A €6.1million fund has been announced to support communities to tackle post-conflict resilience and peace building.
Donegal Youth Service is one of seven organisations selected to lead out the ‘Our Generation’ project over the next three years.
Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh welcomed the programme and said:
“Donegal Youth Service is a brilliant organisation and being included in a cross border programme of this scale is great news for all involved,” Minister McHugh said.
“A huge congratulations to Lorraine Thompson and her team. They do phenomenal work across our county and with the significant funding that is being earmarked for their role in the project over the next three years I have no doubt they will continue to make a real impact on young people’s lives.
“The cross border and cross community Our Generation project is designed to build relations, deal with legacy issues and create opportunities to bring people together.
“I wish everyone huge success and I am sure the programme will have a long-running impact on the ground.”
The partnership, led by Action Mental Health, has been awarded funding through the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding for the project has been provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Seven regional organisations are involved – Action Mental Health, Donegal Youth Service, Co-Operation Ireland, Youth Action NI, Youthwork Ireland, PlayBoard NI and Ulster University.
Donegal Youth Service will lead out the work across a number of southern border counties.
Minister McHugh said: “The scale of the programme is huge with plans to reach 35,000 children, young people and adults.
“The ultimate aim is to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of children and young people within local communities – this is a hugely important piece of work, particularly as it aims to stop the trauma, conflict and tensions being passed from one generation to the next.”
