Tag Archives: sectarianism

by | May 5, 2011 · 1:54 am

Tackling Sectarianism in Northern Ireland

Basketball is an integral part of PeacePlayers International. Outsiders who are not fully educated in our programing might believe that it’s the most important aspect of our mission– after all, we operate on the premise that “children who play together can learn to live together.” That said, the most important outcome of PeacePlayers is the relationships that develop between the children both on and off the court.

Our P7 participants (10 and 11 years old) recently completed PPI-NI’s eight-week twinning program; many left with a changed perception of the “other” community and made new friends, too! Once participants have spent a number of weeks getting to know each other and are comfortable with their teammates, they are introduced to a new term during the Community Relations session: sectarianism. Sectarianism, the act of treating someone unfairly based on his/her religion, is a problem that exists within everyday society in Northern Ireland. PPI-NI coaches discuss sectarianism with the kids on a frequent basis and use examples of sectarianism to highlight the benefits of having diversity and differences within a population.

The following conversation took place as PPI Fellow Meghan Houlihan led participants in a Community Relations activity called “The Line of Sectarianism.” The children were faced with hypothetical situations and decided as a team whether or not the act displayed sectarianism.

Meghan: “Catholics playing football with Protestants. Is that sectarian?”
Kids: (mixed reviews): “No…” “Yes!” “Noo.”
M: “That’s a great example! Can you say it a little louder?”
Boy: “We play basketball with everybody here, a mix of Catholics and Protestants. If you’re not mean to each other then it’s not sectarianism.”
M: “Exactly. Perfect. People playing together is not sectarian.”

Next situation read aloud:
Girl: “Catholics and Protestants talking about their differences.”
M: “Right, we do that the first time we get together. We do the similarities and differences, right? We do that with your class and then with your team. Is that a bad, thing– to talk about differences? (Kids: “No”) Think it’s a good thing? (Kids: “Yeah”) Exactly. So we did that when we joined our teams, and we got to learn about each other, talking about our differences and similarities.
Girl: “Is this kind of one? My granny lives by the peace wall and people throw things over.. is that…?”
M: “What do you think… sectarian? Do you think that’s sectarianism?”
(Girl shrugs, unwilling to commit)
M: “Why don’t you ask your team?”
Boy: “What is it?”
M: “If people are throwing things…”
Girl: “Rocks.”
M: “If people are throwing rocks over the peace wall. Do you think that would be sectarianism.”
(Chatter ensues amongst the kids)
Kid: “… and they throw potatoes, too.”
M: “Is that an example of sectarianism?”
Kids, all: (emphatically) ”Yeahhhh.”

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by | January 12, 2011 · 1:54 pm

Cross-Community League Participants Learn “the Arbinger Way”

The end of 2010 coincided with the completion of PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland’s Cross-Community League (CCL). This past semester of CCL was a six-week course designed for participants aged 14-17. For the first time in PPI-NI history, we offered our Level One Open College Network (OCN)-accredited course, Promoting Diversity through Sports, to all program participants, giving them the chance to earn an OCN qualification.

During the final session of CCL, Managing Director Gareth Harper and friend of PPI-NI Keita Takashima delivered an introductory tutorial on the Arbinger Institute. PeacePlayers International has worked with Arbinger to incorporate their conflict transformation philosophies into our programs.

At CCL, we explored Arbinger’s ethos of seeing “people as people” and not “objects.” Below is a mini-video of from Will Maloney’s as-yet-untitled documentary of PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland. In the footage, you’ll see our CCL participants learning about “the Arbinger Way” from Gareth!

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by | November 24, 2010 · 1:59 pm

St. Matthew’s and Avoniel: The “Big East” Twinning

This past week, Lead Coach Joanne Fitzpatrick wrapped up her final twinning session with St. Matthew’s and Avoniel Primary Schools, both in East Belfast.  This is the first year these two schools have come together for a PPI-NI twinning, and from all angles, the program was a huge success!

The two schools have had an established relationship through a collaborative drama program run by the Parents Associations, but this autumn’s twinning represents the first time the students have come together for an integrated activity.  Both principals were very excited about the PPI-NI curriculum and have been very supportive of the cross-community basketball program.

Watch the video below to meet Aoife Doherty, a P6 (9 year-old) student from St. Matthew’s Primary School in East Belfast, as she participates in her first twinning with PPI-NI. This clip is part of an on-going film project by former PPI-NI Program Director, Will Maloney.

Over the past seven weeks, the children have been working hard on their integrated teams, consisting of the “Wild Hogs” coached by Meghan; the “Superstar Shooters” led by Nathan; “Game On” coached by Shannon; and “Mr. Muscle” led by Dean. Together, they’ve learned new basketball skills, participated in some challenging yet fun team-building and community relations activities, competed in full-court games, and – perhaps most importantly – made new friends! In addition to the twinning program, the children from the two East Belfast schools attended both Monster Mash and the ESPN Invitational together, which included sharing a bus from one side of the city to the other.

Thanks to the students, parents and principals who made this semester’s program such a success!

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by | October 27, 2010 · 1:46 pm

Meet Ronny, a PPI-NI Twinning Participant!

This week, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland (PPI-NI) offers a sneak peek at the documentary currently being filmed and produced by former PPI-NI Program Director, Will Maloney. The as-yet-untitled documentary chronicles the experiences of four PPI-NI program participants at various stages of their involvement with the organization.

The video clip below features Ronny McAuley, a P6 (10 year old) student at Carr’s Glen Primary School in North Belfast. This footage documents a school’s first session, held in the classroom, which aims to introduce students to PeacePlayers. For the next eight weeks, Ronnie and his classmates will be participating in PPI-NI’s twinning program alongside their twinning partner, St. Clare’s Primary School.




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by | October 13, 2010 · 12:40 pm

PeacePlayers and Early Years: Together in the Park

Last week, PPI-NI teamed up with Early Years, a Northern Ireland NGO that promotes high quality childcare for children aged 0 – 12 and their families, for an event aptly titled “Together in the Park,” part of the Unite Against Hate campaign. The event brought together 1,000 nursery school-aged children as part of Early Years’ “Respecting Differences” initiative in a celebration of cultural diversity.

The PPI-NI team (including Gunnar Hagstrom, a PPI Fellow visiting from Cyprus) brought along a basketball hoop to Ormeau Park to share the mission of PeacePlayers and introduce the game of basketball to the young participants.  PPI Fellow Rory O’Neil graciously lifted many eager children as they enthusiastically dunked on the hoop, while others took their turn bouncing (not kicking!) the basketballs.  In addition to basketball, children enjoyed Bollywood dancing, Irish Dancing, African drums and face painting, with activities from all over the world, including Egypt, Ukraine, India, China, Ireland, Poland, Argentina and Spain. While PPI-NI’s programs are typically designed for older children and young adults, this event marked an effort to reach out to younger children in the community as recent studies have shown that sectarian behavior can be exhibited as young as nursery school.

In a press release that was issued prior to the event, Early Years Chief Executive Siobhan Fitzpatrick said the whole organisation was gearing up for a noisy, and successful morning: “The event is a celebration of the success of the Media Initiative so far, and takes the project further by launching new resources for parents as part of the respecting difference educational initiative. Bullying, sectarianism and racism are huge issues for children and for society in general and this initiative has proven to be very successful in terms of supporting young children recognize difference and respect difference. We now look forward to taking it to the next stage with the launch of our resources for parents which will help them support their young children to recognize and respect difference in an age appropriate way at home.”

We thank Early Years for inviting us to participate in the fun and educational event, and look forward to working together again in the future!

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by | September 29, 2010 · 12:45 pm

New Season, New Coaches at PPI-Northern Ireland!

Darryl (on right, in baseball cap) walks the coaches through a series of ball handling drills.

In Northern Ireland, the children that take part in PPI-NI’s programs are the most important piece of the puzzle. However, our local coaches from the greater Belfast area are an essential part of the programs, too. Without our committed coaching staff, PeacePlayers wouldn’t be able to deliver our programs and have the same effect on the lives of the kids with whom we work.


Joanne (center) teaches new coaches William (right) and Ciara (left) one of PPI-NI's favorite games, "Sit Down Clown."

Last Tuesday night at the Queen’s University Physical Education Centre (PEC), eight new coaches and the five PPI-NI staff members took part in our first Coaches’ Training event of the term. We spent the night running through PeacePlayers basketball drills and instructions, teaching everyone “The PPI Way.” Some of our new coaches have a background in basketball, while others are new to the sport. Despite the varying backgrounds, the Coaches’ Training was fun and instructive – each coach, old or new, walked away with a sense of enthusiasm for the mission of PeacePlayers.

William Winchester, 18, is one of our newest coaches. He has previously participated in PPI-NI’s Cross Community League (CCL), and last year, he volunteered as a coach at CCL. This year, he will be a PeacePlayers coach and participate in our Leadership Development Program. The video above describes William’s involvement to date with PeacePlayers, as well as his experiences growing up in East Belfast and his community background.

The local PPI-NI coaches are an integral part of our organization and we greatly appreciate their hard work and dedication. Thank you to everyone who has been a member of the PPI-NI coaching family!

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by | September 1, 2010 · 2:18 pm

PPI-NI Heads Back to School!

While basketball is a distant second in popularity to tetherball in the Peanut's world, it's popularity is rising, buoyed by a proven ability to bridge divides between canines and people.

The conclusion of August brings about many returns: shorter days, colder weather and – most importantly for PPI-NI – school for children across Northern Ireland. In the PPI-NI office, we have begun arranging our programming schedule for the academic year, meeting with primary school teachers and principals, and speaking to community center and local youth workers. Each meeting brings new excitement and anticipation for the upcoming events and activities planned for PeacePlayers!

This year’s Twinning programme will include six pairings of schools in Belfast, serving a total of twelve schools, and two pairings in Lurgan, serving four schools. We are also welcoming a new partnership with Avoniel Primary School in East Belfast; they will be teaming up with St. Matthew’s Primary School.

Though non-political, PPI strongly supported the Snoopy-Woodstock ticket in the last election, believing the partnership to be a model of cross-species cooperation.

Our Cross Community League (CCL) is undergoing improvements for the upcoming season. The former model of CCL worked with participants ages 10-16, offering children the opportunity to play integrated basketball and taking part in community relations discussions each Wednesday. The new model will put a greater emphasis on including youth of varying faiths and traditions. We will engage not only Protestant and Catholic groups, but groups of all ethnicities, religions and cultures in the city of Belfast. This year, CCL, we will engage children in two different age groups: 9-13 and 14-17. PeacePlayers will also offer an Open College Network course for those CCL participants aged 14-17, encouraging these teenagers to begin on an employment path in youth work.

The Leadership Development Program (LDP) remains in the planning stage for the upcoming year but, once again, the program promises to include OCN workshops and residential retreats for young adults ages 17-25 in Belfast.

We are looking forward to the upcoming year, fostering existing relationships throughout the city and building new partnerships with others!

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by | August 25, 2010 · 1:01 pm

Amidst Sectarian Tension, PPI-NI Hosts Lurgan Summer Scheme

The month of August has seen a rise in sectarian violence across Northern Ireland, and on the 14th of August, the town of Lurgan became the focal point of media attention when a bomb intended to harm police officers injured three young children.

A young Summer Scheme participant, Hannah, tells Meghan about her new basketball skills.

Amidst these heightened tensions, on Thursday 19th August PPI-NI made the 20-mile trip from Belfast to Lurgan to host a summer scheme at the Craigavon Leisure Centre. The half-day event brought together twenty-three Protestant and Catholic children from Lurgan and the surrounding area, including participants from King’s Park and Drumgor Primary Schools, two of the schools that participate in PPI-NI’s twinning programme.

“I was a bit nervous about the event occurring on the heels of some pretty disheartening news,” commented Meghan Houlihan, one of PPI-NI’s International Fellows, “but in the end, it was a huge success. I am continually impressed by the resiliency of those most affected by the conflict and their willingness to come together during times like these.”

Darryl and Elijah

Sponsored by the Southern Education Library Board (SELB) through their Peace III programme, funded by  Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB), the day of basketball and team-building activities served as an opportunity to unite children from one of Northern Ireland’s most volatile areas.

For many participants, it was their first session with PeacePlayers, as well as their first time playing basketball.

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by | July 21, 2010 · 1:58 pm

PeacePlayers – Northern Ireland Meets the President

Ellen Cosgrove & Darryl Petticrew with President Mary McAleese & Dr. Martin McAleese

The 12th of July celebrates the victory of King William of Orange over King James at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, and is commemorated by the Protestant community across Northern Ireland with parades and bonfires. Although the traditions surrounding the 12th can be divisive, much positive work takes place around this time as well, too often overshadowed by a temporary rise in violence and rioting.

Áras an Uachtaráin, the official home of the President of Ireland.

On 12th July 2010, the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, hosted an event at her official Dublin residency, Áras an Uachtaráin, that celebrated of the cultural diversity of the whole island. PeacePlayers staff members Darryl Petticrew and Ellen Cosgrove attended the event with a group of 400 that included youth workers, funders, musicians and people from many different backgrounds.

Each guest was personally greeted by the President and her husband, Dr. Martin McAleese. President McAleese addressed the audience with a speech on the importance of celebrating our differences and embracing diversity. She referenced Douglas Hyde, the first president of Ireland, whose birthday coincidentally falls on the 12th of July. She described him as a seeming paradox: a Protestant man who championed the Irish language and culture. President McAleese’s speech ultimately encouraged all in attendance to take the small steps to make positive change through mutual understanding.

Darryl and Ellen on the Presidential grounds preparing to meet President and Dr. McAleese

The evening closed with musical performances that represented both the Protestant and Catholic traditions as two flautists from Belfast combined their traditional sounds to create a new sound. The representation of people from Belfast became clear when the band played “I’ll Tell Me Ma,” a song with which all people from Belfast can identify. Explains Darryl, “The crowd came together, tapping their feet, clapping their hands and singing along with each other, which for me symbolized an expression of solidarity and optimism for the future of Northern Ireland.”

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by | June 25, 2010 · 4:06 pm

PPI-CY Visits Agios Antonios Summer School

Children from Agios Antonios Primary Summer School playing at the beach.

This week PPI-CY is back at Agios Antonios Primary, this time for summer school. But this not the kind of summer school that most kids try to avoid. This summer school focuses on games, sports, and best of all, the beach. With a little over 50 kids in attendance the kids are bused three times each week to a nearby beach where they can play volleyball, dive off the pier, play with foam noodles, and even fish.

Back at the school, the kids are broken into groups of 10 that rotate through different stations. One of those is the PeacePlayers station, which involves some team building activities such as the human knot, dancing games, some basketball drills, and even a round of capture the flag.

A PeacePlayers participant doing a summersault into the water.

While the summer school has been a great success, the school is facing a serious problem that could result in its doors closing as soon as next year. Agios Antonios is one of five integrated public schools in all of Cyprus that are called “Zones of Educational Priority” or ZEP for short, and is located in the old part of Limassol that used to be mostly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots. When the buffer zone opened in 2003, some Turkish Cypriot families decided to return to their homes in Limassol, which had sat abandoned for over 30 years. In addition, a number of wandering Roma families that came to the north of the island from Turkey moved south. Despite some opposition, Agios Antonios decided to allow the Roma and the Turkish-Cypriot children into their school.

Since that time, the number of kids at the school has dropped from 180 to just over 100. This is partly due to a shrinking population in the area as the younger generation moves away to find better job opportunities, but the Greek Cypriot families that do remain are starting to move their children to other schools. One reason is a belief that the education quality at Agios Antonios has been dropping. In general, the Turkish-Cypriot and Turkish-speaking Roma children that do attend the school have a harder time with the Greek language, and some Greek-Cypriot families think that the teachers are forced to slow the lesson plans down to accommodate these kids, at the expense of their child’s education.

The Agios Antonios kids showing off the fish they caught.

Christos, an education administrator for the district, disagrees with this assumption. He says that the education quality at Agios Antonios is just as good if not better than the other public schools in the area due to excellent teachers and small classroom sizes. He says that it is more a matter of Greek-Cypriot parents not feeling comfortable putting their kids in classrooms with Turkish Cypriots or children from other multicultural backgrounds.

No matter what the reason, the outcome could be devastating for the school. While attendance still remains half Greek-Cypriot and half Turkish-Cypriot, most of the Greek Cypriots will be graduating in the next two years, and the incoming class of 1st graders has just 8 kids, all Turkish Cypriot. If this trend continues, there will not be enough students to keep the school open.

A recently completed PeacePlayers mural at the school.

Despite this dire situation, Christos remains optimistic. He says it is up to Agios Antonios Primary to attract more kids. They have already started several new programs, including free lunches, a free after-school program and more special events, such as this summer school. This summer school provides the kids with an amazing opportunity to get out of their neighborhood, play in a stress free environment and bond with one another.

Christos says that working at Agios Antonios has changed his own opinion about the “Cyprus problem.” He has learned that only through integration can progress be made. “We need to incorporate [Turkish Cypriots] into the schools and help get them out of a cycle of social exclusion and poverty,” he says, “It is the only way change can happen.”

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