The new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Norman Hamilton in his first public speech as head of the church, has addressed sectarianism and the lack of a cohesive community relations policy to address it, calling sectarianism ‘the demon among us.’
I really don’t think having at least 2 different agencies tackling the same issues (and at a time when cuts are due) is helpful, so perhaps it is a time for the Equality Commission and the Community Relations Council to be merged which would certainly save money and help for a cohesive strategy to be put in place. There could also be a case argued for including the Human Rights Commission in any such merger .
Setting that aside i think Dr Hamilton is to be praised for raising this issue and for looking to start a proper dialogue about this critical issue.
Photographer and visual artist based in Belfast.
I have facilitated community based workshops with groups as diverse as visually impaired individuals in Dungannn, Travellers across Northern Ireland, Young Offenders and many community groups across Belfast.
My work has exhibited extensively here in Northern Ireland in group and individual shows and has been shown in North America and i had my first solo international exhibition in New Zealand. I have been the recipient of a number of grants from the Arts Council Northern Ireland.
I’ll be blogging about Arts and Culture, primarily in Belfast
check out www.moochinphotoman.tumblr.com
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