Tag Archives: Open College Network

by | January 30, 2013 · 2:13 pm

PPI-NI Completes “Promoting Diversity Through Sport” Residential

Despite the weather, ten part-time and full-time PPI-NI staff members get ready for some outdoor activities at a recent residential.

Despite the weather, ten part-time and full-time PPI-NI staff members get ready for some outdoor activities at a recent residential.

“Leadership development” and “enhancing local capacity.” They are two phrases we use a lot around here at PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI). Why, though? And as we cut through the office-speak, what do they even mean?

Even as an international organization, we want to make sure we devote enough effort and investment to the local. In the process of peace-building through sport, it is important that we don’t hoard our knowledge, skills, and other resources. For the sake of both PeacePlayers and the world, we want others who may not work for us full-time to still become the kinds of leaders that will make Belfast and beyond a more peaceable world.

PPI-NI sessional coach Carlos Alvarez showcases his basketball tricks.

PPI-NI sessional coach Carlos Alvarez showcases his basketball tricks.

It was with those hopes in mind that ten of us–a combination of full-time, part-time, and future PeacePlayers staff members–drove an hour south to Newcastle for the past weekend. Staying in a cabin on a hill in the woods that overlooked the beautiful ocean shoreline, we worked our way through Open College Network Level 2 material: “Promoting Diversity Through Sport.”

In addition to the natural intimacy that develops as a result of such a setting, the course included conversations about material that we confront with program participants all the time: diversity, stereotypes, prejudice, sectarianism, and conflict, all as much as possible through the lens of sport. We role-played our way through several activities and games that we use with kids. For a mental break and a bit of team-building, we attacked some outdoor activities–wall-climbing and zip-lining–even in the steady rain. And on Sunday, we drove to a basketball court, where we participated in drills that introduced Arbinger concepts, which is a theory about conflict resolution that we try to integrate into our programming.

We return to Belfast with even more confidence in several new members of our team, which will surely benefit the kids with which we work.

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Video

Antrim Cross-Community League

Last semester, you will recall that PPI-NI orchestrated it’s patented Cross-Community Basketball League (CCL) in Antrim between Rathenraw Youth Club, St. Comgall’s Youth Club, and Parkhall Youth Club for kids aged 14-17. It was the first time in a long time that there was collaboration and connection between various youth clubs in the town of Antrim. 20 pupils participated in the programme and were administered PPI-NI’s Open College Network Level I course “Diversity in Sport.” While it was only a 5 week programe, PPI-NI was extremely pleased, but not shocked, to hear that following the programme there was additional cooperation between the three Youth Clubs in various schemes and programmes but also the particiapnts from the three youth clubs would occasionally make plans to see each other socially, away from their Youth Clubs.

With this as a starting point, PPI-NI ran another CCL in Antrim. This time with children aged 9-13 from the three youth clubs in addition to a fourth one, Stiles Youth club, also from Antrim. For the past 5 Thursdays, 25-30 screaming kids would fill the halls of Parkhall Integrated Junior College’s school hall with the sound of bouncing basketballs, bank shots, and community-relations discussions and activities. It was such a success, that 15 members from Rathenraw Youth Club decided to make the 45 minute journey into Belfast on June 2nd to participate in PPI-NI’s year-end Spring Jam tournament. Sometimes, it’s amazing what can happen in just 5 weeks between kids who have never met one another.

Enjoy the video below highlighting some of the scenes from the past 5 weeks. Look out for the special “Jonah Dance!” as performed by Rathenraw’s own Jonah Crawford.

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by | June 12, 2012 · 5:34 pm
by | September 21, 2011 · 2:24 pm

One Day, One Goal – Countdown to the Global Truce

Today, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) will commemorate Peace Day 2011 by delivering its Open College Network (OCN) course in “Understanding Diversity Through Sport” to secondary school students who are participating in the Young Enterprise Northern Ireland’s (YENI) Knowledge through Enterprise for Youth (KEY) programme. Supported by the International Fund for Ireland, and operated in partnership with Junior Achievement Ireland, the residential programme is a cross-community, cross-border initiative that targets young people aged 14-16 years who may be at risk of disengagement.

Peace Day 2011 and the “One Day, One Goal” campaign is the brainchild of Jeremy Gilley (filmmaker and founder of Peace One Day) and aims to create an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence. As a key driver towards the institutionalisation of Peace Day, Peace One Day is calling for a day of ceasefire and non-violence on Peace Day 21 September 2012 – aptly referred to as the “Global Truce”.

This afternoon, 36 participants from Downshire, St Colmans Kilkeel and Finn Valley Stranorlar, Donegal will come together in Belfast to explore the potential of sport as a tool to promote diversity and unite communities.

PPI-NI is delighted to be lending its support to this fantastic initiative.  Through our involvement with the Sport for Truce campaign and our work with YENI, we are very much looking forward to playing our part in highlighting the 365-day countdown to the Global Truce.

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by | September 7, 2011 · 12:34 pm

Training Local Coaches in Belfast

Darryl reviews the qualities necessary to be a good coach, which includes incorporating the lessons Arbinger into both basketball drills and community relations sessions.

Last week, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland held its first coaches’ training session of the fall term at Grosvenor Leisure Centre.  About a dozen local coaches were in attendance, many of who will be coaching for PPI-NI for the first time, along with a handful of veteran coaches. The session included an introduction to PeacePlayers, demonstrations of our most commonly used drills and games, and a brief explanation of the Arbinger philosophy and the “PPI Way” which provides the foundation of our peace-building curriculum.

Joanne explains "Hot Seat" (one of PPI-NI's favorite shooting games) to the local coaches.

With a busy autumn schedule upon us, we have a great demand for local coaches and facilitators.  We will begin our P6 twinnings in Belfast and Lurgan later this month, as well as a secondary school twinning and evening Cross-Community League in Antrim.  We will also be delivering our Open College Network (OCN) Level One Course in “Understanding Diversity Through Sport” to 576 participants in the Young Enterprise – Northern Ireland  (YENI) Knowledge Through Enterprise for Youth programme. Stay tuned for exciting updates throughout the autumn!

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by | August 3, 2011 · 1:14 pm

Summer Downtime?

This week brings a summer update from PPI-NI’s Managing Director, Gareth Harper:

PPI-NI Managing Director Gareth Harper.

Traditionally the summer months (July and August) for the PeacePlayers program in Northern Ireland have represented a quieter period.  Mirroring the academic calendar, our annual Twinning, Cross-Community League and Leadership Development programs, are pretty much all wound up by the end of June. You’d be forgiven then for thinking that the team here in Belfast would be less busy over the summer months…  think again!

With the schools closed and our kids enjoying the ‘glorious Northern Ireland summer weather,’ the PPI-NI team have been busy planning and preparing for the new program year.

Curricula have been revised and visas renewed, budgets agreed and new appeals for funding support submitted.  Our accounts have been independently audited and our programmes externally evaluated.  We have made new friends and established exciting new collaborative opportunities.  Further, our Open College Network courses and accrediting status were awarded a clean bill of health by the external verifier.  New coaches have been recruited and induction and training sessions have been planned.  We have facilitated ‘Super Twinning‘s’ and ‘Summer Schemes’ and thrown in the inaugural Game of Three Halves for good measure.

Summer downtime… ha!   Here’s looking forward to September and some quieter times ahead; not likely, but sure it’d be no fun if it were any other way.

Sweet to the beat.

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by | August 11, 2010 · 1:35 pm

PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland Completes OCN Training

Through its work with the OCN, PPI-NI is training its staff, participants and outside partners on how to combine sports and community relations.

PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland’s (PPI-NI) staff and local coaches have completed a self-designed Level III Open College Network course, Developing Integrated Sports Clubs. Tony Macaulay of Macaulay Associates Network served as the course’s moderator, facilitating each session and evaluating each participant’s final report.

Along with PPI-NI staff members and coaches, representatives from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Irish Football Association (IFA), Basketball-Northern Ireland (BNI), Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the Belfast Giants, and the Belfast Community Sports Development Network (BCSDN) took part in the course. Every participant contributed a great deal of insight into various aspects of diversity within their respective clubs. All will receive their Level III certificates of qualification at an awards ceremony scheduled for early autumn.

PPI-NI Fellow Shannon Brown commented on her first experience taking an OCN course: “It was very beneficial for me to hear about other sport organizations’ experiences, both triumphs and struggles, with diversity in their own respective clubs. I took a lot away from this course and look forward to contributing to PPI-NI’s own efforts to improve diversity.”

The latest course, “Developing Integrated Sports Clubs” plays into PPI-NI’s long-term goal of developing sustainable, multi-sport integrated clubs in Northern Ireland.

In May 2010, PPI-NI became an Open College Network (OCN) recognised centre. The Open College Network is a UK-wide body, accredited by the Regulatory Authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, that works with organizations to design high quality, flexible, credit-based professional and educational qualifications. As a result of its accredation, PPI-NI can now package, deliver and assess accredited courses and national qualifications.

Alongside the centre recognition process, PPI-NI has developed and piloted three OCN-accredited training courses of its own: Understanding Diversity Through Sport (Level I); Promoting Diversity Through Sport (Level II); and Developing Integrated Sports Clubs (Level III). We intend to fully integrate these OCN courses into programming by offering the Level I and II courses to the young people with whom we work.

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by | June 9, 2010 · 12:49 pm

PPI-NI wraps up Training for Trainers

This week, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI – NI) will complete its Open College Network (OCN) Level III Training for Trainers course: Promoting Diversity Through Sports Clubs. The development of the Training for Trainers course and PPI-NI’s OCN involvement have been part of a larger “Developing Integrated Sports Clubs” (DISC) strategy, a project aimed at supporting sustainable integrated sports clubs in Northern Ireland.

PPI-NI has been working with key strategic partners in developing the OCN courses since March, and the Level III course represents the third of a three-tier OCN development programme that also includes a Level I course, Understanding Diversity Through Sport, and a Level II course, Promoting Diversity Through Sport.

PPI-NI Managing Director Gareth Harper has been instrumental in the development of Training for Trainers. He explains “The development of our own OCN-accredited training courses on promoting diversity through sport represents a really important new development for PPI in Northern Ireland.

“Our aim was to not only develop our own capacity, but to also share the model and training with other groups and organisations. In doing so, our objective was to contribute to increasing the capacity of other organisations – supporting them to explore the potential of their particular sport for community relations and peace building work.

“Having representatives from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Irish Football Association (IFA), Basketball Northern Ireland (BNI), Irish Rugby IRFU, Belfast Community Sports Development Network, and the Belfast Giants join us for this most recent Level III Training for Trainers course has really added value to the whole process and has also helped to galvanise the already well established relationships.”

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by | March 17, 2010 · 1:26 pm

The PPI-NI LDP Kicks Off 2010!

Discussing ways of addressing sectarianism.

On the weekend of the 12th-14th March, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland held its first Leadership Development Programme residential of 2010. The residential was held at the Greenhill YMCA, in County Down. The group brought together young leaders from North, East and West Belfast, which created a unique group dynamic. The 13 participants completed the first of a set of three residentials to obtain a “Reconciliation and Peace Peer” Level 2 Open College Network (OCN) qualification. On the first weekend, which focused on group trust, identity and peer education, the group came together as if they had been friends forever, making the discussions much more open and creating a great atmosphere for group participation.

LDP members hard at work in the Reconciliation and Peace Peer course.

As well as gaining a qualification, the group had the opportunity to take part in the “Greenhill Challenge.” The group was split into 3 teams, with each set a number of tasks and teambuilding activities to complete with an emphasis on working together.
On the final day, whilst exhausted by a long and active weekend, the group was keen to know more about up and coming residentials.

Though it was the first residential of the year, the group worked together like they were old friends.

Another feature of the weekend was the role of local coordinator Darryl Petticrew. A year ago Darryl sat in the same seat as a participant of the Reconciliation and Peace Peer course. This time, he was delivering the course as a facilitator. This was Darryl’s first time facilitating and delivering an accredited course. “The weekend went very well with a few minor hiccups but wouldn’t have been as successful if not for the efforts of the whole PPI-NI team throughout the weekend,” said Darryl.
The group will come together for the second residential on the 14th April 2010 in the LIFE Adventure Centre, Enniskillen.

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by | February 3, 2010 · 3:49 pm

Living with Diversity

Earlier, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland Coordinator Darryl Petticrew described how he became involved in PeacePlayers International, and what the program means to him. Today, Darryl explains what he learned while getting certified to teach a course to the PPI – NI Leadership Development Team.

Darryl with a member of the PPI-NI LDP team. Darryl's "Living with Diversity" course will enable him to share its lessons with the LDP.

Over the past four months I have been participating in a course called Living with Diversity. It is an Open College Network (OCN) Level 3 course offered by YMCA Ireland. The objective of the course is to focus on issues around diversity and how to deliver community relations sessions while taking this into account. The participants ranged from youth workers and integrated school teachers to Police officers. I was by far the youngest person in the course, and surrounded by a wealth of experience in other participants.

Darryl leading a discussion session...

I picked up new skills and increased awareness, but for me the most meaningful learning was the experience of the course. It hit some very hard issues and raised great points for discussion. As well as discussion, the course offered two panels for questioning and answering sessions. One panel consisted of political representatives from the major parties in Northern Ireland.  Before this session I had no interest in politics at all; however my eyes were opened to what seems like a lack of real leadership and representation of the population in the politics of this country. The voting percentage of the last election was under 50% – a reflection of the little faith we in Northern Ireland have in our politicians. This further reinforces the importance of the work organisations like PeacePlayers is doing.

...and practice activities.

The second panel gave us opportunities to speak with the Historical Enquiries Team, the WAVE Trauma Centre (which supports those who have lost loved ones due to political violence in Northern Ireland), and Pat Magee, an ex-paramilitary. This was an amazing opportunity to listen to people who have been directly affected by the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Living with Diversity has opened my eyes in many different ways and I have built some amazing relationships. A very significant thing for me was the opportunity to speak with Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers. The police in Northern Ireland are constantly under pressure and in many cases disliked. However, I was able to see the human side to the PSNI and look beyond the uniform and totally transform my perception.

The training has also provided me with the chance to deliver an OCN accredited course for PeacePlayers. For our up and coming Leadership Development Programme residential I will be delivering a level 2 Reconciliation and Peace Peer course over three weekends.

The PPI-NI Leadership Development Team at a Residential in January 2008 (Darryl is in blue at the left).

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by | January 20, 2010 · 9:04 am

PPI – NI Trains the Trainers

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.

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