Active citizenship and community relations in Northern Ireland

John McCormick
15 July 2009 - 1:26pm
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Tagged as:

• citizenship
• community relations
• volunteering
• Research

Active citizenship and community relations in Northern Ireland

Foreword

A Shared Future (2005) – the Government’s policy and strategic framework for good relations in Northern Ireland – pointed to the role of the voluntary and community sector in helping create a less divided society. Indeed, in Northern Ireland, the sector is often cited as being at the vanguard of creating an environment within which the old divisions can be tackled and resolved.

This booklet aims to examine the progress made so far, and what more is possible including whether civil society is sufficiently aware, resourced and, indeed, willing to meet expectations. It is based on presentations at a series of special seminars entitled Active citizenship and community relations in
Northern Ireland, which took place in Belfast in early 2008.

Organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in collaboration with the Northern Ireland
Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), these events enabled experts based in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK to share their insights with practitioners, academics and policymakers.

Public participation in Northern Ireland was the topic for Dr Nicholas Acheson, of the University of Ulster, with Edward Andersson, of the London-based organisation, INVOLVE, giving a UK-wide perspective.
Dr David Herbert, of the Open University, and Dr Steven Howlett, of Roehampton, examined some unintended, positive consequences claimed for volunteering.

And while Professor Joanne Hughes, of Queen’s University, Belfast, explored some controversial but important issues around the true impact of civil society on community relations, Professor Irene Hardill, of Nottingham Trent University, drew on her research in England to focus on volunteering as self-help in communities divided by class and material well-being.

Active citizenship and community relations in Northern Ireland is just the latest topic in the ESRC’s Public Policy Seminar Series, in which we present independent research in key policy areas to potential users in Government, politics, the media, and the private and voluntary sectors.

Please contact Lynn Anderson at NICVA if you would like a copy on 028 9087 7777 or email: lynn.anderson@nicva.org.