STORMONT HOSTS NCB NI PROJECT LAUNCH FOR LOCAL REFUGEE AND
MIGRANT CHILDREN
On Monday 23rd February, young people in Northern
Ireland met with Junior Ministers, Gerry Kelly MLA and Robin Newton
MLA, and the Children’s commissioner, Patricia Lewsley, at Stormont
to launch campaign postcards designed as part of a project –
Strengthening the voice of children & young people
in Northern Ireland – run by NCB Northern Ireland and
funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
The postcards [PDF 1.2MB]
were developed during a series of workshops between June and
November 2009 which aimed to better understand the needs of, and
issues faced by, ASRM children and young people. They combine
photographs of the young people and handwritten messages to support
their peers, inform policy-makers and ask for improvements to the
services they receive.
NCB NI developed the project with two schools;
St Joseph’s & St Mary’s in Newry as well as a group of Young
NCB NI members in Belfast. This project helped the children express
their views.
Gill Crouch, Participation Officer said “we
worked with young people who were incredibly enthusiastic and
really wanted to let people know about their experiences of coming
to Northern Ireland.” Gill added “the postcards created by the
children are a reminder of key messages to the community and the
children are very proud to have their voices heard.”
(L-R) Robin Newton MLA, Lulu Cui (St Mary's, Newry), Martynas
Amulis (St Joseph's, Newry), Reem Hasaballa (Malone College,
Belfast), Gill Crouch (NCB NI) & Gerry Kelly MLA
The Junior Ministers & Patricia Lewsley (NICCY) help launch
the postcards at Stormont
Resources
- Summary of the
'Strengthening the voice of children & young people in
Northern Ireland' project [DOC 46KB]
- View the postcards [PDF
1.2MB]
For further information about this project please
contact Gill Crouch on gcrouch@ncb.org.uk