PEAKING NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT, MARY ROBINSON, ON A VISIT TO NORTHERN IRELAND AT SHORT STRAND
PEAKING NOTES FOR THE PRESIDENT, MARY ROBINSON, ON A VISIT TO NORTHERN IRELAND AT SHORT STRAND PARTNERSHIP
I am delighted to be here today on the occasion of the official launch of the Short Strand Partnership.
- The Partnership marks a significant advance in the efforts of local residents to promote the further development of the Short Strand. Until now community and voluntary groups in the area have been working independently to meet the employment, training, social and community development needs of the local community. Now all of these efforts are being brought together, under one roof as it were, by the Short Strand Partnership. For the first time there is a vehicle for the Short Strand to speak as one voice on all community and economic issues.
- The impetus for the creation of Short Strand Partnership came from a survey of local training and employment needs. The participation of so many community interests in the subsequent workshops has ensured that the shape and objectives of the Partnership will fully reflect the needs of the Short Strand community.
- The Partnership's overall mission is to improve the quality of life for local residents. That mission also includes collaboration with the statutory bodies working in the area. In this regard I am pleased to see that Making Belfast Work and Belfast Education and Library Board are both associated with the Partnership.
- In pursuit of their objectives of ensuring that local residents have access to suitable employment and training opportunities and providing support for social and community development in the area, the Short Strand Partnership has designed an Employment and Training Programme and a Social and Community Development programme. One of the major planks in the social and community development programme is the provision of a new community centre here in Short strand. I wish the Partnership every success in their efforts to build a centre.
- The very high level of unemployment in the Short Strand is and has long been one of the major problems facing the local community. Again the Employment and Training Programme drafted by the Partnership, with its emphases on supporting existing local agencies, and helping to create a suitable climate for local business and job creation, will hopefully ensure that people living in the Short Strand have access to appropriate training opportunities and to suitable jobs. The success of the Partnership in reducing unemployment is vital for young people growing up in the area.
- I welcome the assistance the Partnership has been awarded from the Special EU Support Programme for Peace and Reconciliation. It is significant that both the Short Strand and the EU are putting a special emphasis on the value of "partnerships" in achieving their objectives.
- A community is more than just the residents of a particular area. It is a coming together of individuals with a common identity to help and support each other. We are all aware that a group of people with a sense of identity, spirit and belonging are a powerful force. How much more potent a force therefore is a group of groups united together in pursuit of a common purpose?
- I would like to again congratulate all of the individuals and groups who have been instrumental in setting up the "Partnership". I wish the Partnership a very successful future.