Across the Lines: creating connections and building relationships for peace in North Leitrim.

Acoss the Lines – ‘Beyond Borders’ Phase 2021-2023

Invited to make a further appliction, The Glens Centre is delighted to deliver a new suite of peace-building projects which seeks to build on the work already undertaken, widening out to  create new opportunities for new participants and deepending the relationships, new understandings and skills already developed.   In this Beyond Borders phase our priorities are:

  • a cross community and cross border Contested and Shared History  Talks programme and Workshop programme.
  • An Inclusive Manorhamilton project – bringing our shared history and inclusive past and present into public space.
  • a new cross community and cross border peace-building project for women (Knitting the Land) alongside Focused Conversations on Everyday Experiences of the Border 
  • a development of the Cultural Conversations programme.
  • A continuing cross communtiy/cross border Creative Youth programme of workshops.
  • Beyond Borders Networking and capacity-building programme for individual practitioners/faciliators/creatives and The Glens Centre
  • a Beyond Borders conference event.

Across the Lines  – Extension Phases 2020-2021 & 2019-2020

(2020-2021). The IFI have supported an Extension programme which enbales continuing efforts to support peace-building through community engagement and creativity. The extension programme recognises that with the pandemic lockdown, taking place March 2020 and only 5 days after our youth performance of Border Games, the programme is ‘Covid proofed’ and has onboarded technolgy support so as to utilise digital mediums  to continue to deliver the following peace-building projects.

  • cross community  and cross border online Celebratory Cultural events  (Community Open Mic Calls);
  • The Border Between us: A Creativity Upskilling programme
  • A Womens Peer Enquiry  Creative Herstory (pilot) project.

(2019-2020). Due to the positvie work undertaken within the intial programme, The GLens Centre is further supported by the International Fund for Ireland to develop the Across the Lines peace-building programme. Project partners include : Manorhamilton Senior and Junior Youth Drama, ERGS Drama group, North Leitrim Men’s Group.

Project work continuing in this phase includes:

  • Cross border and cross community Youth Drama (Border Games)
  • Cross border and cross community Men’s development programme

And the development of a new projects, including:

  • Cross border and cross community Cultural Conversations programme
  • Cross border and cross community Creative Writing Skills programme

Across the Lines  – Programme (2017-2019)

a new peace-building programme in north Leitrim

Across the Lines is a new peace-building programme, funded by International Fund for Ireland, which will build upon a positive and dynamic community spirit in the area to further deepen and develop harmonious relationships acros North Leitrim and south west Fermanagh, deepening cultural awareness and supporting confidence in relationship, focusing on cross-community and cross-border relationships.

The programme acknowledges the disruptive and negative impacts of historical and past conflict in and about Northern Ireland alongside other ongoing challenges facing rural and border communities.

Working with partner organisations in north Leitrim and in the south west Fermanagh area the Across the Lines programme recognises the potential and the power of the arts and cultural expression to connect. Throuh creativity and the arts, the programme seeks to create a number of new opportunities for people from different community backgrounds across the region to connect,  supporting the upksilling of participants and developing confidence and capacity for better relationships.

The programme will be rolled out via a number of community enagment projects. Proposed projects include:

  • Men’s Development Project (We Grow Strong): a cross community and cross border skills development and storytelling project for men.
  • Women’s Development Project (She can be Anything):  a cross community and cross border creatvie skills project for women.
  • Choral Spectacular (Songlines across the Border): a  choral (and open mic project) for individuals, community sing groups and schools.
  • Youth Theatre Project: an inter-generational and cross-community and cross-border youth drama project ( leading to SLNCR: an entertainment that goes A-Z but not in that order, written by Carlo Gébler)
  • Creative Industries Skills: Opportunities for training within the creative industries (theatre and music) production, for all including young adults.
  • Capacity Building: Additional Opportunities for Discussion and for Practical Training across partner organisations and local residents.

Vraious project partners including North Leitrim Women’s Centre, North Leitrim Mens group, Manorhamilton Junior and Senior Youth Drama and Kabosh Theatre Group.

More information is available under the Project Tabs.

For Further Information: Contact Ruth Gonsalves Moore: acrossthelines@theglenscentre.com

T: 071 9855833  M: 0871669951

About the Fund

The International Fund for Ireland was established as an independent international organisation by the British and Irish Governments in 1986. With contributions from the United States of America, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the total resources committed to the Fund to date amount to £719m / €904m, funding over 5,800 projects across the island of Ireland.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *