Good Relations Week 2021 to put emphasis on our younger generation

Given our fractious history and the heavy freight of the Troubles that continues its legacy in sectarian politics on the hill, tribalism and a divisive allegiance to orange and green ideologies, Northern Ireland certainly has room for improvement when it comes to the development of good relations.

Certainly if we look to the ongoing tension between the DUP and Sinn Fein over the pesky issue of the NI protocol and legislation for an Irish Language Act, our political representatives have not always been the best at setting the example for good relations across unionist and nationalist lines, and in today’s ever more diverse Ulster, we must now also welcome people of different ethnicities and religions that are increasingly making Northern Ireland their home, from Polish nationals to Syrian refugees, and in the spirit of good relations we should see this as a glorious enrichment of our social fabric.

This year Good Relations Week 2021, co-ordinated by the Community Relations council, will celebrate and shine a light on the peace-building and cultural diversity efforts of young people and the particular challenges they are facing in a world that has been irrevocably changed by Covid.

The week will run from Monday September 20 until September 26 and will be marked by a colourful programme of face-to-face events, alongside an expanded online offering of virtual events and online content. It will feature the largest showcase of cross community and multi-cultural arts, history, music and discussion on the island of Ireland, with an array of workshops, lectures, panels and even theatre performance.

The Community Relations Council is encouraging local community groups, voluntary organisations, statutory bodies, businesses and local councils to get involved and host a face-to-face or virtual event that showcase their outstanding good relations efforts.

Martin McDonald MBE, chair of the Community Relations Council, said: “Good Relations Week 2021 is putting a strong emphasis on our young people by showcasing the range of projects and initiatives they are involved in on a day-to-day basis to tackle sectarianism and racism and promoting cultural diversity in their local communities – all aimed at building brighter days ahead for everyone.

“Thanks to lockdown restrictions easing, the return of in-person events is closer than ever, so we have adopted a flexible approach to the delivery of a programme of events in 2021.

“Good Relations Week 2021 will embrace the re-introduction of face-to-face events - all delivered in a way that is safe and guided by the most up to date health advice. We will also continue to expand our online offering through virtual and hybrid events”.

The CRC was set up 30 years ago, before the ceasefire and Good Friday Agreement, to promote good relations across society at a time when internecine conflict on the ground and the prevalence of rank sectarianism was still very much a reality.

“We believe everyone should be treated with equal respect, so that means treating those across our historic divide and beyond with acceptance and understanding. We appreciate looking at things from multiple perspectives. Sectarianism may have reached something of an endgame, but it certainly has not been eradicated yet.

“It’s also about understanding our history, acknowledging the validity of orange and green identities as well as those identities that are not encompassed in this binary in order to build an inclusive society founded on good relations for all.

“We are still fighting against sectarianism. We’ve always needed healthcare and doctors and in the same way we need organisations like ourselves to try to instigate, maintain and uphold good relations across Northern Irish society.

“We have always wanted to help organisations who want to reach out to the other side of the community, to encourage that as a means of combating the sectarian divide. It’s about building united communities and we are funded in our work by the Northern Ireland Executive Office. We are a small organisation but I believe the work we do in Northern Ireland, which is now a multi-cultural society, is invaluable.”

This year’s focus on young people is inspiring, because they are after all the future of Northern Ireland, and younger people who did not grow up during the conflict have a different focus that has little to do with sectarian politics - “things like the environment, climate change, the challenges of maintaining mental health, travelling the globe and accessing adequate job opportunities are of far more importance to the younger generation,” continues Martin.

“They have a totally different and invigorating vision of the future than the older generation because they are not hide-bound by the atrocities of the past.

“They also have different attitudes to things like relationships, marriage, same-sex marriage and abortion, to many, many issues that the older demographic view in a perhaps more conservative way.

“Their focus is on the future, which is yet to be made, and we are so looking forward to hearing their views.”

McDonald talks about how much of what we hear about young people in the media is often profoundly negative when the reality is that great things are happening right across Northern Ireland that display how our young people are becoming shining lights for a post-conflict society that embraces diversity, difference, tolerance and eco-consciousness.

The CRC has a young ambassadors programme aimed at producing leaders of the future. “These young people are going to set the tone for the future and provide leadership in their own communities,” continues McDonald.

As part of the Good Relations Week line-up, yet to be finessed, he talks about performances of Irish dancing by a young Indian girl resident here that will be uploaded online, and the continuation of an inter-generational pen-pal project developed by the React Youth Group, that developed during the pandemic to help establish new friendships between the younger and older demographics, a way of breaking through the isolation many older people faced as a result of the pandemic and a way for young people to appreciate the wisdom of their elders.” McDonald also talks about teenage musician Cara Monaghan, 16, who is working with the Afghan Women’s Orchestra to produce a collaborative music video made with the help of multicultural arts group Beyond Skin.”

McDonald believes that in terms of the ongoing development of good relations across our historically divided society, it isn’t about some big seismic change taking place, but the small incremental changes that take place every day, the people we meet when we go the shops or where we go to pray, asking people how they are spontaneously, striking up friendships with those from a different background to your own and becoming enriched by an encounter with that difference which at the same time will reveal the common ground we all walk upon.

Jacqueline Irwin, chief executive of the Community Relations Council added: “During the coronavirus pandemic we have all had to come to terms with a vastly different way of life that has put strain on the mental and physical health and wellbeing of everyone, including young people. We hope Good Relations Week 2021 will shine a light on the great contribution made by young people, support them in the challenges they are facing today, and encourage them to look ahead. We want to give everyone the chance to be part of this year’s celebrations, so we encourage all organisations and people to get involved.” Visit: www.goodrelationsweek.com.