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Community-21 – a series of conversations reflecting on community work over to Covid-19, funded by the Community Relations Council‘s Media Grant Scheme.

We all know what it feels like to be shut out. We’ve all felt at some point voiceless; powerless to make the changes we want to see in society, whether that’s at home, in our communities, across society, or in our places of work. We’ve all certainly felt it in politics. This is true for most people, most places, but exasperated in Northern Ireland due to its traditional divisions.

That’s precisely why Community Dialogue has worked to give a voice to the most marginalised people in Northern Ireland over the last three decades, to ensure we don’t repeat the same mistakes of the past.

John Paul Lederach, one of academia’s most-renowned peace builders, once said: “The absence of a unifying vision in post-conflict societies is the single greatest obstacle to achieving lasting peace.”

It is precisely this sentiment that lies at the core of Community Dialogue and its partners’ upcoming ‘Civic Innovation Programme’. A programme, by the way, that AvilaMedia is very happy to be an active part of. The project is supported by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, Porticus, The Reconciliation Fund, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, and aims to build relations and commonality across society through its four crucial tiers:

Tier 1: Consensus-Building Dialogues – facilitated discussions and large-scale events covering a range of topics affecting NI, building consensus together to tackle these issues.

Tier 2: ‘Participative Democracy’ Workshops – developing the relationship between dialogue and learning, while building the capacity of grassroots communities to make their voices heard; and exploring alternative mechanisms for decision-making in NI.

Tier 3: Cross-Sectoral Coalition – 24 advocacy engagements which will aim to address the needs of those feeling shut out of the political system.

Tier 4: Learning & Promotion – findings, action plans and feedback from the project will fuel research and learning materials to inspire community relations good practices to better inform public policy and benefit future generations.

“Dialogue is our greatest tool to build consensus on a way forward.” — Jim O’Neill, Community Dialogue

If you’d like to join our coalition to build a united civic voice on issues important to you, watch the video and feel free to contact us at the information below.

“We are working to ensure that the feeling of not belonging, of being voiceless, is something that future generations will only ever read about in history books.” – Aisling Bishop, Community Dialogue

For further information & to RSVP for upcoming events, contact: [email protected]