and on the island of Ireland. 25 years on from the historic Yes Referendum on the 24 May 1998, it is very timely that the final report on Peace Summit 2023 – A Call For Action’ will be launched on the anniversary of the Referendum.”
Naoimh McNamee, Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation CEO, said: “It’s so important to hear from people from different walks of life, genders, age groups and ethnicities as was the approach taken for the Hume Foundation Peace Summit 2023 – A Call For Action report. We hear the frustrations, and also suggestions, on how to move forward. I feel uplifted by this report, as we continue to work creatively together in partnership with each other. That sense of hope is really important to us right now.“
Dympna McGlade, Community Dialogue, said: “The last 25 years have brought relative peace, and we should never take this for granted. The Peace Summit has had a deep and constructive engagement with young people and peacemakers on the unfinished business of peace and reconciliation, the final report recognises the achievements and has produced important recommendations and a call for action for the next 25 years.”
Special thanks are given to The International Fund for Ireland for funding the consultation and report and the additional support provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund and Ulster University.
It’s so important to hear from people from different walks of life, genders, age groups and ethnicities as was the approach taken for the Hume Foundation Peace Summit 2023 – A Call For Action report.
Ends.
For further information:
Glencree Media Contact: Valerie Ringrose Fitzsimons | 086 3771020 | Valerie.fitzsimons@glencree.ie
