Rio Ferdinand Foundation to deliver new project in Louth

The fund for Ireland has allocated £440,584/€ 497,860 to the Rio Ferdinand Foundation  for 24 months to extend and expand the cross-border, cross-community ‘Beyond the Ball’ project in counties Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Louth, Fermanagh and both  Derry and Belfast City.

The project aim is to foster reconciliation in a unique, fully participative, meaningful and inclusive way through the neutral vehicle of Sport and Football.

A further £112,389/€127,000 has been given to a joint project between Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre /Louth Meath Education and Training Board for 12 months to deliver the ‘Advanced Manufacturing Pathways Schools Project’. 

This project will bring together eight schools across East and West Belfast, Drogheda and Dundalk through a series of project-based workshops and activities with the aim of inspiring the next generation to consider high-skilled STEM careers and to broaden teachers views on careers of the future. 

The following schools will engage in the programme: St Genevieve’s Girls School (Belfast), De La Salle Boys School (Belfast), Ashfield Boys & Ashfield Girls Schools (Belfast), Breda Academy School (Belfast), St Olivers Community College, (Drogheda), Bush Post Primary School (Dundalk), O’Fiaich College (Dundalk), and Colaiste Chu Chulainn (Dundalk).

In total seventeen projects across Northern Ireland and the southern border counties have received £3,074,086/ €3,473,717 to deliver peace and reconciliation initiatives.

The funding from the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) enables peacebuilding efforts within some of the most marginalised communities who continue to live with the long-term impact of The Troubles.

The latest allocations will offer critical support at a grassroots level as many face the realities of austerity cuts and increasing polarization within communities. 

Funding has been awarded across the Peace Impact Programme (PIP), Personal Youth Development Programme (PYDP) and Communities in Partnership Programme (CIPP).

IFI Chair Paddy Harte says the support is vital in the current climate;

“Projects are working against an incredibly challenging backdrop with recent funding cuts across the community sector and ongoing political instability both threatening to undo the progress that has been made in recent times.

“Communities are struggling with identity and culture issues alongside the legacy of The Troubles. Unfortunately, this vacuum provides an opportunity for paramilitary influence, recruitment of young people and anti-social behaviour.

“The IFI is committed to supporting those who need interventions most and we are one of the few organisations who are prepared to take those risks and reach those who have yet to receive direct benefit from the Peace Process.”

He continued:

“In an important year of reflection around the Good Friday Agreement, we also recognise that the Peace Process has yet to deliver for some communities. We must examine what interventions are required over the next 25 years to make peace inclusive for all. 

“Thanks to our international donors we will continue sensitive interventions and provide financial support to those hard-to-reach communities. This is challenging work, but thanks to the IFI, projects now have the means to provide positive leadership, invest in vital resources and community development opportunities to help create a shared future.”

The IFI was set up by the British and Irish Governments as an independent international organisation in 1986. It delivers a range of peace and reconciliation initiatives across Northern Ireland and the southern border counties. It currently supports a total of 50 projects in Northern Ireland and 23 in the southern border counties. 

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.