Young adults participating in a live video conference from Belfast to Omagh Community House

Conflicts of Interest is a workshop based programme which aims to enable participants to reach a more sympathetic understanding of all those affected by armed conflict. Given the history of violence on this island, this course focussed largely on the period of the ‘Troubles’ but also examined similar conflicts in other parts of Europe.

Communities and Policing in Transition Programme (CAPT), is a cross-community and cross-border project which will target interface and disadvantaged areas in Belfast and Derry City Council areas, as well as the Tyrone and Donegal border region.

It will develop joint action plans and strategies, agreed between communities and the police, to address the changing nature of violence and crime, including sectarian and racist hate crime.

Speaking at the launch in Parliament Buildings, Junior Minister Gerry Kelly said: “The Communities and Policing in Transition project aims to make a real difference to people’s lives in meaningful and sustainable ways. “This is a unique and innovate community-driven programme targeting rural, urban and cross border areas tackling issues such as perceptions of policing, sectarianism, racism, domestic violence and the implications of a devolved criminal justice system.

Intercomm Ireland who is the lead partner along with Tyrone Donegal Partnership, PSNI, Garda Siochana, INCORE and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions deliver the CAPT Programme.

Tyrone Donegal Partnership Board & Intercomm Ireland attend the CAPT Programme launch day at Stormont Building with Kamala Lakhdhir, American Consulate General as the guest speaker.

Through financing from the Ulster Community Investment Trust and the Department of Social Development’s Modernisation Fund, significant work has been carried out to establish Derrynoid as a state of the art conference centre. New facilities include a chalet development, bringing the number of en suite rooms to 40, as well as video conferencing equipment and whiteboard technology, improved wheelchair access and work to the Centre’s courtyard.

Gareth Boyle Core Digital Network and Pauine Fullen Derrynoid Centre talking aboout the benefits of video conferencing

World Bank GDLN Video Conference Centre

Gareth Boyle, Conor McGale and Conor Maskey visited the GDLN in Washington DC in order to discuss details of a planned workshop on the Peace Process in Northern Ireland via video conference technology.

The discussions were based on a concept to share knowledge and lessons learned from the Northern Ireland Peace Process and 30 years of conflict. Intercomm Ireland and Core Digital Network in collaboration with the World Bank Institute (WBI), the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), will organise a workshop in 2010 with key stakeholders based on experiences of Northern Irelands’ conflict and the framework to Peace through the means of video conferencing.

Under the theme of “Peace & Reconstruction”, the team will put together an event that will link participants through GDLN Affiliate Centres around the world. The participants will range from government representatives from Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland, as well as civil society, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and the media.

Core Digital Network will develop and deliver a multi-country  virtual conference on Peace & Reconciliation and Conflict Management & Resolution skills that will be broadcasted live worldwide to countries emerging from conflict who are part of the GDLN.

Chief Editor explains the process of organising a video conference world event

L to R: Gareth Boyle Core Digital Network, Steffen Janus Team Leader GDLN, Sheila Jagannathan Senior Education Specialist (E-Learning) GDLN and Conor Maskey, Intercomm Ireland.

During this meeting, representatives from USAID and Core Digital Network discussed the opportunities available in showcasing the work and training that Tyrone Donegal Partnership has delivered to both communities within the Sectarian Divide in Northern Ireland, as well as the history in developing cross community and cross border linkages.  As a result, and with the invitation of the USAID officials that were present, Core Digital has the potential and capacity to expand our video conferencing network by being part of the USAID initiative “Global Development Commons.”

Core Digital Network envisages a huge opportunity in delivering Peace & Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution/Management training via  a blended learning approach that includes an online platform that contains forums, online interative workbooks, webinars and video conferencing.

USAID began by outlining the work that it’s doing, particularly though the Global Development Commons. Its aim is to give a global input to strategic planning, particularly at a local development level. It’s very much geared towards promoting online collaboration among its partners and states to find the best possible solutions to localised problems. They believe in organisational work from the ground upwards, and particularly in involving countries in a participatory development process.

Aislinn Centre - Kilcar

Clonmany Community Centre

When asked about what they liked about the technology, the following comments were made:-

“Not having to travel to another venue to do the training”

“Communicating easily with distant groups”

“The ability to interact with people so far away”

“Makes it possible for rural groups to discuss issues even though they are not present in the same room”

“I would like to know more about this technology”

L:R Brendan Mackin Chairman Intercomm Ireland, Conor McGale Learning Manager Core Digital Network, Denis Rooney MBE Chairman International Fund for Ireland, Sammy Smith Joint Director General International Fund for Ireland, Liam Maskey Director Intercomm Ireland

L:R Mr Gillespie Chairman Aislinn Centre, Paddy Harte Senior Development Officer International Fund for Ireland, Martina O Donnell Manager Aislinn Centre and An Tanaiste Mary Coughlan

Omagh Location L:R Minister Michelle Gildernew MP MLA, Hugo Seeeney Chief Exectuive Tyrone Donegal Partnership and Gareth Boyle Network Manager Core Digital Network

Tyrone Donegal Partnership, a leading cross-border development company, today launched an innovative video conferencing initiative called CORE Digital Network. The launch took place simultaneously in three locations – Belfast, Omagh and Kilcar, Co. Donegal. Each venue was linked by the video conferencing technology which is used in the project. The project is jointly funded by the International Fund for Ireland (IFI), which has contributed €485,450, and Tyrone Donegal Partnership, which has contributed €48,545.

CORE Digital Network will involve the extension of the World Bank Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), available on a cross-border basis in Omagh, to five community learning centres in Donegal. The Video Conference Suites will be based in Ballyshannon, Clonmany, Dungloe, Kilcar and St. Johnston.

The Network will provide local access to a wide range of courses covering subjects such as conflict management/resolution, citizenship, personal development, diversity awareness, peace and reconciliation, and community development. The three-year project will further help to overcome three of the main barriers to education and development in rural border areas – the border itself, travel distance and lack of critical mass to run and support programmes in rural areas.

The main objective of CORE Digital Network is to make innovative, useable video conferencing technology accessible to local communities across Omagh and Donegal. For local rural businesses that are separated by large distances, the ability to hire the video conferencing facility precludes the need for extensive travel just to make important client presentations, as the presentation itself can be made using the video conference technology.

Speaking at the launch in Belfast, Denis Rooney, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, said, ‘The IFI identifies strongly with this project, as we recognise that reconciliation thrives when driven from the grass-roots, and that access to education is crucial for sustainable confidence and capacity-building in the community. Education is not just an end in itself. It is also the foundation upon which a secure, more peaceful, future can be built. The Fund has had a successful relationship with Tyrone Donegal Partnership for many years, particularly through our Wider Horizons programme. The CORE Digital Network is one of many examples of the contribution this organisation has made to embedding good relations in Northern Ireland and the border counties.’

Speaking at the launch in Kilcar, An Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, T.D., said, ‘Having lived all my life in Donegal, I can recognise the immense difference this project will make to education provision in Donegal. By locating the centres for learning throughout Donegal, Tyrone Donegal Partnership has ensured that students from even the most inaccessible parts of the county can participate in the learning experience offered at the selected centres. Not only that, they can also interact with their counterparts in the other centres in Donegal, Omagh, and Belfast. In a county where it takes hours to drive from top to bottom, and from east to west, this means a lot.’

Speaking at the launch in Omagh, Michelle Gildernew MP MLA said, ‘After seeing the video conferencing products first hand at the CORE Digital Network event, I was very impressed with the potential opportunities offered. Today’s event demonstrated how technology can advance the economic, educational, social and cultural capacity of rural community groups within the area to connect with each other. I believe this is a great way to reach our rural communities and as technologies evolve it also provides new ways to develop partnerships and address issues such as social exclusion and isolation’

Gareth Boyle, Core Digital Network Manager commented “We are excited by engaging rural communities in Donegal through the use of video conferencing technology that will promote knowledge transfer and enrich skills in their own towns and villages. Rural people in their own communities are constrained by financial and time pressures, commitments to family and jobs, and responsibilities to the operation of their family farm or business. By empowering rural communities with access to education, knowledge and new partnerships without actually leaving their own town, Core Digital Network will ultimately translate into more economically sustainable communities across Tyrone and Donegal”