Sharing experience

Although the project was a National based Youth Initiative, the youth group were culturally and ethnically diverse and included members of the traveller community. During the project the young people linked with two Polish groups, two Northern Irish groups and a Turkish group by engagement with volunteers from other local community groups.

The project was supported by the volunteer youth worker who acted as mentor for the duration of the activity. The focus of the project was to  give the young people a sense of worth and of belonging to a community.  This was made real through a a building of the community centre created by young people working together. The instructor brought the issues of immigration, integration and Europe into the sessions. This allowed the young people to explore how Europe is developing and to build tolerance and understanding in the group.

Over the duration of the project the young people started skills development; they participated in workshops that focussed on the themes of conflict resolution, intercultural learning, anti-racism, discrimination and citizenship, mosaic and mural creation. The group then faced some difficulty in that their premises was damaged by storms and so this tested their resiliance. The group moved to a new premises in a neighbouring village and continued with ideas for the formation of the clock. Over the winter months the group worked on the different sections of the clock, some of the young people worked with a local youth band to record and perform their ‘Clock song’ that would form part of the launch event.

As Summer arrived the young people decided to organise a ‘Tidy Up Tullaghan’ day and organised a community clean up day for the local community hall and area. This was followed by the preparation and development of a promotional campaign for the Community Clock Launch.

The community event and launch took place a little later than expected but involved the unveiling of the community clock and also of the CD made by the youth group. This project had a huge impact on the young people, who worked very hard on building a group and creating a positive image of young people in the area while learning about cultural issues.

The young people involved felt that the project gave them a sense of direction. It exposed them to issues of conflict, discrimination, citizenship over the course of the activity and through adverse situations such as the property being damaged and sometimes negative attitude towards them from their community. This project allowed them to feel the strength of team work and active participation.  On a smaller scale, the project allowed the group to experience citizenship and having a role in society. It also provided them with a new avenue to explore responsibility and creativity.