Forward Together – Page 2 – Slugger O'Toole

“You can’t rely on a political culture of respect when one doesn’t actually exist”

Paul Gosling on July 20, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1873

Unionists should engage in the conversation around the proposal for a Bill of Rights, recognising that it can help protect their interests and human rights, says former Progressive Unionist Party councillor Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston. She was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. “I think human rights themselves are important because they help protect against abuse by those who are more powerful”, says Julie-Anne. A Bill of Rights can also be used as a means of fighting …

‘A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is overdue’

Paul Gosling on July 13, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 3414

A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is overdue and would protect the interests and concerns of all the population, insists Colin Harvey, professor of human rights at Queen’s University, Belfast. He was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. The Good Friday Agreement provided the expectation that there would be a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland that would safeguard citizens’ rights. And a committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly is, more than 20 years …

Integrating society, creating shared spaces, enabling conversations

Paul Gosling on July 6, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1036

Integrated education should not be perceived as a threat to anyone’s sense of identity, but the sector needs to consider how it promotes itself across all of the community, says Roisin Marshall, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE). She was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. “Integration isn’t about dumbing down anyone’s identity,” she says. “It’s about enabling people to have conversations which are sometimes about not agreeing with each …

Reconciliation above all

Paul Gosling on June 29, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1356

Reconciliation is the primary necessity facing Northern Ireland, believes Peter Osborne. Peter is a former chair of both the Community Relations Council and the Parades Commission. He was talking in the latest Forward Together podcast from the Holywell Trust. “I come from a perspective of looking at what reconciliation is about,” says Peter. He argues that to achieve reconciliation it is essential to correct the structures that create separation. This has led him to strongly argue for the integration of …

‘There is something seriously and fundamentally wrong’ – Northern Ireland’s housing crisis

Paul Gosling on June 15, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 3409

Although the shortage of housing was a major issue in the recent Irish general election, it is also a major challenge in Northern Ireland. For some reason, there is much less focus on this north of the border. PPR – the Participation and Practice of Rights – is keen to correct this, as its housing activist Marissa McMahon explained in the latest Holywell Trust Forward Together podcast. It is important to consider the statistics when placing the housing crisis in …

‘My coping mechanism is talking, seeking peace and reconciliation’

Paul Gosling on June 8, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 1526

Alan McBride’s personal journey is well known, but remarkable nonetheless. It was in 1993 that his wife Sharon and her father Desmond Frizzell were killed in an IRA bomb attack on the family fish shop in Belfast’s Shankill Road. But with immense dignity, Alan has since dedicated his life to reconciliation and progress, as well as campaigning on behalf of victims. He is the latest interviewee in the Holywell Trust Forward Together podcasts. Alan admits that initially after Sharon …

What is justice anyway?

Paul Gosling on June 1, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 450

What is justice? The answer might be obvious, but in past Forward Together podcast interviews it has been noticeable that the responses to that question have been inconsistent. While parts of political unionism seem focused on the judicial process for acts going back to the Troubles, the response by some in republicanism has been that the core of justice is about creating a fair society today. Daniel Holder, deputy director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, tells the …

“Most people believe social care should be free, but there’s a lot of confusion out there”

Paul Gosling on May 25, 2020, 9:02 am

| Readers 556

Social care must be reformed. If it wasn’t clear before the Covid-19 pandemic, it has become tragically obvious over recent weeks. So this is an opportune time to hear in the latest Holywell Trust Forward Together podcast from Deirdre Heenan, professor of social policy at Ulster University and joint author nine years ago of a major study into Northern Ireland’s health and social care system. “The vast majority of people accept and want the NHS to be free at the …

The north’s economic problem – education…

Paul Gosling on May 4, 2020, 7:10 am

| Readers 2189

John FitzGerald is one of Ireland’s most respected and influential economists –formerly research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute and currently chair of the group advising the Irish government on climate policy. He is a strong critic of Northern Ireland’s policies on education and skills training, arguing that these are core factors in the weakness of the northern economy. He is the latest interviewee in the Holywell Trust’s Forward Together podcast series. “In terms of productivity, Northern Ireland …

Northern Ireland’s mental health crisis

Paul Gosling on April 27, 2020, 9:01 am

| Readers 2092

Mental health is a global challenge, but poor mental health is at crisis levels in Northern Ireland. That crisis is in part an ongoing impact from the Troubles, Siobhan O’Neill, professor of mental health science at Ulster University, says in the latest Holywell Trust podcast. “We’re seeing a rise in mental health problems in the Western world,” says Siobhan. “We know that around one in four or one in five people in Europe and the West have a mental health …

New Podcast Series

Paul Gosling on April 7, 2020, 7:11 pm

| Readers 332

A new series of podcasts will be launched in the coming days by the Holywell Trust. The podcasts will feature interviews with experts who consider how we can make progress in government, the economy and society across Northern Ireland. They are a follow-up to the Forward Together podcasts, which remain available on the Holywell Trust website. A transcript of those previous podcasts is also available and will be followed in the near future by a book that brings together …

Making in progress in Northern Ireland

Paul Gosling on January 14, 2020, 10:11 am

| Readers 1239

The resumption of the Assembly and Executive of Stormont is the basis for a reform of government in Northern Ireland and a change in the way our society operates. The big question is how this can be achieved. Holywell Trust conducted interviews with opinion leaders in Northern Ireland and the Republic asking how our society should change. Those 35 ‘Forward Together’ interviews were covered extensively last year by Slugger and broadcast as podcasts. They have this week been published on …

Considering the future of Northern Ireland

Paul Gosling on October 21, 2019, 7:01 am

| Readers 4439

A panel considered how to engage in a friendly and unthreatening conversation about the future constitutional arrangements for Northern Ireland. This was held as part of a concluding reflection on the Holywell Trust’s series of 35 Forward Together podcast interviews. The panel comprised author Julieann Campbell, the commentator Denis Bradley (who was co-chair of the Consultative Group on the Past and former deputy chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board) and Maureen Hetherington of the Junction, plus myself as the …

Dealing with the past

Paul Gosling on October 13, 2019, 7:01 am

| Readers 2197

A discussion on how to deal with the past was held as part of a concluding reflection on the Holywell Trust’s series of Forward Together podcasts. The panel was author Julieann Campbell, the commentator Denis Bradley (who was co-chair of the Consultative Group on the Past and former deputy chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board) and Maureen Hetherington of the Junction, plus myself as the person who conducted the interviews for the 35 podcasts. This podcast also includes a …

Creating a shared and integrated society

Paul Gosling on October 7, 2019, 7:01 am

| Readers 1229

A discussion on how to create a shared and integrated society was held as part of a concluding reflection on the Holywell Trust’s series of Forward Together podcasts. The panel was author Julieann Campbell, the commentator Denis Bradley (who was co-chair of the Consultative Group on the Past and former deputy chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board) and Maureen Hetherington of the Junction, plus myself as the person who conducted the interviews for the 35 podcasts. We began by …

Civic engagement can help to heal Northern Ireland’s dislocated society

Paul Gosling on September 30, 2019, 7:01 am

| Readers 1027

A discussion on how to strengthen civic society was held as part of a concluding reflection on the Holywell Trust’s series of Forward Together podcasts. The panel was author Julieann Campbell, the commentator Denis Bradley (who was co-chair of the Consultative Group on the Past and former deputy chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board) and Maureen Hetherington of the Junction, plus myself as the person who conducted the interviews for the 35 podcasts. We began by listening to highlights …

“You want to do them justice and to do their stories justice.” Telling the stories of the children who died in the Troubles.

Paul Gosling on September 16, 2019, 7:02 am

| Readers 1551

“We’ve done interviews with just shy of 100 families who lost children during the Troubles,” explains Freya McClements. “And you feel like you know them. The thing above all is that you want to do them justice and to do their stories justice.” Freya is discussing the research that she and Joe Duffy have done for their book Children of the Troubles, which is published in October. She describes the opportunity to write the book as “a privilege”. Freya admits …

‘Telling Troubles stories can help deal with the past’

Paul Gosling on September 9, 2019, 7:01 am

| Readers 842

Telling stories about the past – about the Troubles – can help families and society move on, says playwright Jo Egan. She dramatised the events that killed six children during the Troubles in‘The Crack in Everything’, which was produced by Derry’s Playhouse Theatre as part of a European Union Peace project. She was also responsible for ‘Crimea Square’, a community theatre play about the history of the Shankill Road. “People want to be heard,” says Jo. “They want their stories …

‘Unless we start listening, we’re not going to move forward’

Paul Gosling on September 2, 2019, 7:04 am

| Readers 958

“Unless we start listening, we’re not really going to move forward,” says Julieann Campbell, editor of the Unheard Voices collection of women’s stories from the Troubles. She was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. Julieann reflects in the podcast on the impact on her of the interviews with women about their experiences in the Troubles. “I think it has affected me on several levels, emotionally and in my work,” she says. “It is a fact that it has made …

Politicians need to release civic society to find solutions, argues Sophie Long

Paul Gosling on August 26, 2019, 7:01 am

| Readers 1376

Civic society in Northern Ireland could produce answers to the big problems we face, but is blocked by politicians who don’t want creative solutions, argues Sophie Long in the latest ‘Forward Together’ interview. Sophie is a former Assembly candidate for the Progressive Unionist Party and a Queen’s University graduate, whose doctoral thesis was ‘An Investigation into Ulster Loyalism and the Politics of Misrecognition’. She works as Northern Ireland grants officer for a major charity. Strengthening civic society in Northern Ireland …