TU Dublin Community Development and Youth Work Students Visit Belfast on Good Friday Agreement Anniversary
As the island of Ireland celebrated 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement, Community Development and Youth Work students and staff visited Belfast to meet with community groups and campaigners across the city.
The students visited East Belfast Community Development Agency. They heard about its work in supporting communities in East Belfast. In contrast, a second group of students visited the Markets Development Association, which has recently won a community campaign to keep public land in use for public housing. Community organising and campaigning form a key part of students learning in first and fourth-year modules of the programme.
The group also visited Belfast City Hall, meeting with leading politicians Deirdre Hargey and F Michelle O'Neill. Afterwards, the students had the opportunity to view the historical Linen Hall Library's Good Friday Agreement collection, remembering 25 years since the signing of the peace accord.
The students also took a political walking tour of the Falls Road area, where they were given the opportunity to hear of some of the seminal moments precipitating the outbreak of conflict in 1969. The day finished with a visit to Trademark to hear of their social justice work in tackling sectarianism and racism, both north and south of the border, both of which are key issues for community development and youth work across the 32 counties.
Are you interested in helping your community? Consider a career in Community and Youth Development.