EAMES/BRADLEY CONSULTATIVE GROUP ON DEALING WITH THE PAST

TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING AND HEALING PROJECT

(Follow-up to submission to House of Commons N.I. Affairs Committee

Ways of Dealing with Northern Ireland’s Past: Interim Report 2004-05)

ACCREDITED TRAINING RESOURCE ON

DEALING WITH THE PAST THROUGH

STORYTELLING AND POSITIVE ENCOUNTER DIALOGUE

 

The Management Committee of Towards Understanding and Healing is bringing to the attention of the Commission a training resource on Dealing with the Past through Storytelling and Positive Encounter Dialogue. It is hoped that the training resource, which is a culmination of the organisation’s work across Northern Ireland since 1998, will be recognised as a useful tool to assist communities in Northern Ireland to deal with their difficult past.

 

The training resource will be completed by June 2008 and an application has been made (under Peace III Regional Training) to roll out a training package to enable experienced facilitators to introduce a tried and tested storytelling and positive encounter dialogue programme which allows participants to explore highly sensitive issues within a safe and non-threatening environment. Equally important is the opportunity for others to use the training programme for wider dissemination and replication of the work to a wider audience. While the resource is an authenticated local model, it is placed within a context to allow for a culturally appropriate international model.

 

The Management Committee is asking the Consultative Group for an endorsement of this proven methodology as a means of:

-          helping to heal the hurts of the past through better understanding of the deep issues that allow us to demonise and contribute to conflict and division,

-          understanding and re-humanising those who have caused us deep hurts,

-          creating ways of building strong foundations for a shared future.    

 

The Towards Understanding and Healing Project acquired EU funding (£205,030) from the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland over a one year period to put together a comprehensive training resource which contains:

 

-          An OCN accredited training programme on Dealing with the Past. Themes covered in the resource are:

 

1.      Storytelling and Positive Encounter Dialogue

            The methodology of storytelling and positive encounter dialogue

            Facilitating the sharing of stories

            Guiding principles and ethics

            Archiving stories: from verbal to written

            The use of creativity in transforming trauma

 

 

 

 

2.      Issues in Dealing with the Past

            The politics of victimhood
            Truth and truth recovery
            Remembrance and commemoration

            Forgiveness and reconciliation

            Trauma and related effects of the troubles

 

-          A tried and tested storytelling and positive encounter dialogue methodology recorded on DVD for training purposes.

 

-          A book on the Ethics of Storytelling and The Politics of Dealing with the Past – local, national and international reputable authors have contributed to the book including Rev Dr Johnston McMaster, Damian Gorman, Dr Marie Breen Smyth, Dr Brandon Hamber, Professor Dan Bar-On (Israel), Dr Patricia Lundy, Arlene Healey, Marie-Therese O’Hagan, Maureen Hetherington, Eamonn Deane, Jim O’Neill, Professor Ann Kelleher (USA).

 

The Project has an experienced Management Committee and staff to oversee and direct the resource and an Advisory Panel to contribute to a high quality product.

 

Towards Understanding and Healing Management Committee:

Maureen Hetherington, The Junction (Co-Chairperson)

 Jim O’Neill, Freelance Consultant (Co-Chairperson)

Ursula Birthistle, Educationalist

Eamonn Deane, Director, Holywell Trust

Owen Donnelly, Counsellor with Relate

Seamus Farrell, International Consultant

Seamus Heaney, Director, Old Library Trust

John Lindsay, Writer

Richard Moore, Director, Children in Crossfire

Frances McAneny, Survivor of the conflict

Brigid McElroy, Survivor of the conflict

Martin Snoddon, Director, Conflict Trauma Resource Centre, Belfast

 

Training Resource Advisory Panel:

Rev Dr Johnston McMaster, Irish School of Ecumenics

Ms Roberta Bacic, International Freelance Consultant

Paul O’Connor, Pat Finucane Centre

Grainne Kelly, Community Foundation for Northern Ireland

David Porter, Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland

Debbie Lisle, Queens University, Belfast

 

Staff:

Liam O’Hagan, Research Writer

Sara Cook, Coordinator

Michelle Johnston, Administrator

 

Submission by Maureen Hetherington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18th January 2008

 

 

Secretary to the Consultative Group on the Past

20 Adelaide Street

Belfast

BT2 8GB

 

 

Dear Sinead

 

Re: Towards Understanding and Healing Project

 

Thank you again for your support regarding our work on the issue of dealing with the past. I am attaching a submission for Towards Understanding and Healing. (I have also attached, for information, our previous submission as mentioned at the top of this paper).

 

I am currently going through our database of ex-British soldiers who have gone through Towards Understanding and Healing. Given our confidentiality clause, I will write out a letter giving them details of where they can feed into the process. I hope this will produce some results for you.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen Hetherington

Chairperson

Towards Understanding and Healing Project