Email Briefing 19 Jan 04

Contents

1. Great Ideas for Small Fundraising Events and Activities
2. Open arms? Locked cells
3. Ending the imprisonment of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland
4. Holocaust Memorial Day 27 January 2004 – Events
5. Get Active, Get into Sport
6. Group Facilitation Methods
7. Springboard Community Reconciliation (South Africa) Programme 2004
8. NICVA Website Headlines

1. Great ideas for small fundraising events and activities

NICVA wants to hear from you if you have run a successful small fundraising event or activity. As an incentive, NICVA is offering a six months subscription free to the Grant Tracker website, the one-stop fundraising resource for voluntary and community organisations, worth up to £80. Other featured stories will be given complimentary Grant Tracker CD-ROMs each worth £40. The deadline has been extended to 30 January 2004.

For application forms and guidelines, contact Georgie Finlay on 028 9087 7777, Georgie Finlay or download from web.

2. Open arms? Locked cells - ending the imprisonment of asylum seekers in Northern Ireland

The Refugee Action Group will be hosting this one day conference on 10 February 2004 from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm. The conference, which is free, will be held at the Malone Lodge Hotel, Eglantine Avenue, Belfast.

For full details of the conference, please contact Democratic Dialogue on 028 9022 0050, info@democraticdialogue.orgor web:

3. Holocaust memorial day27 January 2004 – events

Main event

Northern Ireland is hosting the fourth UK Holocaust Memorial Day, with the main commemoration taking place in the main auditorium in the Waterfront Hall, on Tuesday 27 January 2004 at 7.45 pm.

The ceremony will last approximately 60 minutes and will begin with the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Martin Morgan, offering words of welcome. Gena Turgel, a Holocaust survivor, will then read a short extract from her book, "I Light a Candle". After a musical interlude, a series of audio-visual images from the Holocaust and other genocides will be shown. Seamus Heaney will then read a poem written by Bertolt Brecht before the audience is asked to participate in a solemn moment of reflection.

In recognition that 2004 will mark the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, which resulted in deaths of up to a million people in a little over 100 days, the theme for the 2004 national commemoration will be ‘From the Holocaust to Rwanda: lessons learned, lessons still to learn’.

Tickets can be obtained from the Holocaust Memorial Day office, 3rd Floor, McKelvey House, 25 Wellington Place, Belfast, BT1 6GD, 028 9027 7629, belfast2004@holocaustmemorialday.gov.ukor in person. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 1.00 pm. For full details about this and other events in Northern Ireland visit the website: www.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk/ .

Rally Against Racism

Earlier in the day, there will be a Rally Against Racism outside Belfast City Hall at 1.00 pm. The rally is being organised by the Anti-Racism Network, a network of approximately 25 organisations, minority ethnic organisations, human rights and solidarity organisations, solicitors firms, political parties, students’ organisations, trade unions and others. The Network is asking people to make a special effort to get to this rally to demonstrate their opposition to the recent racist attacks in South Belfast and show solidarity with minority ethnic communities living here.

4. Get active, get into sport

Disability Sports NI will be hosting this information and demonstration day on 5 February 2004 from 11.00 am to 8.00 pm in Maysfield Leisure Centre. The event aims to provide a wide range of information on the sports and physical activities available to people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments.

The main hall will be utilised for a variety of sports demonstrations as well as hosting information stands, set up by various groups/organisations. Everyone is welcome to attend the event, which is free of charge.

For further information, contact Aubrey Bingham at Disability Sports NIon 028 9050 8255 or abingham@dsni.co.uk .

5. Group facilitation methods

This course is a structured introduction to the basic Technology of Participation (ToP) Focused Conversation andConsensus Workshop methods. The course presents the foundations of the ToP methodology in a practical and participatory way, demonstrating, discussing and practicing each method. Group Facilitation Methods is being organised by the Institute of Cultural Affairs’ UK branch (ICA:UK). The Northern Ireland workshop will be held in Craigavon from 30-31 March 2004.

The Focused Conversation Method is a structure for effective communication which allows everyone in the group to participate while the Consensus Workshop Method enables a group facilitator to weave everyone's wisdom into a practical plan.

Course fees are: small voluntary group/individual £105, large voluntary group £145, private/public sector £195. A limited number of £100 bursaries are available to small groups and individuals.

For more information or to book a place, contact ICA on 0845 450 0305or web: www.ica-uk.org.uk/ .

6. Springboard community reconciliation (South Africa) programme 2004

This is a full-time programme with the added attraction of four weeks of work experience in South Africa. The programme will last 16 weeks, starting 23 February and finishing on 18 June 2004). The overseas phase will be from 21 April to 22 May 2004. Participants must be unemployed and aged between 18 and 28 years old, and should either have some experience in youth or community work or be strong culturally or politically. The programme is also accredited from the Ulster People’s College, which will look at an Introduction to Community Development and Developing Leadership skills. There will also be many other workshops which relate to South Africa, Northern Ireland and community work in general.

To register interest or to recommend someone for the programme, please contact Paul on 028 9031 5111 or
paul@springboard-opps.org to obtain an information pack.

7. NICVA Website Headlines

Historic moment for the EUand the Republic of Ireland in Ireland new president of the EU

Concordia offer Busaries for World Assembly in Botswana plus funding for transatlantic activities

NICVA vacancy for an ICT Development Manager. Plus six pages of jobs in the sector , from Cook to FundraisingManager.

Happy birthday. February 2004 is the first birthday of the new NICVA website. During this month a short survey will run on the site to gather your comments on how useful, or not, you are finding the site. A range of tempting prizes will be on offer for those that return their survey...all will be revealed on 2 February 2004...

NICVA's Information Briefing is sent by email to all our members on a weekly basis. We hope this helps you circulate the information within your organisation where appropriate.

To subscribe: send a message to nicvalist@nicva.org with subscribe in the subject field.

To unsubscribe: send a message to nicvalist@nicva.org with unsubscribe in the subject field.