@SharedFuture

The power of peacebuilding: McAleese’s personal toll and Hume’s enduring call for dialogue

| Readers 1395

The John and Pat Hume Foundation recently hosted a significant gathering at Clonard Monastery to reflect on the enduring legacy of John and Pat Hume in achieving peace and reconciliation in Ireland. Father Ciaran O’Callaghan, Vice-Director of Clonard, welcomed attendees on behalf of the Rector and community, noting the profound connection between the Hume Foundation and the Redemptorists. The event, broadcast globally to an online audience, featured former President of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese as the guest of honour. Broadcaster Jim …

Read more…

Free press crucial for transformative justice in Venezuela: a talk with Luis Carlos Díaz

| Readers 668

Luis Carlos Díaz, an accomplished journalist from Venezuela and deemed a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was a guest keynote speaker at an event organised by the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) at Ulster University, Belfast. A conversation was facilitated by Juliana Poveda Clavijo and Cristal Palacios Yumar, both PhD researchers at the university. Professor Brandon Hamber (John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace) introduced Luis Carlos Díaz, informing the audience of his co-authorship of nine books …

Read more…

GRACE: measuring trust for better community relations

| Readers 606

On the International Day of Peace, as part of Good Relations Week, research undertaken through a partnership between the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (Coventry University) and Community Relations in Schools (CRIS) was launched. The research examines the role of trust-building in school-based reconciliation initiatives: “Trust, while taken for granted as important, has not been deeply unpacked or examined to better understand its more particular role in facilitating a move towards reconciliation,” declared the organisers, and the panel …

Read more…

‘Building anew’: sharing lessons of transition in Germany and Ireland

| Readers 3455

A conference to mark Germany Unity Day was held at the Royal Irish Academy, co-hosted by ARINS (Analysing and Researching Ireland, North and South), Maynooth University, and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Dublin. Two panel discussions explored practical matters of transition in Germany while being alert to and making attempts to avoid and/or counter societal polarisation in any transformation process. The German Ambassador to Ireland, Cord Meier-Klodt, said that for him the focus of the day’s …

Read more…

‘A long-term devotion to complexities’: women, art and activism

| Readers 847

As part of the Belfast Photo Festival and hosted by the Ulster Museum, several panels of women spoke about how the realms of artistic practice and activism have evolved over recent decades, with consideration of future change. National Museums NI curator, Anna Liesching, explained to the audience of several dozen that the motivation for the day-long symposium was the current exhibition of work by Hanna Starkey, a collection of 21 two-metre portraits of peace women. The first panel theme was …

Read more…

‘DE bankrolls segregation’: Northern Ireland education costs additional £226m annually

| Readers 4778

The Integrated Alumni charity, in partnership with the Integrated Education Fund (IEF), hosted an event that looked at the cost of division in Northern Ireland, especially its education system. This included a discussion among a panel of candidates for the upcoming local government elections and an audience of several dozen adding live, interactive responses with their mobile phones. Matt O’Neill (chairperson, Integrated Alumni) welcomed guests and introduced Dr Matt Milliken (Ulster University), who presented an overview of a briefing paper …

Read more…