24 May 2013

Creating Space for Learning and Sharing Project

Creating Space for Learning and Sharing Project is a 3 year, local Peace Building Initiative involving 30 community groups from both Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of the Republic of Ireland.

The Project follows a successful 18 month Pilot Project which involved 12 communities from the Northwest and cross border region.

Both Projects have been funded by IFI Community Bridges Programme and by CFNI.

Creating Space for Learning

CSLSP encourages community groups to identify local Peace Building issues and to design responses to these needs through the creation of localized Peace Building Action Plans.

CSLSP supports this process by working in partnership with local groups and by providing mentoring, technical and funding support to enable groups to work directly on the issues faced locally on a day to day basis.

Many communities think that peacebuilding work is too difficult, sensitive or potentially divisive for them to tackle but often that is not the case and the rewards that it can bring have the potential to make a really positive difference to local understanding and the building of good relations.

This Project provides the support necessary to enable you to undertake peacebuilding work safely and at a pace that suits the whole community.

Creating Space for Sharing

Throughout the 3 year period of the Project, CSLSP will organize Networking events to bring participant Groups together to hear from each other and to share experiences of local peacebuilding activity.

These events create new Support Networks, Partnerships and expose participating Groups to new and exciting Models and Projects ongoing in other local communities.

The CSLSP Model

CSLSP provides a range of resources to participating organizations including:

Mentoring Support
Technical Assistance
Funding for Peace Building Activities
Networking and Clustering Events
Training and Information

CSLSP Model in Practice

Participating Community groups engage locally in a process to identify Peace Building issues, areas of concern and needs. This is supported by appropriate skilled Mentors who are selected by the programme in consultation with the group.

Groups then agree a Peace Building Action Plan. CSLSP provides funding and technical assistance which enables various visits, activities and actions in support of their action plan to be undertaken.

CSLSP also organises Networking events so that experiences and learning can be shared. These events will bring together participating Communities who work in close proximity to each other as well as occasionally bringing together all of the participating Groups.

Through technical and other additional support, CSLSP encourages the sustainability of local Peace Building activity through engaging support from other funders, organisations, activities, networks and programmes.

CSLSP will monitor and evaluate progress and capacity building throughout the Project and record learning and methodologies to share with other communities.

CSLSP has funding capacity to work with 30 local participant groups in this 2^nd Phase of the project. While these community groups have already been recruited, CSLSP can provide technical support, advice and information to other communities and organizations that express an interest in this type of work.

CSLSP 2 Participant Group List