Ulster University has officially launched a new project to explore the positive value of our Irish and Scottish linguistic and cultural heritage. It will involve participants from the community, local government and secondary education sectors in Northern Ireland, the border counties of Ireland, and Scotland.
The €1,817,377 project is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). It is being funded through the Building Positive Relations Investment Area of PEACEPLUS.
FLOURISH (Framing the Legacy of our Irish and Scottish Heritage) seeks to develop pathways for promoting productive engagement and accommodating difference around the Irish language and Ulster Scots, so that these languages and cultures become a less controversial aspect of political and civic life in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland. The Irish language and Ulster Scots are deeply rooted in the heritage of the programme area and their potential as enriching cultural and economic assets has not been fully realised to date.
FLOURISH will:
- Conduct a series of discussion workshops with communities across Northern Ireland and in the border counties of Ireland that will examine the current situation and explore possibilities for transcending contention.
- Co-design a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training programme for council staff that will inform better official practice when addressing issues of cultural and linguistic difference.
- Deliver an awareness raising programme to selected secondary schools throughout Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland that will facilitate an informed understanding of our shared Irish and Scottish heritage.
Engagement activities will also include a youth congress for participants from the secondary school sector and a mobility programme that will enable a cross-section of participants form the community workshops to experience the in-situ reality of language and culture in community settings in the border counties of Ireland, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The project will also seek to promote dynamic conversations between proponents of the Irish Language, Ulster Scots, Scots and Scottish Gaelic languages and cultures across the programme area.
The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, and Minister of State with Responsibility for Community Development and Charities, Jerry Buttimer TD, welcomed the announcement.
Minister Calleary said:
“I wish to convey my sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to the progress of the FLOURISH Project. I am delighted that my Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, in partnership with the Special EU Programmes Body and The Executive Office in Northern Ireland, will continue to provide support for this remarkable initiative.”
Minister Buttimer added:
“By providing this essential funding, the Building Positive Relations Investment Area aims to foster positive relationships marked by respect, where cultural diversity is honoured, and individuals can live, learn, and interact together, unhindered by prejudice, hate and intolerance.
SEUPB Chief Executive Gina McIntyre said:
“FLOURISH sets out develop positive community relations and support peacebuilding in Northern Ireland by addressing sensitive issues related to language and cultural diversity. This ties in perfectly with the Building Positive Relations Investment Area of the PEACEPLUS Programme, which will continue to support positive change, empower communities through initiatives which sustain peace and leave a legacy of friendship and understanding.
“Peace and reconciliation are essential for socio-economic development and prosperity. Opportunities for interventions between communities are designed to enable and promote discussion and build mutual respect and trust.”
Dr Caoimhín Ó Dónaill, FLOURISH project lead at Ulster University, said:
"Through FLOURISH, we are creating opportunities to widen debate around our shared Irish and Scottish heritage and to inform that debate by introducing a broad range of perspectives and by signposting authoritative sources of information about that heritage."
Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin, FLOURISH project lead at the University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland, added:
"Irish and Scottish language and culture bridge these islands. The FLOURISH project's multifaceted and multi-regional approach provides a unique opportunity to generate compelling insights and ideas aimed at accommodating cultural and linguistic difference in the contemporary world."
Professor Liam Maguire, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at Ulster University, said:
“FLOURISH represents a vital opportunity to reframe how we engage with our shared linguistic and cultural heritage. By bringing together diverse perspectives, this project will help build bridges and promote a more inclusive civic space. Ulster University is delighted to support this initiative and to work alongside our partners in Scotland and Ireland to foster a legacy of respect and collaboration.”
