Over the past few months, PPI-NI has begun the process of developing its own set of Open College Network (OCN) courses through a “Training for Trainers” program. With the support of Tony Macaulay of Macaulay and Associates, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Ulster Rugby, and the Irish Football Association (IFA), PPI-NI is working towards developing a model for bringing together community relations and sport that can be adopted by organizations across the province.
PPI-NI is currently conducting workshops for its first OCN Level One course, “Living with Diversity.” At our first workshop in December, we had 15 participants from PPI-NI, the GAA, Ulster Rugby and IFA. With four more workshops scheduled between now and April, PPI-NI is not only working towards developing a new and innovative course, but also creating key strategic partnerships. Over the course of the year, two more sets of workshops will be conducted to develop an additional OCN Level Two in “Exploring Diversity Through Sport” and an OCN Level Three in “Promoting Diversity in Clubs.”
Becoming a registered OCN creditor is a major step forward for PPI-NI. It will not only further PPI-NI’s mission but also allow the PeacePlayers model to be adopted by other sport and community organizations across Northern Ireland.
We are all very excited for the coming year here in Northern Ireland. If you would like more information on our OCN courses, please do not hesitate to contact us through the PeacePlayers website.
