Decades after The Troubles, what challenges do youth face in peacebuilding in Northern Ireland?
Nearly 30 years after Northern Ireland’s conflict known as The Troubles ended in 1998, youth in the country continue to struggle with growing up in a society with stark divisions between Catholics and Protestants.
Anne Carr, a board member of International Fund for Ireland (IFI)—an independent international organization which promotes peacebuilding—spoke to Peace News Network (PNN) about IFI’s youth peacebuilding projects, including the ‘Step Up for Change’ project, which concluded in early July, 2026. The project helped 15 Northern Irish youth develop skills to secure employment, pursue education, and build peace between communities. Lynas also discussed some of the challenges youth in the country face with barriers to education and employment, literacy challenges, and addiction.
Tell me about IFI’s Personal Youth Development Programme (PYDP), and how it engages youth in peacebuilding? How is it fostering better relations between communities?
The IFI’s Personal Youth Programme ( PYDP) works with some of the most at-risk 16-25 year olds in Northern Ireland and southern border counties. It supports participants developing a range of life skills building confidence, resilience and boosting employability.
Young people involved will come from complex backgrounds and face challenges including family breakdowns, poor mental health, addiction issues, homelessness and some are vulnerable to paramilitary/ criminal gang recruitment.
Personalised Approach: These young people cannot effectively engage in peacebuilding or society if they are marginalised. Projects offer mentoring, personal and skills development workshops, health and wellbeing support. It is unlike other youth programs because it tailored to the needs of the individual.
Building Confidence: By addressing issues like low self-esteem, isolation, and mistrust of statutory institutions, the program equips participants with the emotional resilience needed to break negative cycles.
Employability and Skills: A core pillar is preparing participants for the world of work. It provides accredited and non-accredited training, vocational qualifications, CV development, and industry taster sessions, helping young people transition smoothly into mainstream education, training, or employment.
In the last year over 1,000 young people have taken part in the programme with 264 getting jobs, 29 have secured apprenticeships, 551 have received employment related training and 1,619 have achieved accreditations.
The IFI has a vision of creating a more shared future for all by bridging division. Many projects work in areas where sectarian tensions and paramilitary influences remain high, actively diverting vulnerable youth away from this pathway.
Projects frequently bring together participants from different cultural, religious, and political backgrounds (such as Protestant, Unionist, Loyalist and Catholic, Nationalist, Republican communities). It encourages participants to explore identities and cultural backgrounds while developing a deeper, more empathetic understanding and respect for the traditions for others.
PYDP goes beyond saving lives, it empowers young people to contribute positively. As young people gain confidence and skills, they move from being detached to becoming positive role models within their communities.
The ‘Step Up for Change’ project, which is supported by the PYDP, recently concluded in July. Can you tell me about what this project did?
The project has worked with 15 hard-to-reach, disengaged young people in East Belfast which remains a socially and economically deprived part of Belfast. Participants were given opportunities to engage in accredited training courses, including Personal Success and Wellbeing and Understanding Drugs and Substance Misuse and a range of workshops covering various topics including interpersonal skills and communication, setting goals, and managing personal finances.
IFI says it’s very important to give young people a voice and a chance at life, particularly in communities where the Good Friday agreement has yet to deliver its full potential. Can you expand on this?
Whilst political stability was largely delivered in 1998, communities exist where the peace dividends that were promised were simply not delivered. A lack of social stability, investment, employment, poverty, segregation and sectarianism remain, leaving young people vulnerable and feeling left behind, like generations before them.
Young people can face sectarianism through segregation, intergenerational trauma, paramilitary control etc. Over 90% attend religiously divided schools ( Catholic or Protestant) here and many housing areas remain segregated so there is limited cross-community interaction.
Inter-generational trauma is inherited from older generations and some young people experience division even though they were born after the Good Friday Agreement.
In marginalized communities you’ll also see paramilitaries exerting influence exploiting young people. And, finally, sectarianism can be seen during times of the year where there are tensions between communities such as the summer marching season, bonfires and historical commemorations.
The PYDP Programme re-engages young people, giving them the ability and skills to become future leaders advocating for peace.
Can you describe the backgrounds that many youth in the program are coming from? How do some of their challenges, such as with barriers to education and employment, literacy challenges, and addiction, intersect with peacebuilding?
These young people are dealing with complex issues from socially deprived communities. Its designed to work with those who are hardest to reach so they will often be dealing with multiple challenges affecting education, employment and personal development. Participants rarely present with just a single issue; rather, they are dealing with an interrelated web of systemic, social, and personal hurdles.
These issues are systemic for communities who have not benefitted from the Peace Process. The IFI provides targeted peacebuilding where it’s needed most, ensuring that every generation has the opportunity to grow.
Keywords: Northern Ireland, Belfast, Ireland, Catholic, Protestant, peace, youth, adversity, conflict, conflict resolution, employment
Anne has a long history in community peacebuilding and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. She is a founding pioneer parent of integrated education, having been instrumental in the inception and development of All Children’s Integrated Primary School, Newcastle, Co. Down, founded in 1986 and Chair of the Board of Governors for fourteen years.
She was Regional Co-Ordinator of the Women Together for Peace organisation from 1990 – 2001 and co-founded the Community Dialogue organisation in 1997. She was their Regional Dialogue Development and Research Co-Ordinator for many years and is an experienced dialogue and storytelling practitioner having worked throughout Ireland and in areas of conflict around the world.
She was the first elected Councillor for the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, serving on Down Council from 1997 – 2001. In 2008 she received the N. I. Community Relations Council Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of Community Relations and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
