Lessons from Belfast

THOUGHT provoking . . . the group visits a mural in a republican area. From left, James Milligan, Alex Finn, Oldhamer Karl Cockram, Jordan Allcock, Nathan Croucher, Emily Herd, Oldhamer Michael Gittens and police authority engagement officer Rick Whitehead

A GROUP of Oldham youngsters went on a fact-finding mission to Belfast to discover how terrorism affects people’s lives.

Members of the Greater Manchester Police Authority’s Changing Faces group met youngsters from West Belfast to discuss their experiences of terrorism.

They also met youth workers from restorative justice projects and saw a number of the vivid murals painted on walls in both republican and loyalist areas.

Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Community Engagement Committee, Alex Maskey, said: “It’s important for our young people not to get drawn into groupings that have an extremist agenda and that they fully understand the impact such involvement could have on their future.

“In Northern Ireland, we’re working to build a shared future for all and while there is still work to do, a lot of progress has been made across communities.

“Helping young people from the Greater Manchester area understand the challenges we have faced is a very worthwhile exercise.”

The Changing Faces group has been recruited as part of an 18-month project launched by GMPA in October, 2008.

The project focuses on supporting the Government’s national counter-terrorism strategy.

The aim is to produce a DVD and teaching pack to be used in secondary schools and other young people’s organisations as part of the citizenship curriculum.