The sporting community is getting behind this year's Good Relations Week, which takes place between 17th and 23rd September.
Major sporting organisations such as the GAA, IFA and Ulster Rugby, as well as individual players, are backing the initiative to help improve community relations in Northern Ireland.
Marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe, has also lent her support to the week, which will include more than 180 events, including events on a sporting theme.
Radcliffe’s husband is from Larne and she says that Good Relations Week is important to help bring people together and ensure that we are all working together to achieve more.
Speaking on behalf of the Ulster Council of the GAA, the organisation’s Development Office, Diarmaid Marsden, who won an all-Ireland championship with Armagh in 2002, encouraged all Ulster GAA members to support Good Relations Week. He said that it is a great platform to showcase all of the good work that takes place to improve good relations.
Northern Ireland footballers George Saville, Liam Boyce and Gavin White, voiced their support for the week and its objectives and encouraged Northern Ireland people to find out about the programme.
So too did Ulster Rugby players, Jacob Stockdale and Chris Henry.
Monday 17th September marks the beginning of Good Relations Week with over 180 events taking place including those organised by PeacePlayers International Northern Ireland, Ballymena Runners in partnership with the Inter-Ethnic Forum and Shamrocks Hurling Club.
Under the theme The, Now… Next?, events will cover issues including sport, dealing with the past language, interfaces, women’s place in peace-building and promoting diversity.
Peaceplayers International has three events in the programme intended to help equip Northern Ireland’s future young leaders with the skills and training to address issues of community division, flags, emblems, sectarianism and dealing with the past through sport. These will take place in Millisle.
Shamrocks Hurling Club will invite boys and girls from across the council district to a 2-day coaching and cultural session. The event is especially aimed at those children who have never played or experienced Gaelic games and will be a chance to further develop skills for those who have. It will take place on the 22 and 23rd September in Strabane.
Ballymena Runners is holding an information event to promote respect and understanding for diversity through a shared love of running and will encourage participants to reap the benefits of physical and mental well-being and in the process create communities where diversity is valued. This will take place on 18th September in Ballymena.
Further information about all of the events can be found at www.goodrelationsweek.com.
Community Relations Council Chief Executive, Jacqueline Irwin, said: “We have chosen the theme ‘Then, Now...Next?’ to reflect the mood of this year. In April we marked the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Belfast Agreement, so it has already been a time of reflection and stock-taking. However, the year has also been full of thoughts about the future.
“When the Agreement was signed it would have been impossible to imagine everything that has happened since. In the same way, we cannot assume what the next 20 years may bring. However, we do know this: we shape the future and its possibilities by our actions here and now.
“Through Good Relations Week we showcase events and people who have chosen to build and sustain good relationships across our diverse community. The commitment and willingness to build good community relationships is the fabric of peace and it is changing the way we will share the future.
“We still have some way to go, but every day the groups and organisations showcased during the week continue to work to drive us all forward as one collective community, representing this place in all its diversity. The week is only a snapshot of the work that takes place year-round, and we hope it encourages more people to engage and foster new relationships.”
You can keep up to date with Good Relations Week 2018 on Facebook and Twitter and by using the hashtag #GRWeek18.
Major sporting organisations such as the GAA, IFA and Ulster Rugby, as well as individual players, are backing the initiative to help improve community relations in Northern Ireland.
Marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe, has also lent her support to the week, which will include more than 180 events, including events on a sporting theme.
Radcliffe’s husband is from Larne and she says that Good Relations Week is important to help bring people together and ensure that we are all working together to achieve more.
Speaking on behalf of the Ulster Council of the GAA, the organisation’s Development Office, Diarmaid Marsden, who won an all-Ireland championship with Armagh in 2002, encouraged all Ulster GAA members to support Good Relations Week. He said that it is a great platform to showcase all of the good work that takes place to improve good relations.
Northern Ireland footballers George Saville, Liam Boyce and Gavin White, voiced their support for the week and its objectives and encouraged Northern Ireland people to find out about the programme.
So too did Ulster Rugby players, Jacob Stockdale and Chris Henry.
Monday 17th September marks the beginning of Good Relations Week with over 180 events taking place including those organised by PeacePlayers International Northern Ireland, Ballymena Runners in partnership with the Inter-Ethnic Forum and Shamrocks Hurling Club.
Under the theme The, Now… Next?, events will cover issues including sport, dealing with the past language, interfaces, women’s place in peace-building and promoting diversity.
Peaceplayers International has three events in the programme intended to help equip Northern Ireland’s future young leaders with the skills and training to address issues of community division, flags, emblems, sectarianism and dealing with the past through sport. These will take place in Millisle.
Shamrocks Hurling Club will invite boys and girls from across the council district to a 2-day coaching and cultural session. The event is especially aimed at those children who have never played or experienced Gaelic games and will be a chance to further develop skills for those who have. It will take place on the 22 and 23rd September in Strabane.
Ballymena Runners is holding an information event to promote respect and understanding for diversity through a shared love of running and will encourage participants to reap the benefits of physical and mental well-being and in the process create communities where diversity is valued. This will take place on 18th September in Ballymena.
Further information about all of the events can be found at www.goodrelationsweek.com.
Community Relations Council Chief Executive, Jacqueline Irwin, said: “We have chosen the theme ‘Then, Now...Next?’ to reflect the mood of this year. In April we marked the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Belfast Agreement, so it has already been a time of reflection and stock-taking. However, the year has also been full of thoughts about the future.
“When the Agreement was signed it would have been impossible to imagine everything that has happened since. In the same way, we cannot assume what the next 20 years may bring. However, we do know this: we shape the future and its possibilities by our actions here and now.
“Through Good Relations Week we showcase events and people who have chosen to build and sustain good relationships across our diverse community. The commitment and willingness to build good community relationships is the fabric of peace and it is changing the way we will share the future.
“We still have some way to go, but every day the groups and organisations showcased during the week continue to work to drive us all forward as one collective community, representing this place in all its diversity. The week is only a snapshot of the work that takes place year-round, and we hope it encourages more people to engage and foster new relationships.”
You can keep up to date with Good Relations Week 2018 on Facebook and Twitter and by using the hashtag #GRWeek18.