Belfast City Peace III Small Grants
Overview
The PEACE III Programme is a European Union Structural Funds Programme aimed at reinforcing progress towards a peaceful and stable society and promoting reconciliation.
The maximum grant available is £25,000 although most grants will be less than this.
Priority 1.1: This priority seeks to challenge attitudes towards sectarianism and racism and to support conflict resolution and mediation at the local community level.
The aim of Belfast's Peace Plan
Measure 1.1 of Peace III seeks to ‘build positive relations at a local level'. The plan comprises of four key themes: Securing Shared City Space; Transforming Contested Space; Developing Shared Cultural Space and Building Shared Organisational Space. A Good Relations Partnership has been established to oversee the implementation of the plan and the membership is comprised of representatives from the political, community, voluntary, faith, business, trades union and minority ethnic sectors.
The aim of the small grants element of the Peace Plan is to support good relations activity between people of different religious beliefs, political opinions and different racial groups.
The aim of the Peace III Small Grants Fund
The purpose of the Fund is to support community engagement in the context of building positive relations at a local level.
Peace III Small Grants Fund
The Fund seeks to build positive relations through quality contact in order to:
- Secure Shared City Space
- Transform Contested Space
- Develop Shared Cultural Space
- Build Shared Organisational Space
Securing Shared City Space
The grant will support local initiatives that develop, manage and promote physical space as shared, open and welcoming. It will also support projects which provide new space for dialogue, discussion and interaction.
Example Projects
- Projects that will promote and manage physical space as shared, welcoming and open.
- Political discussions with speakers to deal with issues of conflict or racism (or both).
- A residential course with a group from another community to examine issues relating to history, shared space or violence between communities.
- Support programmes for groups addressing the legacies of the conflict.
Transforming Contested Space
The grant will support projects that seek to reduce inter-community tensions and conflict as well as support the peace-building initiatives necessary for the regeneration of those neighbourhoods located at the interface.
Example Projects
- Inter-community learning programmes on reducing conflict in neighbourhoods located at the interface where different communities come into contact.
- Training events on building skills in mediation, anti-racism or anti-sectarianism.
- Political discussions looking at contested space.
Developing Shared Cultural Space
The grant will support projects that celebrate and respect difference and build a sense of belonging for all the different cultural backgrounds and expressions of identity in the city.
Example Projects
- Conference on prejudice, discrimination and diversity (people's differences)
- Cultural diversity projects looking at history, symbolism, identity and projects that are delivered through the medium of drama, music or the arts.
- Good relations leadership programmes between groups of different faiths, ethnicity or political opinion.
- Cultural heritage projects on an intra/inter community basis.
Building Shared Organisational Space
The grant will support projects that build the capacity of organisations to be able to challenge prejudice, intolerance, sectarianism and racism in a shared society.
Example Projects
- Voluntary or community sector training which challenges sectarianism or racism.
- Capacity building programmes for organisations' staff or volunteers on mediation and conflict resolution.
- Good Relations awareness raising in the workplace.
The Peace III Small Grants Fund has been set up to help formally constituted organisations within the Belfast City Council area such as
- community development groups;
- cultural organisations;
- minority ethnic groups;
- migrant workers support organisations;
- intercommunity networks;
- projects for young adults;
- faith-based groups; and
- other organisations involved in community relations, reconciliation and cultural diversity.
Under the Peace III Programme, they would like to support initiatives which particularly benefit the following groups:
- people who have been excluded or marginalised from economic, social and civil networks as a result of problems related to sectarianism, racism and the conflict
- young people, women and older people
- displaced people, who have moved because of violence or from interface areas
- projects that have a good relations cross border component
- victims of the conflict
- former members of the security and ancillary services
- ex-prisoners and their families
- public and voluntary sector organisations and their staff who have a contribution to make towards developing a shared society.
Grant aid can be used for the following elements:
- programme costs - training, facilitation, venue hire, evaluation, publicity, dependent care
- employment costs directly related to delivery of the project - salaries, pensions, recruitment, travel. Salaries should correspond with current NJC scales for the relevant sector
- running costs and overheads that are directly related and proportional to the delivery of the project activity
- equipment costs - small items necessary to deliver the project activity
- professional fees such as insurance and auditing
How to Apply
The first call for applications for funding will be made in November 2008, with further calls being made as required. These dates and dates of decisions will be advertised on the Good Relations section of the Council's website.
Prior to submitting your application, there can be an opportunity for your group to discuss the project with our staff.
Please log on to SEUPB to complete Part A of the application process prior to completing the Part B application - www.eugrants.org.