Write a commentA conference focusing on an innovative youth engagement model from California is to be hosted on 4th November for all youth providers and community groups within the Craigavon, Armagh, Banbridge, Newry and Mourne, Louth and Monaghan council regions.
The conference event entitled ‘High Performing Communities’ is being held in the Seagoe Hotel, Portadown, as part of the Investing in Our Future priority - one of seven priorities outlined in the Beyond Tolerance Strategy, funded by the EU’s PEACE III Programme.
The cross community conference which hopes to attract over 100 attendees, is being coordinated by the Investing in Our Future Programme on behalf of the Southern Cluster Partnership which represents Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry and Mourne, Louth and Monaghan Council regions.
Investing in Our Future Programme Coordinator Emma O’Carroll explains: “The aim of this priority is to improve inter community and intergenerational understanding and relationships, focusing on interface areas. Youth have been identified as one of the main beneficiaries and this is why we wanted to organise this conference to communicate directly with youth providers.
“Leading on from this, we will also be hosting a cross border Youth Conference for age 16+ on Saturday 4th December in the Carrickdale Hotel, Co Louth. This event will tackle issues that directly affect the young people in our Cluster communities.”
It is anticipated that issues and ideas from the first Conference event will inform the second Youth Conference event on 4th December and will form the basis of workshops and learning forums for the young participants.
Key speaker at the November Conference for youth providers is California based consultant Iris Archuleta who will talk about the Youth Intervention Network project in Antioch, CA, and the ‘Building High Performing Communities’ model she has developed.
This innovative model offers outcome driven strategies for engaging and intervening into the lives of young people and addressing areas of tension. Iris is a consultant with Emerald Consulting and a former Police Crime Prevention Commissioner.
Joint Chair of the Southern Cluster Cllr Charlie Casey and Dr James McCammick welcomed the announcement of the events which will focus on engaging youth as active participants in our communities.
“Some of the issues raised through these conferences will provide valuable information for supporting our connections with young people and developing the right platforms to support engagement, intervention and help them becoming key contributors to successful ‘high performing communities’ in Northern Ireland,” Cllr Casey said at the launch.
To register your interest in attending log onto www.macpr/events or call 028 4173 9017.
