The project aimed to contribute to improving the integration of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in their host North Belfast communities through:
- A series of Small Worlds workshops where local young people and communities can familiarise themselves with migrants and migration issues
- Orientation tours and Saturday outings for newcomers to North Belfast to improve their sense of wellbeing and belonging and to allow them to make connections with community groups in their host communities
- Information sharing about services available to newcomers
The program had two strands:
- 219 participants in Small Worlds workshops, mainly from North and West Belfast . In 10 Small Worlds workshops, youth and community organisations and schools get to meet table hosts from different parts of the world and chat about their experiences of migration; run in partnership with South Belfast Roundtable/Belfast Friendship Club. The workshops involved 15 organisations, a wide range of age groups, from 10 year old to over 65, and members of all North Belfast communities.
- 51 migrants/asylum seekers/refugees participants in orientation tours and Saturday outings – participants from Zimbabwe, Iraq, Sudan, Kuwait, Syria, Yemen, Erythrea, Brazil, Algeria, Malaysia, Latvia, Bangladesh, Somalia, Romania and Palestine. We ran 2 orientation tours and 2 Saturday outings where they visited youth and community groups in North Belfast, had fun and found out about services available and activities they can join. 10 local community organisations participated.
The impact of this programme goes well beyond what can be measured in statistics or feedback. We were struck by the joy of learning evident in the Small Worlds workshops, whether in schools, youth clubs or community groups, and for all age groups.
The orientation tours and Saturday outings were a great learning experience for the hosting groups, giving them the opportunity to find out more from participants about migrants’ needs and to reflect on how they could better reach out to newcomers to their areas.
Although the outings had been planned primarily for the benefit of participants, the newcomers participating in them provided an invaluable service to the community groups, and to other migrants settling into North Belfast, through sharing their needs and experience.
At community level, this learning model – where people from different cultures and communities meet in face-to-face conversations and share personal stories – seems more productive than formal anti-racism and diversity awareness training and seminars where people can feel lectured.
Beyond imparting knowledge and challenging stereotypes, the most rewarding aspect of this programme was how it contributed to developing empathy and an appetite for more interactions between host communities and newcomers.
Extracts from participants' feedback
Workshop participants
“They are really brave. I want them to come back.” Bunscoil pupil
“I love people coming over to my school as their stories are the most interesting! J” Bunscoil pupil
“I think that all countries should treat people like they live there, not like they don’t live there” Holy Cross Boys pupil
“I am happy that people can come here and be safe and call it their home” Holy Cross Boys pupil
“I really enjoyed learning about all the different cultures.” Cliftonville Youth Club participant
“Excellent experience. I would like to attend a meet night [of Belfast Friendship Club]” Connected Futures trainee
“A wonderful opportunity to enter the lives of people from around the world. Fabulous, moving and educational. Thank you. X” Ardbone Festival participant
“Lovely people. Very interesting, very sad, lovely stories, very honest. Would like to keep in contact.” Shankill Women’s Centre participant
“Has opened my eyes” Shankill Women’s Centre participant
“Learned a lot of new things around cultures, religion, individuals & countries. Very eye-opening and a good experience to be part of.” R-City participant
“They made me feel so happy and also became my friends.” Holy Cross Girls PS pupil
“It was an opportunity for young people to have a greater appreciation of culture, difference and diversity, respect for those who have different beliefs and helped them explore how life is experienced by others across the world.” Youth worker, Ballysillan Youth for Christ
Orientation sessions participants
“It was great, we went to places that I never knew about!”
“We found all the support that we hope.”
“It was great. I know now more about Belfast support centres.”
“Feel part of community. Mixing with different country people and locals made me feel very welcome.”
“It was a learning and more of exploring event for me. Not to talk about how friendly and welcoming everyone was.” “Absolutely. Having people from different countries come together to make pizza, chitchat and share experiences and I think the children especially love being out and about and enjoying discovering in W5.”
Ardoyne Youth Enterprise
11a Flax Street
Belfast BT14 7EJ
Office Hours: Monday to Friday 9.30am to 5pm
Phone: 028 9074 1479