Coleraine projects receive vital IFI Peace Funding allocation

Rathmullan The Way Forward CLG and Enterprise Causeway Limited will partner to deliver an 18-month cross-border ‘Coasts, Hills, and Glens – Connecting Communities’ project across Rathmullan in County Donegal and Coleraine in County Derry/ Londonderry.

The project is focused on Community Innovation and aims to connect groups, committees, and their representatives in meaningful ways to enable joint working on community needs, issues, and challenges.

Under the IFI’s Personal Youth Development Programme (PYDP) £182,382 has been allocated to Causeway Rural and Urban Network for 21 months to deliver the cross-community ‘BREAK’ project.

Working with 20 disenfranchised young people from across the religious divide in Coleraine, the project will provide skills and training to help remove barriers to employment and education, and enable capacity building.

FI Chair Paddy Harte said: “Unfortunately, we have seen the threat of paramilitary recruitment and antisocial behaviour persist in many communities. In the last year, the IFI’s programmes have included specialised interventions to divert young people away from the threat of paramilitary recruitment. In 2022, 23,033 participants took part in accredited training, education, and capacity building programmes, delivered by IFI funded projects.

“Projects funded across our four core programmes have been working hard to support local communities who are struggling. The cost-of-living crisis has put a significant financial burden on people, add to that a general lack of investment in some communities and ongoing tensions relating to the recent Windsor Framework and ongoing political instability, and you can see why this support is so vital.

“This latest round of funding further demonstrates the wide range of support offered by IFI funded projects, tailored to specific needs of a particular community. From engaging at risk young people, to delivering conflict transformation initiatives, delivering important employment, and training opportunities to working in hard-to-reach areas struggling with paramilitary and coercive control.”

The IFI’s International donors include the British and Irish Governments, Government of the United States of America, European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.