Publication of Our Lives, Our Legacy Final Report
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October 4, 2024
As part of Spirit 2012’s ‘Moments to Connect’ initiative, Springboard received funding to bring together 15 young people to participate in Our Lives, Our Legacy. The project marked the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and provided young people with the opportunity to explore the legacy of the troubles through their lived experience.
The young people participated in a series of development opportunities throughout the year centred on a co-created event to mark the anniversary, held on the 21st of September 2023 in the Crumlin Road Gaol. The project was led by Springboard’s NextGen youth group aged between 16-28 and drawn equally from across the political divide. As they grew up in segregated communities and attended segregated education, for many, this was their first opportunity to immerse themselves in cross-community work and explore the impact of the Good Friday Agreement on their lives.
The importance of amplifying the voices of young people became key to the success of the project. The young people had active involvement at every stage of development. This approach created a sense of ownership and responsibility, but also ensured that the entire project was authentic and had young people at its core. The group have emerged as inspiring young leaders with a strong ability to influence change in their own communities. The project provided the NextGen group with greater sense of agency and supported them to develop a wide range of skills that allowed them to research, design and run their own event, as well as engage decision makers on issues that are important to them.
The impact rippled through to family members and the wider community. Conversations and experiences of the young participants sparked discussions in homes and neighborhoods. Families were positively impacted and proud of the work their young people had undertaken but also at their understanding of a topic that had separated so many people in the past.
The biggest peace line and the biggest wall we have in this society is in our heads, if we can get that wall down then we can move forward and get the rest of the walls down, but we have to break down our mentality first
Parent of NextGen group member
An interactive final evaluation report was produced, which explores the project and its impact and key learnings through narrative, video and audio. You can read it here