Our History
Northern Ireland Children’s Enterprise
Core aims, vision and values for our work
NICE is committed to providing a safe space for people to discover, build and create new relationships and understanding between the different cultures and communities than exist in Northern Ireland.
We respect the diversity that exists in the community and will challenge people to take risks to develop understanding and lasting relationships with groups and individuals.
NICE will test values and beliefs in a safe environment through programmes that challenge and encourage people to think for themselves and support them in developing understanding based on first hand knowledge.
NICE believes in real working partnerships with the statutory sector through our programmes in schools and through developing collaborative projects within the voluntary sector .
Background
Nice grew from an organisation called Irish Children’s Summer Programme who brought young people from troubled parts of Belfast to the USA for summer holidays from 1978 onwards. The idea at the time was to get young people away from the worst areas of conflict in Belfast during the summer months and give them a holiday away from the stresses and strains of living with rioting and bombings on a daily basis. The programme also wanted to try and bring young Catholics and Protestants together so whenever possible one young Catholic and Protestant were placed together with a family. We also tried to place Catholic children with Protestant families and visa versa. On average we brought between 50-150 young people away each summer.
In the early 1980’s we began to talk about the long term effects on young people of the troubles and about how we could bring them together once they returned from the USA and begin the process of reconciliation. So we formed a committee in Belfast and one in New York to further these aims. Our Chairman in the USA Don Murphy was instrumental in setting up NICE as it exists today where our work is now solely concentrated in reconciliation in Northern Ireland. In 1987 through his support,we purchased a residential Centre in Ballycastle 60 miles from Belfast. Here thousands of young people have had the opportunity over the years to meet at weekends and begin the process of understanding and appreciating difference.
In 1998 we moved our Belfast HQ from rented accommodation in North Belfast to our present location in south Belfast closer to our feeder schools and communities. The Australian Ireland Fund helped to fund our centre in Belfast and indeed have given us much support since so we called the centre Australia House in appreciation of their help over the years. We have office accommodation and a variety of training/ group rooms where we run our programmes from.
Programme outlines
Our programmes start with young people in Primary school where they participate in the Schools Community Relations Programme, which involves residentials at our centre in Ballycastle as well as an extensive programme in school time. This happens in P5, P6 and P 7, many of the young people will not have just one year of programmes with us, they will be involved in a three year cycle, building up their relationships and knowledge of each other exploring their own feelings and looking at culture and difference. Many young people continue their involvement with us post primary through our youth programmes in our own centres and have the opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding of areas such as culture and conflict.
The next stage of our programme is at yr’s 13 & 14 aged 17and 18yrs young people have the opportunity firstly to participate in an accredited 10 week programme called’ Citizenship in a Divided Society’. They explore many aspects of community relations with their peers, this work is developed further in a stage two accredited programme which is organised on a cross community basis. They cannot participate in module two until they have successfully completed module one. Module one programmes are designed so that young people can gradually learn how to express themselves in a safe learning environment, explore issues which divide society, look at their own values and beliefs, examine some of the prejudices and stereotypes they hold about each other and look at difference .
Guiding principles for our work
- People learn by doing:-
By trying new things, tackling fresh problems, tackling old problems, trying new skills, by relating to people in different ways.
- People learn from others:-
By interacting with others, by reflecting on their actions with others and receiving feedback from others.
- People learn about themselves:-
By discovering their own strengths and weaknesses; fears and aspirations; identifying values and beliefs; understanding their behaviour and how it effects others.
- People learn how to learn
By discovering new ways of approaching issues, reflecting on actions and developing confidence.
The programme in its methodology aims to create a safe enough space for individuals to reflect on the conflict in Northern Ireland and the impact of living in a divided society.
It will provide opportunity for individuals to take a risk and engage in dialogue with other individuals on a variety of issues.
The work is demanding and often exciting and energising; so individuals are encouraged to develop a supportive pace for themselves.
Finally the work will not require an army of experts rather it draws on the experiences already existing within people’s communities and lives.