View our current educational programmes in use with schools
Additional resources in education
How we started out and where we are going
Please feel free to contact us and discuss the possibility of a 'first contact' class.
Discover additional websites and partnerships we have with other organisations
Meet our project team
We support schools, parents, children and young people in exploring issues that arise or may arise due to the contested nature of identity within Northern Ireland. Our organisation provides workshops for students from the ages of 3 to 25, student teachers, teachers and other education practitioners. The sessions provide an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to meet, interact, communicate, cooperate and provide a forum for discussion of controversial issues.
The community relations process is a progressive one and typically may start with a first contact workshop which aims to develop a degree of comfort between participants thus creating a safe environment for discussion of more specific community relations themes throughout the programme. CRIS believe that true understanding and the development of relationships requires more than purely meeting each other and participating in activities alongside each other. The quest for mutual understanding requires interaction and conversation. Participants must actually engage with each other and address issues of difference and conflict in a safe and non-threatening environment.
We deliver longitudinal programmes where participants develop key transferable skills over a period of time such as communication, cooperation, empathy, prejudice awareness and conflict management. We work in partnership with teachers to build confidence and capacity within schools. This is to allow ownership to stay with the participants and teachers. Our organisation delivers specific tailor made programmes to meet the particular needs of each group of students and the community in which they live. This ensures that sessions deal with actual needs rather than perceived needs. Workshops are also structured to ensure they are age and ability appropriate.
Through the delivery of community relations workshops we have seen a significant change in the attitudes of the participants. We have seen a progression from apprehension, to the development of comfort and confidence expressing opinions about differences and conflict in Northern Ireland. It is evident that deeply rooted opinions and assumptions have been challenged.
We provide a variety of themed workshops, which can be delivered in an appropriate manner for any age group. These include: