City supports Community Relations Weeks

LISBURN is supporting Community Relations Week 2013 and its theme ‘Expressing Identity – Addressing Division’ with four events planned as part of over 170 happening across Northern Ireland from May 20 to 26.

Community Relations Week is organised by the Community Relations Council (CRC) and includes events run by local councils, public bodies and community and voluntary sector organisations.

On Monday May 20 guests will tuck in at the Chinese Come Dine with Us event organised by SERC (Lisburn Campus). On Thursday May 30, people will be invited to join the Youth Initiative Project in celebrating the grand opening of their new Centre and Regional Headquarters. Other events include a tour of Derry-Londonderry organised by Lisburn City Council for participants involved in the Getting to Know Your Institutions Course as well as a photographic exhibition by Hanna Mitchell on the diverse connections of people in Lisburn and their interdependency as part of a global family. The week will begin with its flagship event, the Community Relations Council policy conference ‘Expressing Identity – Addressing Division?’ in Derry~Londonderry, 2013 City of Culture, on Monday May 20. Key community relations workers from across Northern Ireland come together to plan ways of ensuring good relations successes translate into policy guidelines that strengthen the peace process.

Jacqueline Irwin, CRC’s Chief Executive welcomes the progress made since Community Relations Week began in 2003 and stresses that the right to express and celebrate our identity is an important part of community life: “In our increasingly diverse society, respect for the rights of others to also express their culture and allegiances has been an enormous and costly challenge.

“Understanding that we will need to learn to embrace diversity if we are to flourish, is fundamental to our wellbeing as a small community in this fast changing world.”

Welcoming Lisburn’s involvement she said: “Taking part in Community Relations Week events is an active way of demonstrating dedication to peace building. This is our statement of hope for the future, encouraging us to realise that we can learn the skills necessary to build relationships and bridge division.”

A full listing of Community Relations Week events can be found at www.nicrc.org.uk and printed programmes can be obtained from local libraries.

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