Carrickfergus Borough Council - PEACE III Funding

Community Menu

PEACE III Funding

The 3 Boroughs of Carrickfergus, Antrim and Newtownabbey have formed the CAN Peace III Cluster and in line with guidance issued by the Special European Union Programmes Body, the Partnership has developed a Strategy and Action Plan, which has been approved by the Management Authority attracting an award of £1,954,868.

The Peace III Programme is a distinctive programme, part-funded by the European Union. The main aims of the programme are to reinforce progress towards a stable and peaceful society and to promote reconciliation by assisting operations and projects which help to reconcile communities and contribute towards a shared society for everyone. The Peace III Programme is divided into 2 main priorities:

• Reconciling Communities
• Contributing to a Shared Society

The Programme delivers these priorities through the following 'themes':

• To build positive relations at a local level - cross community and cross border initiatives and long term activities in priority communities as a result of local action. Sectarianism and racism decrease in social life where new opportunities for collaboration are created and minority groups are more integrated.
• To acknowledge the past - victims and survivors are able to deal with the past on their own terms. Significant groups of the population are able to see and hear about a different culture and history of the conflict.
• To create shared public spaces - these are changes in behavioural patterns for shopping, working socialising and the usage of facilities by all.
• To develop key institutional capacity for a shared society - key institutions develop a capacity to deliver a shared future. Public service delivery is adjusted to deal in a targeted and concerted manner with issues that contribute to a shared society.

The Peace III Programme follows on from the Peace I and Peace II Programmes and will carry forward some of the key aspects of these programmes, with a renewed emphasis on reconciliation. It also has a focus on cross border initiatives.

Under Phase 1 of the Peace III Programme the following local groups were successful under the small grants programme:

Carrickfergus YMCA - Glenfield/Castlemara Parents and Kids Together - £24,831

Carrickfergus YMCA - Youth & Community Centre - £35,750

Carrickfergus YMCA - Woodburn/Sunnylands Parents and Kids Together - £28,285

Carrickfergus Enterprise - Understanding Ourselves, Respecting Others - £21,110

Carrickfergus Rugby Club - Carrick Rugby Outreach Programmes - £30,000

Glenfield Community Association - The 4 C's Project - £25,835

St. Nicholas Parish - Carrick Front Squad Revisited - £13,935

Carrickfergus will also benefit from the following projects which will be delivered across the 3 Cluster areas:

Community Development Agency / SEACF - Dealing with Perceptions - £28,950

Making Music Workshops - Give Yourself a Voice - £28,188

University of Ulster - Sport and Community Education - £27,640

University of Ulster - Sport and Community Integration - £22,950

Early Years - Media Initiative for Children, Respecting Differences - £29,645

The CAN Peace III Partnership is currently consultating for Phase 2 of the Peace III Programme (2011 - 2013). The programme continues to focus on challenging sectarianism and racism and on building relationships at a local level.

To ensure that the Action Plan for the 2nd phase reflects the needs of local communities in regards to these issues, it is vital that the community and voluntary sector take the opportunity to inform its development. The public consultation events have already taken place. If you were unable to attend you can still have your say through completing an online consultation survey which is available at www.newtownabbey.gov.uk/community/peace3phase2.asp.