The role of civic organisations in promoting inter-group dialogue among young people in Belfast (Northern Ireland)

This report is an attempt to classify civic organisations and projects which have been designed in more recent years to assist the community relations work with young people in Belfast with an objective of breaking down enemy images and reducing fear and distrust towards “the other side". A description was made of the types of civic organisations in this context, but this classification is not intended to be definitive, or limited. In addition, this study aims to asses the sustainability, strength, weakness, opportunities and barriers of civic participation among young people in Belfast. As Cairns and Hewstone (2002) pointed out, little detail is known about the possible theoretical underpinnings of cross-community schemes in Northern Ireland, except that they involve some form of cross-community contact. This study aims at analysing socio-psychological dimensions of cross-community work from the perspective of contact hypothesis (Allport, 1954), but also at proposing other factors that can have relevant role in the process of reconciliation among young people.