Ardoyne & Bushmills Youth Unite through Kurdish & Jamaican Arts

Two projects converge with Ardoyne & Bushmills youth

The Lion & the Den is one of the legacies from September 2014 WOMAD activities in Coleraine, Limavady & Moyle.

Young people from the Den have been engaged on an empowerment programme through the arts working alongside WOMAD's Jamaican artist, Ripton Lindsay.
The project is to mentor young people to become community ambassadors and recently in November past Ripton returned to Bushmills to work with the young lads from the Den on a one week programme leading up to an event with young people from Ardoyne.

Young people from John Paul Youth Club Ardoyne through the Beyond Skin PICAS programme have started a project exploring Kurdish & Irish culture, Muslim beliefs & traditions and Islam led by Karwan Shareef

The Programme for InterCultural Arts Support (PICAS) is a new Community Arts Programme initiative supported by the Arts Council Northern Ireland offering a range of opportunities to support the delivery of key areas of the Arts Council Intercultural Arts Strategy. The Purpose of the programme is to encourage and foster initiatives in the intercultural arts arena.

This two year programme has been designed to assist communities and individuals, artists and activists to support the Intercultural Arts Strategy.

Ripton has also worked with John Paul Youth Club through the WOMAD in Northern Ireland outreach programme.

In a shared workshop held on 29th September 2014 in Bushmills, youth groups from Ardoyne & Bushmills groups met and took part in Jamaican dance, Kurdish music and language activities.

The event was also attended by the chair of Moyle District Council, Councillor Donal Cunningham

Councillor Cunningham said:
“I am delighted that Moyle Council was able to again support Beyond Skin to deliver more workshops for our young people at The Den building on the legacy of the fantastic work done in September. I know the Bushmills group had a great time all week when Ripton returned to further the development of their Jamaican drumming skills and then for them all to have the opportunity together to work with Karwan and the group from Ardoyne on Kurdish arts and music in a very special joint event at the end of the week.
It was wonderful to see how both groups came together in a programme which will help them develop and better understand global and diverse cultures which in turn will help address issues such as racism and sectarianism. This was a great initiative and we are looking forward to seeing more similar engagements to promote understanding, develop confidence and foster leadership skills in our young people.”

Jan O’Niell from Moyle District Council also commented
“The series of workshops and the showcase event in September was in itself a programme which created a lasting legacy for many of the groups that are part of the Causeway Coast and Glens community, but for there to have been an opportunity to build on this work with the young people of The Den in Bushmills was particularly special and significant. From the outset of ‘The Lion and The Den’ legacy project, the growth of skill, confidence and determination in the young people was very clear to see and this continued to increase as the week of working with Ripton progressed. The Den did themselves and all of us proud in how they welcomed the young people from Ardoyne at the special joint workshop at the end of the week. They were perfect hosts and guides as they showed off the best of their drumming and their town to the Belfast visitors. All thanks to The Den for stepping up to the plate and making this legacy project such a success. Also thanks to the Beyond Skin team, Ripton Lindsay and Karwan Shareef for their professionalism and dedication. Their ‘can do’ approach is key to their success and very inspirational to all of us who experience it.”

"Beyond Skin seem to be more and more asked to enagage with so called 'difficult young people'. In Beyond Skin' s 10 year history I have yet to find one. What we do find consistantly though are young people having the need for support and ecouragement to develop thier confidence, skills and find their value and role in a diverse world.  Community arts projects such as these meet those needs. It is not about engaging young people to keep them off the streets.  It is about empowering young people and having belief in them  to become commmunity ambassasdors."    Darren Ferguson - Beyond Skin

The entire week and event in Bushmills was a great success, a milestone in community relations and a foundation of a new relationship between the two youth groups.

“Throughout the week I have seen a great improvement in the young people at the Den, both musically & socially, interacting with each other abs us the youth workers. As well as an amazing increase in self belief aspiring to be the best they can.” Joy youth leader The Den

“The group of young people who are engaging with Karwin in the PICAS project, are normally a very hard group to engage with. They are a group of street lads (drifters) who normally would appear for a while at this time off year, when the weather changes for the worst. I am surprised they have been engaging with Karwin and are participating and interacting in the Cultural awareness project. I have spoken to them and they are totally enjoying the experience well done.
Thanks” Jacqui – John Paul Youth Club

“Just a quick email to say how great Saturday was to see teenagers and youngsters from Bushmills & Ardoyne walking up the main road together talking and laughing as if there was no divide. It brought a lump to my throat and a tear off pride to my eye to see this happen.

Being an ex-soldier who did 4 tours of duty in Northern Ireland losing colleagues in the violence in the 70's, it made me very humble to think that the arts was able to bring these two towns together using dance and drumming.
Perhaps in time with the help of people like Ripton & Karwan (facilitators) Northern Ireland can put its troubled past behind it and look to the future with combined heart”  David Long volunteer driver.

The projects were funded by Moyle District Council good relations, Unite Against Hate & the Arts Council Northern Ireland (through Community Arts Partnership PICAS initiative)

The PICAS 'Kurdistan to Ardoyne and back again' project will continue until March 2015
Plans are also in motion for future Den Bushmills project and shared activities with Ardoyne, Ballycastle and Cushendal groups.
A suggestion to rename The Den to 'The Lions Den' has also been suggested.

www.beyondskin.net
For more information about PICAS visit www,comartspartner.orgFor more information about WOMADNI vsiit www.womadni.com Ardoyne vs Jamaica dance off video: http://youtu.be/f0_l2RFG5dMArdoyne to Kurdistan & Back Teaser Video: http://youtu.be/vAXfTXUmZ8kBushmills meets Ardoyne Slideshow: http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/Beyond_Skin/slideshow/2014/Ardoyne%20Bushmills%20Youth%20ProjectArdoyne PICAS project Slideshow: http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/Beyond_Skin/slideshow/2014/Ardoyne%20-%20Kurdistan%20PICAS%20projectThe Den Bushmills WOMADNI Slideshow: http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/Beyond_Skin/slideshow/2014/The%20Lion%20and%20The%20Den%20-%20WOMAD