New Cross Border/Cross Community Project with Donegal Youth Service, South West College, and Tides Training
A new Youthscape programme funded by SEUPB, under the PEACE IV Objective 2.1 Children and Young People, was launched on Friday 19th January in The Termon Centre, Pettigo, Co.Donegal. The aim of the Youthscape project is to enhance the capacity of children and young people, ranging in age from 16 – 24 years, to form positive and effective relationships with others from different cultural backgrounds enabling them to collectively make a positive contribution to building a division less, inclusive society.
Back: Paddy Muldoon (Youth Officer Donegal ETB); Gareth Gibson (Youth Information Manager Donegal Youth Service); Maria Hackett (Head of Department SWC); Liza Wilkinson (Director Tides Training); Lorraine Thompson (Regional Director Donegal Youth Service); Ciaran McManus (Head of Industry & Training SWC); Helen Simms (The Forge Youth Club Donegal); Jacqueline McDowell (Youthscape Programme Co-ordinator SWC) and Frank Dooley (Director & Vice Chair Donegal Youth Service).
Front: Charlene Logue (Youth Outreach Manager Donegal Youth Service); Rosemary Barton (UUP MLA Fermanagh South Tyrone); Gina McIntyre (Chief Executive SEUPB); Jemma Dolan (Sinn Fein MLA Fermanagh South Tyrone) and Emer McGeough (Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in the South).
Welcoming the project Gina McIntyre, CEO of the Special EU Programmes Body said:
“The EU’s PEACE IV Programme has a core objective of helping to build a more cohesive and inclusive society, free from division and intolerance. This project will help to achieve the objective by encouraging 
young people to become more comfortable with and accepting of diversity, on a cross-community and cross-border basis.
“It represents an opportunity for wide reaching changes in attitude, by encouraging the hundreds of young people who participate in the project to share what they have learnt with their own families and communities.”
Back: Michael McAlister (Director SWC); Emer McGeough (Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in the South); Liza Wilkinson (Director Tides Training); Lorraine Thompson (Regional Director Donegal Youth Service); Ciaran McManus (Head of Industry & Training SWC); Maria Hackett (Head of Department SWC); Jim Wilkinson (Director of Youth Policy Division NI Executive) and Charlene Logue (Youth Outreach Manager Donegal Youth Service). Front: Jan, Donna and Nikos from Beyond Skin who provided music on the day and Gina McIntyre Chief Executive SEUPB.
The Youthscape programme is a cross-border, cross-community interventionist programme developed in association with South West College, as Lead Partner, Donegal Youth Service and TIDES Training. It will operate in Counties Tyrone, Fermanagh and Donegal covering the 5 areas of Omagh, Enniskillen, Dungannon, Ballybofey and Letterkenny and will deliver a proactive, youth focused programme to 800 of the regions most marginalised young people.
Ciaran McManus, Head of Industry and Training at South West College said:
“South West College is delighted to be involved in the Youthscape project, which has a strong focus on youth development and education. This programme centres around core themes of Personal 
Development, Good Relations and Citizenship, all key aspect of social development that are so important in the development of an inclusive progressive society.”
The Youthscape programme focuses on a ‘co-design’ and ‘person-centred’ approach to learning and development, enabling the participants to have the opportunity to input into and form the structure and make-up of the programme. There will be an opportunity for participants to become Peace Apprentices and to join The Youthscape Youth Forum. These initiatives will be key mechanisms in empowering participants to utilise their voice to improve their individual life circumstances and become key influencers to relations and peers.
Emer McGeough (Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in the South); Michael McAlister (Director SWC); Ciaran McManus (Head of Industry & Training, SWC); Gina McIntyre (Chief Executive SEUPB); Jim Wilkinson (Director of Youth Policy Division NI Executive); Maria Hackett (Head of Department, SWC) and Sean McAteer (North South Ministerial Council – Joint Secretariat).
Each young person will be assigned a Key Youth Worker who will help support them throughout the programme and work with them to build good relations, become an active citizen in their community and support them to overcome barriers to their progression. Participants will be supported by staff to help them to progress to education, training or employment upon leaving the programme.
Match-funding for the project has been provided by the Northern Ireland Executive and the Department for Children and Youth Affairs in Ireland.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the programme or wishes to get involved can contact Jacqueline McDowell, South West College, tel: 028 8772 0681 or email: Jacqueline.mcdowell@swc.ac.uk
