A Belfast PEACE IV tech project has brought together over 800 young people who live in communities within or close to interface areas of the city.
Tech Connects aimed to provide children and young people (aged 6 to 16 years) with opportunities to access creative technology while also exploring social issues and building up good relations.
It was part of a wider tech-focused programme that reached over 1,000 young people aged 6-24 years in the city.
The young people enjoyed a range of activities, from DJing and digital art through to Minecraft and filmmaking. The young people created films, performances, animations, graffiti art and more which looked at how the increasingly diverse cultural landscape can have a huge impact on the creation of digital artworks around the globe.
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The programme saw young people from a diverse range of community backgrounds come together virtually or in-person to make friends, collaborate and learn from each other across each programme.
The project was delivered by Giga Training on behalf of Belfast City Council as part of its PEACE IV Local Action Plan, financed through the European Union and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Match-funding for this project was provided by the Executive Office in Northern Ireland and the Department for Rural and Community Development in Ireland.
A special celebration event took place at Girdwood Community Hub on Thursday 25 August with all previous participants invited back for the event that showcased much of the work created on the programme and featured a range of drop-in style digital art workshops.
Speaking about the initiative, John Walls from Giga Training said: “Delivering community projects for young people is at the heart of what we do. Getting to work with all the young people across Belfast on creative digital programmes over the last two years and watching how this engagement made a positive impact on their lives, has been fantastic.”
Councillor John Kyle, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Shared City Partnership, also commented: “Tech Connects has been such a dynamic and inventive project and we are so proud of its success. Prioritising investment into the Children and Young People theme of the Belfast PEACE IV programme is critical to developing our vision for a shared and inclusive city.”
The Councillor added: “Having taken part in Tech Connects, the participants have learnt together and in doing so, have developed new and positive relationships, which we hope they will carry forward even as the project comes to a close.”
Source: Written from press release.
