The Legacies of Conflict programme seeks to address past violence and understand its influence on the present.

Northern Ireland has been impacted by decades of violence, polarised politics and has fragile institutions. Alongside this, entrenched social division, segregated education and housing, and unrecognised traumatisation continues to negatively affect individuals, communities and structures. Many of these issues are not unique to the north of Ireland. We want to learn from how other places have approached repairing and reconstructing their societies in the wake of violent conflict. Our focus in on training and facilitation that builds capacity across education and civil society, enabling individuals and institutions to be better equipped to develop a resilient, shared and democratic society.

Initiatives include:

Facing our History, Shaping the Future

We support schools to address the legacy of the past and build a more shared future through teacher training, work with young people and resource development. We build skills for citizenship through investigating historical case studies where there has been deep rooted violence, with our main focus on an exploration of the events leading up to and including the Holocaust, the US Civil Rights movement and the ‘Causes and Consequences of the Partition of Ireland’. This project is delivered in partnership with US NGO ‘Facing History and Ourselves. More information can be found HERE.

Corrymeela Heritage Partnership

Since 2014 we have been part of a unique partnership with Belfast City Council, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Queen’s University, Quarto Collective and Ulster University. The focus of the project is on examining the rich history and heritage of North East Ulster with a particular focus on contested spaces and periods. We have developed a case study approach that focuses on the Ulster Plantations – more information HERE. The project enables participants to visit sites, handle objects and learn more about this challenging period of history. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, at present we are developing a new phase of the project.

Belfast and the World – 1918–1921 – Marking a Decade of Anniversaries

How the past is understood in the present is a critical issue in a deeply divided Northern Ireland. The period 2018 –2021 includes the centenaries of key events in the history of Britain and Ireland and that had a profound effect on the city of Belfast and are often remembered in different ways today. In order to harness the potential of these events to promote cultural awareness and explore the identity of Belfast and its people, Belfast City Council developed an innovative project ‘Belfast and the World 1918–1921’. The programme is part of their PEACE IV Plan, which is funded by the European Union and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body. Following a successful tendering process, Corrymeela have been selected as the delivery agent. Over the next 3.5 years we will support communities across Belfast to share their experiences of the past, explore and reflect on events that have shaped our present and develop a greater understanding of Belfast’s diverse cultural heritage. More information can be found HERE.

Film Resources

We have developed two films that seek to deepen our understandings of how, as people, we respond to violence, prejudice and injustice. ‘Up Standing: Stories of Courage from Northern Ireland’ which features 10 stories of people who stood up to a perceived injustice across the period of the Troubles and beyond View this video.
‘the choices we made: Bystanding and Conflict in Northern Ireland’ which features 6 accounts of a moment where a person did not intervene View a trailer for this video.

Community Events

On an ad hoc basis, we organise special community events that explore different themes relating to the legacies of conflict. These have included the screening of films, museum tours or special lectures. These events will be advertised on the EVENTS page section of our website.

If you want more information on our Legacies of Conflict Programme, please contact Head of Programme, Sylvia Gordon, via email sylviagordon@corrymeela.org or phone 028 9050 8080.

Images used are copyright of the Imperial War Museum © IWM