Good Relations Strategy 2022 2025

DERRY CITY AND STRABANE 

DISTRICT COUNCIL 

GOOD 

RELATIONS 

STRATEGY 

AND PLAN 

2022-2025 

www.derrystrabane.com/goodrelations 

DCSDC - Good Relations Strategy 1

CONTENTS 

1 Executive Summary 4 

2 Background and Process 11 

3 Regional and District Context 21 

4 Other Strategies and Programmes 27 

5 Derry City and Strabane District Action Plan 36 

6 Surveys 37 

7 Consultation and Interviews: TBUC themes 45 

8 Conclusions and Recommendations 52 

Appendices 

xx 

2 


EXECUTIVE 

SUMMARY 


DISTRICT COUNCIL HAS 

UNDERTAKEN AN INDEPENDENT 

AUDIT OF GOOD RELATIONS 

NEEDS IN THE DISTRICT TO 

INFORM THE NEXT GOOD 

RELATIONS STRATEGY AND 

ACTION PLAN FOR 2022-2025. 

The audit was carried out between 

January and March 2022. 

There were a range of issues identified 

during the various parts of the audit 

process which are summarised in key 

findings sections in the report. 

Of importance for the audit and its 

recommendations are: 

• Generally positive support for the 

good relations team and the work 

they undertake within Council 

recognising the ongoing need to 

deliver good relations across the 

district including in rural areas; 

• A need to re-examine the small 

grants programme to ensure 

groups working on issues that cut 

across the whole district can access 

funding, that rural areas continue 

to receive a fair share, and that the 

strategic focus is reinforced; 

• The need to deepen Council’s work 

on anti-racism and anti-sectarianism 

including exploring systemic issues 

of relevance especially for younger 

people and decision-making 

processes in public agencies; 

• The ongoing need to profile 

anti-sectarianism work and the 

important role played by elected 

representatives; 

• A continuing need to support some 

single identity work especially 

working in areas where radicalising 

younger people is an issue and 

within PUL communities as they 

re-build trust in the area and with 

institutions and agencies, post- 

Covid; 

• The exploration of relationships 

between deprivation and the 

absence of a good relations 

commitment; 

• The continued acknowledgement of 

the importance of exploring good 

practice on these islands; 

• The continued refinement toward 

ensuring the hard issues are tackled. 

Based on overall feedback a number of 

recommendations arise from the audit 

supporting the existing good relations 

action plan. 

The new good relations strategy builds 

on the previous good practice, refines 

and renews elements of the existing 

strategy and includes significant new 

programmes. 

A new programme called Breaking 

Barriers is included with a focus on 

tackling racism and sectarianism. The 

new programme has six key themes: 

review systems and procedures in 

Council to ensure fairness and equity; 

training for staff and Councillors on 

systemic racism and sectarianism; 

identification of role models to 

promote inclusion; promotion of 

contributions to inclusion and diversity 

locally and regionally; dialogues on the 

impact of racism and sectarianism and 

how to tackle them; exploration of the 

relationship between good relations 

and socio-economic deprivation. The 

new programme may also include a 

Mayor’s advisory panel consisting of 

different faith backgrounds. 

A greater strategic focus for the 

small grants programme is included. 

Council is to be acknowledged for 

the availability of such a significant 

small grants programme. The strategy 

suggests that a £50,000 cross -cutting 

strategic element is included in the 

£200,000 current allocation, which 

would work at a district-wide level and 

be targeted each year on a particular 

theme. For the first year youth is 

a suggested target mindful also of 

rural needs and the balance of youth 

provision across the district, as well 

as ongoing radicalisation issues. In 

the second year the strategy suggests 

a strategic focus on racial justice 

coinciding with the final year of the UN 

decade for people of African descent. 

Future years’ priority would be 

determined by feedback to GROs and 

the good relations working group. 

We suggest projects that acquire 

funding for an event during Good 

Relations Week from 2023 onwards are 

also eligible to put the event on during 

Black History Month in October. 

The bonfire engagement programme 

has been successful to date and 

while challenges remain, Councillors 

have participated well across parties, 

although that consensus has been 

challenged in recent times. The 

programme is titled Burning Issues? It 

seeks to incorporate the two different 

thoughts on the future: a) why there 

is a need for bonfires and whether 

alternatives can be identified, and 

b) that some believe bonfires would 

benefit from greater focus on their 

historical context and why they were lit 

in the first place, trying to complement 

other festivities in the district. 

The strategy seeks to mark Holocaust 

Memorial Week as a key event in 

itself but also to draw in many other 

minority groups that had been then 

and since, discriminated against. This 

includes the LGBTQ+ community, 

Traveller and Romani, trades unions, 

and may include sacrifices by people in 

the 20 th century from different parts of 

Eastern Europe, and it is very relevant 

given the situation in Ukraine in 2022. 

The new strategy includes new 

programmes, a new focus and a 

slightly harder edge. These good 

relations activities and projects need 

normalised and so a new project is 

added to help raise the profile of the 

good relations function and in so doing 

encourage others to speak publicly 

about the good relations work they do. 

The new strategy will present 

challenges to the good relations 

team to develop new programmes 

and provide a harder edge to 

understanding and tackling racism and 

sectarianism. The new programmes 

will take time to bed in but feedback 

and evidence suggests Council has 

a professional and well-regarded 

good relations team that will 

successfully introduce the 

new programmes and will 

continue to deliver 

the existing or 

further refined 

programmes. 

4 


BACKGROUND 

AND PROCESS 


DISTRICT COUNCIL IS AN 

AMALGAMATION OF TWO 

PREVIOUS COUNCILS: DERRY 

CITY AND STRABANE. ONGOING 

POSITIONING AROUND THE NEEDS 

THROUGHOUT THE COUNCIL AREA, 

THE URBAN/RURAL STRAINS AND 

BACKGROUNDS ARE MATTERS OF 

SUSTAINED CONSIDERATION IN 

THIS STRATEGY. 

Process 

This good 

relations audit 

was carried out in 

January - March 

2022. The audit 

process involved 

over 250 people 

and organisations 

including the 

activities below. 

• Carried out a community and youth 

survey with 79 responses; 

• Conducted a staff and Councillor 

survey with 104 responses; 

• Conducted approximately 20 

interviews; 

• Met with staff and the Good 

Relations committee; 

• Facilitated six community 

workshops involving minority 

ethnic, faith based, youth, rural, 

elected members, LGBTQ+, 

unionist, nationalist and other 

groupings; 

• Engaged more directly with 

elected representatives 

individually and with a 

survey. 

Conclusions and 

recommendations arising 

from the audit findings may 

impact on the delivery of 

the action plans for the 

good relations function 

on Council as a whole. 

These recommendations may then be 

taken forward by Council, with elected 

members and stakeholders, and 

obviously with The Executive Office. 

Good Relations Strategy 

The Council’s 

good relations 

strategy works 

within the 

context of the 

Northern Ireland 

regional strategy for reconciliation, 

Together: Building a United 

Community. As a result, like T:BUC, 

Council’s strategy works to the four 

key themes: 

In addition, TEO includes two further 

factors within the T:BUC headings as 

relevant: 

• Enabling women to have a greater 

influence on decisions made in their 

community/Northern Ireland; 

• Increase engagement with statutory 

bodies on good relations issues. 

Both of these are factors in different 

strands of this strategy. 

Our Children and 

Young People 

• Improved attitudes 

between young people of 

different backgrounds 

• Young people engaging in 

bringing the community 

together 

Our Safe 

Community 

• Reduction in hate crime 

and intimidation 

• Places and spaces are safe 

for all 

Our Shared 

Community 

• Increased use of shared 

space and services 

• Shared space more 

accessible to all 

Our Cultural 

Expression 

• Increased sense of 

community belonging 

• Cultural diversity is 

celebrated 

6 


“We have got great support within our 

organisation from the good relations team” 

Quote from a stakeholder 

Good Relations Team 

Good relations 

as a function 

is increasingly 

embedded 

throughout 

Council, with 

staff performing good relations work 

alongside a community development 

function. 

The good relations team in Derry 

City and Strabane Council consists 

of four good relations officers, with 

administrative support to: 

• Oversee, manage and facilitate 

the delivery of the good relations 

strategy and action plan; 

• Manage the delivery of the action 

plan activities; 

• Promote, manage and oversee the 

delivery of funding programmes; 

• Provide advice to Council on good 

relations issues; 

• Provide ongoing input into other 

aspects of Council work, delivery 

and funding; 

• Attend and input into a range of 

advisory and issue-specific forums 

and boards; 

• Engage with local communities 

to generate interest in the good 

relations programme and undertake 

good relations work generally. 

• Provide accountability to The 

Executive Office for financial and 

outcome reports, liaising with groups 

and ensuring compliance with 

proper processes and procedures. 

The good relations team works within 

a range of other policies within Council 

and with a variety of working groups, 

partnerships and internal and external 

management groups. 

Under its good relations function 

the team broadly seeks to develop 

better relations between people from 

different political, religious and racial 

backgrounds as defined in section 

75(2) of the Northern Ireland Act, 1998. 

Therefore, the core function of the 

good relations team is to develop 

relationships with a view to tackling 

sectarianism and racism, and promote 

diversity. This is core to the support it 

gets from The Executive Office which 

assists with up to 75% of funding for the 

Council’s good relations action plans. 

District Council Good Relations 

Programme Budget and Themes 

The overall 

budget for the 

good relations 

programme for 

2022-2023 is 

£572,600 including 

staff costs. 

The £354,500 

programme cost is shared between 

the four T:BUC themes. The 

programme delivers 19 programmes 

in total allocated as below (excluding 

£200,000 of small grants allocated 

under Our Shared Community): 

The strategy recommends a slight 

reduction in the overall number of 

programmes, but also some significant 

new programmes (some of which are 

already included in the action plan for 

2022-2023), and changes to how the 

small grants programme will work. 

17% 

23% 

35% 

25% 

Allocation % Programmes 

Children and Young People 

Shared Community 

Safe Community 

Cultural expression 

8 


Allocation by theme is summarised below: 

Themes CYP Shared Safe CE Total 

Programmes 3 7 3 6 19 

Cost (£) 39,000 

% (exc small grants 

because these grants 

sit within Shared 

Community but run 

across all themes. 

254,000 

54,000 when 

excluding £200k for 

a grants programme 

26,000 35,500 354,500 

25% 35% 17% 23% 100% 

The overall allocations per programme is reasonably balanced and the smallest 

allocation to Our Safe Community includes additional Council and government 

funding streams through the Policing and Community Safety Partnership. The 

proportionate spend on the Our Safe Community theme is broadly in line with 

TEO spend on the same theme. 

There is a strong link between Council and community’s delivering good relations 

work including through delivery of a small grants programme and the need 

for a significant focus on strategic outcomes associated with the small grants 

programme including ensuring delivery that is relevant to young people, peoples 

from minority ethnic backgrounds, equitable rural delivery, and the impact of 

Covid. 

There are a number of interesting and imaginative features about the delivery of 

the good relations programme: 

• The programmes target antiprejudice 

work in schools at a 

primary and post-primary level; 

• Grants allocations are weighted and 

distributed according to population 

size per DEA and weighted for 

rurality and deprivation indices to 

ensure fair allocations across DEAs; 

• Council officers are conscious of 

the need for rapid response to 

situations during the year and are 

able to do so in collaboration with 

local communities and through 

local partnerships; 

• There is an emphasis on further 

linking elected members with 

communities, and a focus on further 

facilitating civic leadership; 

• There is great awareness of 

inclusion of minority communities 

whether a minority due to political 

opinion, religious belief or racial 

background. 

Council will continue to be mindful of 

the core focus of good relations and 

the support from TEO concentrated on 

the T:BUC strategy. 

Grant Aid 

In total, the 

Council 2022/23 

programme 

provides £200,000 

in support through 

small grant aid. 

Small grants are allocated towards the 

start of each financial year and broadly 

spread equally through each DEA with 

weighting for population, deprivation, 

and rurality. The small grant allocation 

could deliver activities under any of the 

T:BUC themes but has been allocated 

under Our Shared Space as closest 

proximity to the work undertaken 

within the community. 

The criteria for the good relations small 

grants specifically ask those applying 

to address T:BUC criteria, contribute 

to the shared community theme and 

to the core good relations aims of 

tackling sectarianism, racism and 

prejudice. 

Community groups are provided with 

criteria for small grants in addition to 

other grant aid available through the 

Council. Council staff liaise closely 

with each other and community 

organisations to advise and support. 

As summarised later the feedback on 

small grants was very positive from 

community organisations, and equally 

for Council and staff. 

However, some feedback did query 

whether they had started to be 

taken for granted, and whether they 

extended delivery for some groupings 

that were spread throughout the 

district rather than be concentrated in 

one DEA. Consultees raised questions 

about their strategic fit, and indeed, 

whether they achieved sufficient 

impact. We have therefore made some 

recommendations about the level 

of small grant, how to make greater 

strategic impact, and how to align 

more closely with the strategy. 

Corporate Plan 

The corporate plan 

for Derry City and 

Strabane District 

Council emphasises 

community 

engagement and 

participation 

with a focus 

on the strategic growth plan and 

outcome development partnerships, 

incorporating delivery at local and 

neighbourhood levels. A social pillar 

is identified but good relations and 

equality are themes that run through 

all parts of the plan. 

In addition, Council has recently 

established a Dealing with the Past 

Task and Finish Working Group which 

will explore how the recent past 

impacts still on the district. The good 

relations team is mindful of the need to 

ensure consistency between this and 

their own work exploring the past. 

10 


Motions 

Two motions 

that were 

recently passed 

unanimously 

by Council 

have particular 

relevance. The 

motions on antisectarianism 

and 

racial injustice are reproduced below. 

The strategy also needs to respond 

to these motions taking forward the 

wishes of the elected members of the 

Council. 

Anti-Sectarianism Motion 

That sectarianism and 

sectarian segregation 

remain major barriers to 

building a better future. 

They represent 

significant blockages 

to achieving a future 

defined by respect, 

inclusion and equality. 

For as long as we fail to successfully 

address sectarianism and division, 

then intolerance, bigotry and fear will 

continue and the potential for instability 

and conflict will be ever present. 

Therefore, this Council will devise, 

adopt and implement an Anti- 

Sectarianism policy by reviewing 

its current Good Relations Policy 

and ensuring that sectarianism is 

specifically included. 

Furthermore, Council acknowledges 

that poverty and inequality can be 

exploited to promote sectarianism and 

sectarian division. 

Therefore, in addition, Council agrees 

that encouraging working class 

communities across our district to unite 

for better housing provision, better 

wages, better public services, better 

amenities etc. to actually challenge 

inequality and social injustice is critical 

to undoing the virus of sectarianism 

and all forms of discrimination. 

Racial Injustice Motion 

Derry City and Strabane District 

Council is committed to eradicating and 

ending racial injustice and anti-black 

racism. The Council recognises the 

work already undertaken by our staff 

and elected representatives to promote 

good relations and tackle prejudice. 

In pursuit of these twin aims, Council 

resolves to formally recognise and mark 

the United Nations International Decade 

for peoples of African Descent, running 

from 2015 – 2024. In proclaiming this 

Decade, the international community 

is recognising that people of African 

descent represent a distinct group 

whose human rights 

must be promoted and 

protected. Around 200 

million people identifying 

themselves as being of 

African descent live in 

the Americas, while many 

more live in other parts of 

the world (including this 

council area), outside of 

the African continent. 

In marking the International Decade, 

Council will bring forward a paper to 

advise how it will: 

• Work with schools and community 

organisations to ensure that the 

educational histories and narratives 

of black people are properly taught 

and celebrated in schools across the 

Council area all year round; 

• Ensure that the end of the decade 

is marked in 2024, celebrating 

progress made in moving towards 

racial justice; 

• The Council will also write to the 

Department of Education calling 

on it to work with local, black- led 

organisations, the Black Curriculum 

organisation, and local historians/ 

academics to provide relevant 

educational resources and to review 

the Northern Ireland Curriculum 

in order to develop an anti-racism 

policy for schools. 

In this report and for the purposes 

of the recommendations we assume 

sectarianism is a sub-set of racism, 

as defined by the International 

Convention on the Elimination of all 

Forms of Racial Discrimination and 

supported by the Northern Ireland 

Human Rights Commission (NIHRC). 

The NIHRC also argues there is 

intersectionality between religious 

and racial discrimination. In line with 

this approach the report will later 

recommend the amalgamation of 

the existing two programmes in the 

Council Good Relations Action Plan 

(DS06 and DS19) which separately 

support anti-sectarian and antiracism 

work, to a larger single 

programme Tackling Systemic 

Racism and Sectarianism – Breaking 

Barriers. 

We include sectarianism in the 

title to ensure the fundamental 

needs of building better relations 

between two of the three S75(2) 

categories, political opinion 

and religious background, are not 

underplayed especially given the 

demographic profile of the District. 

Sectarianism will also include religious 

differences beyond the obvious 

Protestant and Catholic dynamics. 

12 


Racism 

Racism is defined in 

many ways in different 

sources, but the 

fundamentals come 

back to: 

• Feelings of inherent 

superiority based on 

race which is also why there is often 

considered a link to colonialism 

whether through empires or 

conquest in areas like North 

America; 

• Prejudice and disrespect; 

• The continued play out of issues 

at a local level through things like 

graffiti and vocalisation of prejudice; 

• Systemic or institutional racism 

developed sometimes over a 

prolonged period; 

• Subsequent issues around 

decision-making processes, lack of 

involvement in decision-making and 

lack of recognition of contributions 

made. 

As a result, the report will make 

recommendations around: 

- Review of systems and procedures 

within Council and encouragement 

to do that in other agencies; 

- Training for key staff and 

councillors on systemic racism and 

sectarianism; 

- Identification of role models; 

- Promotion of historic contributions 

by people of minority community 

and racial backgrounds; 

- Dialogues on the consequence of 

racism and how to challenge it. 

Sectarianism 

Sectarianism is defined in many ways in 

different sources, but the fundamentals 

come back to: 

• Narrow-minded or parochial 

attitudes toward people of different 

faith beliefs; 

• Being confined to the limits of a 

particular denomination or being 

biased toward people and beliefs of 

a particular denomination; 

• Sectarianism in Northern Ireland 

especially relates to people from a 

Protestant or Catholic background, 

but could equally relate to 

differences between people of other 

faith backgrounds; 

• There are often links from the 

denomination to other cultural, 

historical and political differences. 

As a result, the report will make 

recommendations around: 

- Inter faith collaboration because while 

there can be a diluted relationship 

between religion and political, 

historical and cultural differences, 

nevertheless it still plays a part; 

- Parochialism or limited engagement 

and loyalty locally is important to 

sectarianism and we will reinforce 

the benefit of looking beyond the 

local and exploring good practice 

elsewhere. 

Key issues include: 

• Enabling women is also a focus for 

the T:BUC strategy though not a 

core section 75(2) category – T:BUC 

also stresses increasing engagement 

of communities with statutory 

bodies on good relations issues; 

• Council’s allocation by four T:BUC 

themes is roughly proportionate; 

• Council provides a significant 

budget for a small grants 

programme; 

• Council delivers significant antiprejudice 

work in schools already; 

• Two motions recently unanimously 

passed at Council, on sectarianism 

and racism, need to be a focus for 

the new strategy; 

• There are relevant 

recommendations in this report 

as a result of those two motions 

including around systemic 

sectarianism and racism and 

seeking to be outward looking, 

amongst others. 

14 


REGIONAL & 

DISTRICT CONTEXT 

Regional 

The current 

Programme for 

Government is the 

Northern Ireland 

government 

template which 

will be revisited 

in months to come if and when the 

Northern Ireland Executive establishes 

its priorities within a new Programme 

for Government. The existing 

Programme for Government includes 

several strategic goals that promote 

good relations or reconciliation. These 

are included in T:BUC, itself being 

reviewed, and include: 

• A safe community where people 

respect the law and each other; 

• A shared society that respects 

diversity; 

• A confident, welcoming and 

outward-looking society; 

• We give children and young people 

the best start in life 1 . 

1 Programme for Government, NI Executive, 2017 

The programme respects diversity 

and seeks respect for the law and 

for each other. There is no single, 

clear and ambitious strategic goal for 

reconciliation or cohesion. 


Council’s good relations strategy 

is developed in the context of the 

over-arching regional good relations 

strategy Together: Building a United 

Community (T:BUC). 

The District Council Good Relations 

Programme is delivered as part of 

T:BUC and is the consistent approach 

from the department across all local 

government areas, investing up to 75% 

of the funding for all Councils’ good 

relations delivery. 

The T:BUC strategy includes the four 

thematic priorities within T:BUC: 

• Our children and young people; 

• Our shared community; 

• Our safe community; and 

• Our cultural expression. 

- The 11 local authorities have 

reasonable and proportionate 

allocation across the four T:BUC 

themes, as does Derry City and 

Strabane District Council 

- However, it is worth noting that 

many areas of work cut across 

different T:BUC themes and 

contribute to the achievement of 

multiple outcomes. 

Council allocation per theme is broadly 

consistent with the allocations by 

TEO and other Councils, with the 

exception of the investment by TEO in 

Our Children and Young People (much 

higher) and Our Shared Community and 

Our Safe Community (much lower). 

Across Northern Ireland the district 

council programme in 2020-2021 

delivered 132 projects and involved 

over 100,000 direct and indirect 

participants through the £4 million 

allocated to Councils. Of the people 

engaged, 100% said their attitudes to 

people from a different background 

were either maintained or improved 

and 99% said participation had played 

a positive role in bringing people from 

different backgrounds together. 

Focusing on young people TEO had 

engaged 1,579 young people in T:BUC 

camps with the completion of 75 camps. 

Of those responding 94% of young 

people said they had made new friends 

with someone from a different religious 

or community background, and 90% 

were open to making new friends from 

different religious backgrounds. Said 

one participant: “I wouldn’t have had any 

Catholic friends before this and now I 

get along with them”. 

TEO also promoted a T:BUC trees 

initiative which supported the planting 

of 600 trees with more than 100 young 

people taking part. TEO are keen to 

support the use of other outcomes to 

facilitate good relations learning and 

cross community contact. 

The Executive Office (TEO) also works 

through its Racial Equality Strategy to: 

• Tackle racial inequalities; 

• Eradicate racism and hate crime; 

• Promote good race relations and 

social cohesion. 

There are several relevant aspects to 

the racial equality strategy for Derry 

City and Strabane including the work 

of racial equality champions and 

the Vulnerable Persons Relocation 

Scheme with 1,800 Syrian refugees 

placed in Northern Ireland including 

in Derry City and Strabane District, 

and many other asylum seekers and 

refugees from other countries and 

regions. 

60% 

25% 

20% 

10% 

33% 35% 

The Minority Ethnic Development Fund 

(MEDF) allocates just over £1 million 

and supports 35-40 projects. The racial 

equality strategy also includes a focus 

on participation to increase a sense of 

belonging of people from minority ethnic 

backgrounds in all aspects of public, 

political, economic, social and cultural 

live; and it also targets equality of service 

provision, improving social cohesion and 

safeguarding peoples’ rights to maintain 

their own cultural identity. 

Breakdown Across T:BUC Themes - TEO, 11 Councils and Derry City and Strabane District Council 

70% 

60% 

50% 

40% 

30% 

20% 

10% 

0% 

Our Children and 

Young People 

Our Shared 

Community 

5% 

16% 17% 

Our Safe 

Community 

Central GR Fund 11 Councils DCSDC 22-23 AP 

31% 

25% 23% 

Our Cultural 

Expression 

16 


According to the census estimates by 

mid-2020 Derry City and Strabane 

district had a population of 151,109. 

Around a fifth of the Derry City and 

Strabane population (22%) are 15 

years of age or younger compared 

to approximately 21% of the overall 

Northern Ireland population. The 

District has a slightly lower than 

average older population with 15.5% of 

the district being 65+ years compared 

to 17% in Northern Ireland. 

Community Background 

25% 

3% 

72% 

Catholic Protestant Other 

The community background of 

the Council area is approximately 

72% Catholic and 25% Protestant 

community background; with 3% from 

other faith backgrounds. 

FICT Commission 

The Flags, Identity 

and Cultural Tradition 

Commission (FICT) 

was established in 

2016 as part of the Stormont House/ 

Fresh Start Agreement. It consisted of a 

membership drawn almost equally from 

political parties and civil society, though 

some civil society representatives also 

had links to political parties. It was asked 

to make recommendations on a range of 

related flags, identity and culture related 

issues that would help move these issues 

to a place where they were no longer 

contested. After some delays and a 

prolonged period when the NI Executive 

had collapsed, the Commission finally 

reported in 2021. 

The Commission was tasked with a 

programme of work including: 

• Scoping the range, extent and 

nature of issues relating to flags, 

identity, culture and tradition; 

• Mapping the benefits and 

opportunities in terms of flags 

related issues whilst highlighting 

where challenges remain; 

• Producing a report and 

recommendations on the way 

forward. 

On the main issues the findings and 

recommendations of the Commission 

were: 

• Murals/Memorials/Flags – 

emphasising the responsibilities of 

the landowner. 

• Flags – Detailed discussions but no 

agreement on how new legislation 

would work. 

• Flags – Paramilitary flags should be 

removed from lamp posts. 

• Flags on public buildings – range of 

options but no consensus. 

• Bonfires – Comprehensive 

recommendations – gateway 

legislation was the removal of 

the restrictions on burning waste 

material as a bonfire, and emphasis 

subsequently on responsibilities of 

landowners. 

• Murals – Need to support public art 

in communities. 

• Murals – Removal of paramilitary 

murals and development of 

guidelines and possible new 

legislation. 

• Memorials/commemoration – need 

for a protocol. 

• Executive Action Plan – produced 

and with TEO in confidence. 

Some of the work is more relevant 

to Council than others. Some are not 

areas where Council has any direct 

responsibilities though it could still 

have an influence and its obligations 

under legislation such as the Cleaner 

Neighbourhood and Environment Act 

give Council relevant powers. 

NIHE 

The Northern Ireland Housing Executive 

(NIHE) is coming to the end of its fiveyear 

community cohesion strategy 

which focuses on five core aims: 

• Creating a common vision and 

sense of belonging; 

• Valuing and appreciating people 

from different backgrounds and 

circumstances; 

• Providing similar life opportunities 

for people from different 

backgrounds; 

• Developing strong, positive 

relationships between people 

from different backgrounds in the 

workplace, in schools and within 

neighbourhoods; 

• Brokering good relations between 

groups and communities. 

Within these aims the five main 

themes are: Communities in Transition; 

Race Relations; Interfaces; Flags, 

Emblems and Sectional Symbols; and 

Segregation and integration. As part 

of its shared housing commitment, 

alongside The Executive Office, the 

NIHE and Department for Communities 

(DfC) has committed to another 27 

shared housing schemes on top of the 

existing ten. These new schemes are 

anticipated to bring the total shared 

housing units across Northern Ireland 

to 1,298. Of these new schemes the 

following are located in the district: 

• Ballynagard, Derry/Londonderry; 

• Coolnafinney Road, Eglinton; 

• Ballygudden Road, Eglinton; 

• Ebrington PS site, Derry/ 

Londonderry. 

Almost all of these schemes in 

Northern Ireland, and in the district, are 

developed and managed by housing 

associations with funding from the 

Department of Communities and NIHE, 

including Apex Housing, Radius, Choice 

and Habinteg. Council developing a 

relationship with these social housing 

providers is as important as with the 

NIHE and other agencies. 

Overall, there has been little shift in 

shared housing since 1998 with over 90% 

of social housing in Northern Ireland still 

segregated just as it was in 1998. 

18 


OTHER STRATEGIES, 

PROGRAMMES AND INFLUENCES 

Key Issues 

Taking the above policy context into 

account, the, key issues for the audit 

include: 

• The TEO Racial Equality Strategy 

identifies the need to increase a 

sense of belonging of people from 

minority ethnic backgrounds driven 

by participation in all aspects of 

public, political, economic, social 

and cultural life. 

• There will be four shared housing 

schemes in the Council area for the 

first time under a current round 

of schemes anticipated to be in 

Eglinton and Ebrington. However, 

two out of the initial 37 schemes is 

proportionately less than the size 

of population of the district may 

deserve. 

• The proportionate of spend of the 

Council on the four T:BUC themes is 

consistent with other Councils; 

• The District has a broadly 3-1 

split of community background 

between those from a Catholic 

“We need to address deprivation and recognise 

the link between high levels of deprivation and 

good community relations” Quote from a stakeholder 

and Protestant community 

background placing responsibilities 

and expectations on people from 

both the majority and minority 

backgrounds; 

• Responsibilities of landowners 

is a theme for the 

FICT 

Commission though only after a 

gateway legislation change around 

bonfires. 

THE GOOD RELATIONS PROGRAMME WITHIN THE 11 DISTRICT COUNCILS ALSO 

SITS WITHIN A WIDER CONTEXT OF RECONCILIATION AND PEACE BUILDING 

ACTIVITIES IN NORTHERN IRELAND. IN SOME WAYS THESE ACTIVITIES ARE 

HELPING TO MOVE NORTHERN IRELAND FROM A NEGATIVE PEACE (THE 

ABSENCE OF VIOLENCE) TO A POSITIVE PEACE (CREATING POSITIVE ATTITUDES, 

INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES THAT CREATE AND SUSTAIN PEACE). 

According to the Global Peace Index, the eight pillars of 

creating a positive peace include six that are directly relevant 

to Derry City and Strabane District Council good relations 

action plan, and to the wider context of peace building. The six 

most impactful for this audit are: 

The other two of the six pillars are low levels of corruption and 

a sound business environment. 2 

Additionally, peace building and reconciliation are recognised 

as highly cost-effective activities while requiring ongoing 

investment. It is estimated that the cost of not undertaking 

peace building is x16 given subsequent likely social, economic 

and security costs. 3 

A positive peace, therefore, in also acknowledging the 

cost-effective nature of reconciliation work, leads to knockon 

desirable socio-economic benefits including economic 

performance, social inclusion and more ambitious policy 

making. 

2 Global Peace Index, 2019 

3 Global Peace Index calculation, 2019 

Equitable 

distribution 

of resources 

Skilled 

human 

resources 

Government, 

local or 

regional, that 

functions well 

Positive Peace 

Acceptance 

of others and 

their rights 

Good 

relations 

Open and 

accessible 

decisionmaking 

20 


This audit works within The Executive 

Office T:BUC strategy but also 

acknowledges the importance of 

these six pillars in its summary and 

recommendations. 

PEACE Programme 

The Peace IV Programme 

provides significant investment in 

peacebuilding and reconciliation 

activities in the city. The Council is 

responsible for delivering the PEACE 

PLUS Local action Plan which has 

a budget of £110million overall in 

Northern Ireland and the border 

counties for local initiatives most 

directly related to good relations. 

There is complementarity with the 

Council’s good relations programme. 

The Peace Programme is timelimited 

with the Peace Plus 

programme due to be available from 

the end of 2022 or the start of 2023, 

and will end by 2027 as currently 

envisaged. 

For PEACE PLUS, the team wish to 

develop more strategic interventions 

developed early with local communities 

through a co-design process and 

tendered opportunity of around £1.2 

million locally. These will focus on: 

1. Local community regeneration and 

transformation; 

2. Thriving and peaceful communities; 

3. Building respect for all cultural 

identities. 

The strategic context for the PEACE 

Programme is important and sometimes 

overlooked. It was the PEACE 

Programme that generated one of the 

best definitions yet of reconciliation that 

is at the heart of its delivery and has 

resonance for other related programmes 

including on good relations. These 

reconciliation criteria are: 

1. Developing a shared vision of an 

interdependent and fair society 

Challenging political and civic leaders 

to agree a vision of a shared future 

requiring the involvement of the whole 

society, and which is interdependent, 

just, equitable, open and diverse. 

2. Acknowledging and dealing with 

the past 

Acknowledging the hurt, losses, truths 

and suffering of the past including 

individuals and institutions. 

3. Building positive relationships 

Relationship building or renewal 

following violent conflict addressing 

issues of trust, prejudice, intolerance 

in this process, resulting in accepting 

commonalities and differences, and 

embracing and engaging with those 

who are different. 

4. Significant cultural and attitudinal 

change 

Changes in how people relate to, and 

their attitudes towards, one another 

where each citizen becomes an active 

participant in society and feels a sense 

of belonging. 

5. Substantial social, economic and 

political change 

The social, economic and political 

structures which gave rise to the 

conflict and estrangement are 

identified, reconstructed or addressed, 

and transformed. 

The good relations agenda is an 

important part of the reconciliation 

process, therefore, which is more 

than just about cross community 

relationships. The impact of economic 

and social deprivation, changing 

structures that estranged people, 

encouraging a sense of belonging 

of all including those people and 

communities feeling estranged 

(before, during or after the conflict), 

acknowledgement and a common 

vision are all critical elements. 

Perhaps just as significantly, the 

Hamber and Kelly definition also 

recognises the reconciliation 

paradox in the conflict between an 

acknowledgement of a painful and 

harmful past while searching for a 

longer term and interdependent 

future. 4 

Brexit 

4 A Working Definition of Reconciliation, Hamber and Kelly, 2004, p4 

The Brexit debate continues to be 

contentious across the district. There 

are reports of an increasingly polarised 

response to the Brexit and the NI 

Protocol within unionist and nationalist 

areas. However, the two constituencies 

that include Derry City and Strabane 

District recorded amongst the highest 

pro-Remain votes. 

90% 

80% 

70% 

60% 

50% 

40% 

30% 

20% 

10% 

0% 

56% 

44% 

78% 

Covid, the 

regulations 

and a pause in 

relationshipbuilding 

may require 

some further 

reflection post-Covid, not just of 

relevance to people from all sides 

of the community but between 

communities and public agencies. 

Remain v Leave in Foyle & West Tyrone 

22% 

67% 

33% 

NI Foyle West Tyrone 

Remain 

Leave 

22 


Other Groups 

A recent study by ARK Social Policy 

initiative of Queen’s University and 

Ulster University into the Missing T: 

Baseline Attitudes Toward Transgender 

People in Northern Ireland, found that 

21% self-identified as having some 

prejudice, most marked amongst 

males and people from a Protestant 

background. 

However, it also found that prejudice 

was three times higher amongst those 

who did not know anyone who is 

transgender (26%) than those who do 

know someone who is transgender 

(9%). 

The report concludes there are positive 

attitudes to transgender people and 

fairly high levels of support for the 

realisation of their rights. 5 

Youth 

Derry City and Strabane 

District Council prioritises 

a child-centred approach 

to any work with children 

and young people. 

This is as defined and encouraged by 

UNICEF, an agency established by the 

United Nations to support the health and 

education of children and their mothers. 

The approach prioritises: 

• Putting children and young people, 

as individuals, at the heart of 

decision making that affects them; 

• Developing individual actions for 

children and young people relative 

to their needs, family and social 

situation; 

• Puts children and young people in 

control of their own learning as far 

as possible. 6 

A recent report on Sectarianism in 

Northern Ireland overseen by members 

of the Sir George Quigley Fund 

Committee, made several conclusions 

and recommendations including 

that the pattern in educational 

participation indicates that “the 

educated population living in Northern 

Ireland is becoming proportionately 

more “Catholic” and more female” 7 . It 

highlights that Catholics (45.4%) are 

more likely than Protestants (39%) to 

take the higher education route and 

of those who do Catholics (73.8%) 

are more likely to attend institutions 

in Northern Ireland than Protestants 

(60.5%). 

In October 2019 Youth Pact, the 

quality and impact body for the EU 

PEACE IV Children and Young Peoples’ 

programme produced a paper for a 

round table entitled The Role of Youth 

Work in Peacebuilding: Challenges and 

Opportunity. 

The paper indicates a shift toward 

an employability paradigm of 

peacebuilding in youth work through 

the T:BUC strategy as with the Fresh 

Start agreement in 2015. It also 

references an academic report in 

2019 Result of a Hard Border due to 

Brexit or a Rushed Border Poll by Daly, 

Dolan and Brennan, which explores 

the risks for youth catalysed by the 

Brexit process, anticipating that a 

hard border would lead to a return to 

violence and that, rather dramatically 

and soberingly, suggests that Northern 

Ireland is in a pre-conflict not postconflict 

scenario. 8 

The United Nations through resolution 

number 2250 on youth, peace and 

security anticipates the inclusion 

of young people in shaping peace 

initiatives and contributing to decisionmaking 

including, in this case, on good 

relations work. 

However, as evidenced in the Northern 

Ireland Life and Times survey and 

Young Life and Times survey in 2019 

one fifth of young people in Northern 

Ireland do not report a sense of 

belonging to their neighbourhood and 

19% do not have a sense of belonging 

to Northern Ireland. This is higher than 

adults (11%). 

A further 10% of young people feel 

they could influence decision making 

in their local area and just 7% believe 

they could influence decision-making 

in Northern Ireland. 

Gender 

Women are also considered 

critical to peacebuilding through 

the United Nations security 

resolution 1325 which recognises 

the contribution women have 

made to peacekeeping and peace building 

but in Northern Ireland peace making 

and peacekeeping are often seen as male 

preserves. This is accentuated when issues 

such as reproductive rights and marriage 

equality are regarded as contested issues. 

Hate Crime 

According to PSNI statistics in the 

last 12 months (financial year 2021/22 

compared to 2020/21) there has been 

an increase in the number of hate 

incidents and crimes reported. In fact 

racist, homophobic and disability hate 

incidents and crime are at their highest 

point since police started recording 

them in 2004. There are more racerelated 

incidents and crime in Northern 

Ireland than sectarian. In Northern 

Ireland in 2021/22 there were 1,334 

racist incidents (+341 on previous 

year) and 931 racist crimes (+213). This 

compares to 1,067 sectarian incidents 

(+133) and 780 sectarian crimes (+106). 

In the same year there were 462 

homophobic incidents (+96) and 336 

homophobic crimes (+90). 

In Derry City and Strabane racist 

incidents recorded are fewer than 

sectarian incidents contrary to the 

trend in Northern Ireland as a whole. 

The number of racist incidents and 

crimes in the Council area were lower 

than sectarian incidents and crimes, 

but had increased in number more 

than sectarian incidents and crimes 

had increased. While racist crime 

had increased by more than 50% 

in the Council area, sectarian crime 

had increased by around 20% in the 

last year. These are numbers from a 

relatively low base to start with. 9 

5 ARK Research Update, The Missing T; Baseline Attitudes towards Transgender people in Northern Ireland, June 2019 

6 https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/ 

7 Sectarianism in Northern Ireland, Duncan Morrow, 2019, p35 

8 The role of youth work in peacebuilding, Andy Hamilton, p3 

9 PSNI Hate Crime bulletin May 2022 

24 


Derry City 

and Strabane 

District 

Incidents 

Flags and Bonfires 

The Northern Ireland 

Life and Times survey 

in 2020 reflects a very 

divided public opinion 

on flags. Typically, there 

is significant variance 

between people from a Protestant and 

Catholic religious background. 

There has been a little change over the 

last five years as shown in the table 

above. 

Attitudes to the Union Flag being 

flown on public buildings are also 

equally divisive. The Northern Ireland 

Crimes 

Year 20/21 21/22 Change 20/21 21/22 Change 

Racist 62 92 +30 47 76 +29 

Homophobic 32 39 +7 26 34 +8 

Sectarian 90 114 +24 72 86 +14 

Life and Times Survey also evidences 

that with 38% of Protestants believing 

it should be flown at all times on public 

buildings compared to 2% of Catholics. 

While 4% of Protestants believe it 

should never be flown that rises to 

54% of Catholics. A small majority of 

Protestants (51%) believe it should only 

be flown on designated days compared 

to 35% of Catholics. 

Just as with flags there is significant 

disparity of opinion between people 

from a Catholic and Protestant 

background on the legitimacy of 

bonfires – but not on accountability as 

a result of damage or injury as a result 

of a bonfire. The table from NILT 2020 

shows 17% of Catholics think bonfires 

are a legitimate culture expression 

compared to 64% of Protestants. 

A very significant majority from 

both sides of the community agree 

that bonfire organisers should be 

accountable if there is damage or 

injury due to the bonfire – 94% in 

total (91% of Protestants and 95% of 

Catholics). 

100% 

80% 

60% 

40% 

20% 

0% 

70% 

60% 

50% 

40% 

30% 

20% 

10% 

0% 

Bonfires Organisers Should Be Accountable for Damage 

or Injury - 2020 

94% 

95% 

38% 41% 

17% 

91% 

Agree/Strongly Agree 

56% 

Agree/Strongly Agree 

2% 

All Catholic Protestant 

Bonfires are Legitimate Cultural Expression 

- 2020 

1% 

64% 

2% 

Disagree/Strongly Disagree 

24% 

Disagree/Strongly Disagree 

Key Issues 

Key issues in this section include: 

• Critical to peace building are 

issues such as the functioning 

of government, good relations, 

transparent decision-making and 

equitable distribution of resources, 

all relevant to the delivery of good 

relations in the Council area; 

• The cost of not undertaking peace 

building work including good 

relations may be much higher than 

the initial investment of doing the 

work; 

• As evidenced in the research on 

prejudice toward transgender 

people amongst other research, 

relationship is key to reducing 

prejudice; 

• The reconciliation criteria of the 

PEACE programme reinforce 

the importance of relational and 

attitudinal change; 

• There is considerable overlap 

between the good relations and 

the PEACE IV programme but 

also considerable effort to ensure 

complementarity – the PEACE PLUS 

programme will deliver significant 

local spend on good relations 

projects up to 2027; 

• Derry City and Strabane district 

recorded the highest pro-Remain 

vote on the islands; 

• Young people are less likely than 

adults to feel a sense of belonging; 

• There continues to be obvious 

disagreement about flags and 

bonfires between people from 

a Catholic and Protestant 

community background. 

All Catholic Protestant 

26 


GOOD RELATIONS, 

ACTION PLAN 2022-2023 

The current good relations action plan 

for Derry City and Strabane District 

Council is complementary to T:BUC, 

adding considerably to its delivery in 

Northern Ireland and to the delivery 

of other strategies and programmes 

locally by Council and other public 

agencies. 

The Council good relations team 

also has other responsibilities within 

Council including linking community 

development and good relations. 

The current good relations action plan 

across the four overarching strategic 

themes from T:BUC anticipates 19 

good relations programmes - four 

programmes focusing on children 

and young people, four programmes 

on our shared community, two 

programmes on our safe community 

and two programmes on our cultural 

expression. 

The recommendations made in this 

report will build on the successes 

of the existing action plan and will 

compliment these policies and 

“The good relations team are excellent but their 

work and commitment isn’t always reflected 

across the work of the Council” Quote from a stakeholder 

strategies, regional and local. A 

summary in the appendices includes a 

brief summary and comment for each 

Action Plan action. 

The small grant allocation will cross 

many of the T:BUC themes and is 

difficult to allocate to just one of them. 

Indeed, that is reflected in the good 

relations unit analysis of community 

spend within the small grants 

programme which also indicates 

community support for the fund. The 

small grants programme includes 

an overall budget of £200,000. 

Community groups appreciate the 

time officers spend with them though 

community feedback also suggested 

they would encourage further councilcommunity 

liaison and networking 

with Council and between community 

groups. 

The good relations action plan 

complements other parts of Council 

delivery. The linkage with community 

development and the PEACE 

programme is especially understood. 

SURVEYS 

As part of the audit, surveys were 

undertaken with distinct groupings 

including: 

• All staff and Councillors within 


Council with 104 returns; 

• The public and community 

organisations including minority 

ethnic, unionist, nationalist and 

youth organisations with 79 returns. 

With 183 responses, given the 

population size of the Council and the 

strong proportionate response by age, 

gender and community background, 

we estimate in the survey responses 

overall a confidence rate of 94% and a 

margin of error of +/- 4%. 

Results are given for overall within 

the community, then by sector and 

data sliced by different backgrounds 

where results are markedly different 

and relevant. Where data slicing takes 

place, results are relevant but may have 

a higher margin of error. 

We have provided some of the key 

results only at this stage including for: 

• Awareness and involvement; 

• Council corporately and staff; 

• Respect for culture and shared 

history; 

• Prejudice. 

28 


Awareness and Involvement: 

Culture and Shared History: 

Survey findings 

• 93% believe good relations in the 

district is highly or very important - 

just 2% say it is not at all important 

• 92% are aware of Council’s good 

relations team and 81% of staff, 79% 

have attended a good relations 

event, and 26% of staff attending 

believe it had a major positive effect 

on their work 

• No specific venue was identified as 

being inaccessible for GR reasons; 

• Awareness of, and participation 

in, GR activities was consistently 

lower by people from a Protestant 

background such as 60% of 

Protestant staff aware of the GR 

team compared to over 80% of 

Catholic staff 

• Nearly 100% of community 

responses were aware of the small 

grants programme (96%) 

• Critical issues are considered to 

be dealing with sectarianism and 

racism, involving young people, 

tackling homophobia and the 

alienation of minorities. 

• Barriers raised including 

gatekeepers, awareness and political 

profile 

Inherent impact - outgoing strategy 

• Well regarded and impactful good 

relations work by the Council 

• Significant awareness of delivery on 

GR by the Council 

• Community organisations very 

aware of the GR small grants 

support 

• Attendance at GR events was still 

high despite Covid 

• Ongoing significant involvement in 

GR activities within communities 

and with staff 

• Some Covid-related issues, such as 

relationships within and between 

communities, and with agencies 

such as Council may have longlasting 

legacies 

• Consistent focus on young people, 

education and tackling racism and 

sectarianism 

• Homophobia as a continuing 

concern for prejudice throughout 

the immediate s75(2)categories 

• Some concerns continue around 

engagement of PUL communities 

and Council staff 

Residual impact - incoming strategy 

• Communication and engagement 

continue to be important, perhaps 

with some targeting required 

• Events should continue to be well 

branded 

• Focus on involving young 

people, education at all ages and 

backgrounds, going beyond the 

gatekeepers 

• Small grants should continue to play 

a significant role in the new strategy 

though responsive to community 

priorities and needs 

• Further consideration of the 

meaning and response to concerns 

about minority alienation 

• Prejudice more broadly could 

be a theme including other s75 

categories 

• Identification of strategic priorities 

• Potential help from significant 

leaders from civil society that 

would benefit from a formalised, 

recognised role such as a Mayor’s 

initiative 


• While 61% believe managing 

bonfires and dealing with flags and 

emblems are very important, just 

39% say managing parades is as 

relevant a priority 

• 61% believe single identity work is 

still highly important 

• 68% believe that cross border 

engagement should be a very 

important consideration for the new 

strategy 

• Working on legacy and 

commemoration events is regarded 

as very important by over half (51%) 

• The lowest level of importance is 

given to managing memorials (25%) 

and working with ex-combatants 

(32%). 


• Our cultural expression delivery is 

still an important part of delivery 

especially regarding bonfires and 

flags and emblems as part of the 

existing strategy 

• Shared history programmes are well 

regarded and ongoing dialogue 

around legacy is regarded as 

important by many 

• The increasing contacts being made 

by Council with southern partners, 

through joint delivery, is also 

reflected in a significant proportion 

thinking it important. 


• Finding mechanisms for dialogue 

around the shared past remains 

important especially in the context 

of 50-year anniversaries just passed 

and still to come 

• Links across the border 

areconsidered increasingly 

important 

• Many people believe there is a 

significant need still for single 

identity work. 

• Exploration of the meaning 

of minority ethnic relative to 

the different communities and 

individuals 

• Importance of diversity sessions in 

schools and youth groups 

• Training and education initiatives, 

not just for young people 

30 


Council Corporately + Staff: 

Prejudice: 


• 83% believe Council promotes good 

relations very well/well compared to 

17% who think it does it very poorly/ 

poorly. This stands in contrast to 

perceptions of how Councillors 

promote good relations 

• Many people refer to political 

barriers in promoting good relations 

• Other barriers identified include lack 

of funding (73%) though the Council 

funding is well regarded 

• No one identified a particular 

Council venue that was inaccessible 

for GR-related reasons though 20% 

said there might be 

• Many perceived a barrier to GR is 

lack of support (58%) from public 

agencies generally (not Council 

specifically) 

• Council employees find the Council 

a good place to work, being a 

largely neutral or culturally diverse 

workplace - though a minority do 

feel they have to change the way 

they refer to things or keep quiet 

about personal background (this is 

mainly from PUL employees) 


• The existing strategy touches on 

many issues raised by staff 

• Many staff have engaged with the 

GR team and activities, and that has 

made positive impact 

• Council corporately and elected 

members continue to be perceived 

in different ways 

• There continues to be awareness 

and engagement needs for PUL 

employees greater than employees 

from a CNR background 

• Council as a workplace is broadly 

well regarded but should continue 

to explore increasing the perception 

of it as culturally diverse not just 

neutral 

• Council funding continues to be a 

significant feature for communities 


• The new strategy should continue 

to provide funding support though 

it may be time to reassess aspects 

of it 

• Supporting civic and political 

leadership could be a priority 

for the new strategy, including 

bringing elected members closer to 

communities and staff 

• Council could explore how to further 

enhance its status as a culturally 

diverse workplace 

• The GR team may wish to consider 

how to reach out further especially 

to PUL employees. 

• Making training and education 

as interesting and engaging as 

possible. 


• Few people suggest there is no 

prejudice in the Council area. 

Where it impacts most, where 

people report a lot of prejudice, is 

against Travellers (65% say a lot of 

prejudice), Migrant workers (41%), 

minority ethnic communities (39%), 

and LGBTQ+ (29%). Least prejudice 

identified is against Protestants 

(20%) and Catholics (12%) 

• Meanwhile 39% say that racism 

is very significant in the District 

and 32% sectarianism - though, 

while 62% say they have witnessed 

sectarian behaviour just 38% have 

witnessed racist behaviour 

• Percentages are lower for Council 

staff than the community but 

still 49% of Council staff say they 

have experienced or witnessed 

sectarianism and 37% racism 

• Respondents suggest that 

education, training, working with 

young people and leadership are 

critical elements to countering 

racism and sectarianism. 


• The focus of the existing strategy is 

to challenge prejudice generally and 

racism and sectarianism specifically. 

It includes a specific commitment 

on Travellers and programmes on 

racial justice 

• The strategy works in schools and 

through education with young 

people 

• Leadership continues to be a 

theme not just in making policy but 

demonstrating anti-prejudice work 

and commitment at civil and Council 

streams 

• Council has engaged in the refugee 

schemes and is aware of ongoing 

refugee-related issues that may 

develop through the Ukrainian 

conflict 


• Education work may need to extend 

further than young people and 

through schools - many victims and 

protagonists are not young people 

• Continued focus on prejudice 

against Travellers and migrant 

workers and refugees will be a focus 

of the new strategy 

• Leadership and linking the 

leadership initiatives with 

issues locally around prejudice, 

discrimination and relationahip 

building is important 

• That more people say they have 

witnessed sectarianism than racism, 

speaks to the continued need to 

have input significantly to sectarian, 

political and religious issues 

• While not a core part of the s75(2) 

groups homophobia continues to 

be reported locally as a related 

issue that may have resonance 

throughout the new strategy. 

32 


Surveys: Qualitative Feedback 

Survey participants were asked for 

qualitative feedback on the most 

important good relations issues, 

barriers to better good relations, and 

how Council may respond to the issues 

and barriers. There was significant 

repetition in feedback such as those 

listed below, where the same or 

broadly similar comment was made at 

least five times. 

Important Good Relations Issues 

Feedback, where broadly similar 

feedback was received at least five 

times included: 

• Work with younger people; 

• Deal with sectarianism; 

• Lack of cross community contact; 

• Political leadership; 

• Flags and emblems; 

• Racism; 

• Cultural diversity. 

A word cloud of the most mentioned 

words is highlighted, right, the 

larger words being mentioned most 

frequently. 

flags emblems engagement 

young people Building 

communities Racism 

Cross community issues 

Working young people 

Barriers to Good Relations 

The issues raised most often regarding 

barriers echoed those issues identified 

earlier. They included: 

• Political instability and the nature of 

political engagement; 

• Gatekeeping at a community level; 

• Funding. 




frequently. 

groups people 

communities 

politicians Lack funding 

political 

What Council and Others Should Do? 

When asked to identity what Council 

or other agencies could do to deal with 

the barriers most numerous feedback 

included: 

• Involve young people; 

• More education and training; 

• More cross community engagement; 

• Funding. 




frequently. 

opportunities engagement 

working areas schools work local 

together shared 

education make 

community educate 

training sectarianism racism bring 

people Council funding 

Key Issues 

Key issues from the surveys include: 

• There is a need to review and 

communicate with people across 

the community including the 

Protestant and Unionist community 

within, and external to, Council; 

• Small grants play a strategic role 

and communities are responsive to 

the funding; 

• The Mayor has a recognised role in 

the district being a representative 

for, and advocate for, all 

communities and could help focus 

the leadership potential of civil 

society; 

• Dialogue on a shared past remains 

important, including on significant 

and symbolic 50-year anniversaries; 

• Many people still believe there is 

a need for single identity work 

especially post-Covid for younger 

people; 

• Leadership is considered a key 

quality for promoting better 

community relations; 

• However, many report ongoing 

gatekeeping issues within local 

communities; 

• Education, work in schools, and 

community-based training are all 

mentioned as potential priorities. 

34 


WORKSHOPS 

AND INTERVIEWS 

Overall, nearly 100 people were 

engaged in consultation and interviews 

including through: 

• Consultation with Councillors from 

all political parties individually, with 

independents or/and with party 

groups; 

• Interviews with key stakeholders, 

and workshop with Councillors; 

• A workshop for key stakeholders 

working with young people; 

• A workshop in rural areas; 

• A workshop with PUL and 

nationalist community 

representatives; 

• A workshop with inter faith and 

inter church organisations; 

• A workshop with minority ethnic 

communities. 

Feedback from the interviews and 

focus group is summarised under the 

T:BUC themes. 

Feedback is provided when an issue 

was raised or discussed three or more 

times. 

Comments raised by three or more 

people during interviews and 

consultation meetings are included, 

and some significant issues raised by 

fewer than that. These include: 

Our Children and Young People 

The teenage age group was 

considered the most vulnerable to 

negative influences and most in need 

of interventions both formally and 

detached. They were also thought to 

have possibly been most affected by 

lockdown during Covid and where 

some of the positive work prelockdown 

had been negated by its 

impact. It was thought that post-Covid 

interventions should have a focus on 

that age range. 

However, the need to reconnect some 

of the less experienced or smaller 

community based organisations with 

public agencies and support post- 

Covid was also stressed. This may 

include those organisations that 

depend greatly on volunteer efforts 

such as sporting clubs and flute bands. 

Segregated living and education, and 

the existence of significant pockets 

of single identity communities, may 

present ongoing challenges for how to 

engage children and young people and 

the wider community in good relations 

activities. The need for continued 

singly identity intervention was a 

theme for many of the interviews and 

workshops. 

Significantly, interviewees had noticed 

paramilitary influence in some areas 

including ongoing radicalisation of 

young people. Some reported that 

due to lockdown and resourcing 

there had been less community and 

neighbourhood engagement from the 

PSNI, and that with tensions over some 

aspect of civic and political life or 

another, young people had been drawn 

into conflict with the police locally on 

both sides of the community. 

Young people were often unable 

to understand how people had 

been negatively affected during the 

Troubles, and sometimes had the 

impression of the past conflict as a 

glamorous time for some. Education 

of the younger generation, therefore, 

was required still, or, some feared they 

would get that education from people 

elsewhere who were looking to exploit 

that generation of people who had not 

lived through the Troubles. 

The education of younger people 

was even more important because 

many were educated in a segregated 

environment and lived in segregated 

households “in a bubble”. 

Council’s work in the schools was 

regarded positively by almost all 

consultees, including working in both 

primary and post primary schools on 

issues of race and prejudice. 

Our Safe Community 

Ongoing issues were reported on both 

sides of the community regarding 

sporadic conflict between young 

people and with the police. This 

included sectarian related violence but 

was as often intra community. 

Amongst others, it was felt that 

flute bands and organisations such 

as Loyal Orders and the GAA were 

organisations that could contribute 

positively to accessing support for and 

with younger people and contribute to 

dealing with safety related concerns or 

perceptions. 

Relationship development may 

enhance the safety of people from 

different backgrounds in unfamiliar 

spaces. But safety, it was felt by many, 

required more than that. It required 

greater cultural competency from 

communities and public agencies, 

and an understanding of the law and 

implementation of the law regarding 

hate incidents and hate crimes. 

There was broad recognition of 

progress regarding bonfires though 

there was also some discussion about 

the efficacy of funding. Council’s 

position on bonfire engagement 

continued to be misunderstood by 

some. However, some within the 

PUL community also thought others 

involved beyond Council should be 

advocating a return to the original 

historic meaning of bonfires. 

Our Shared Space 

While the allocation of such a 

significant small grants fund for 

good relations work was welcomed 

by all those providing feedback, 

many questioned whether it was 

adequately tackling priority and 

important issues and whether some 

specific good relations were being 

overlooked because of the focus on 

DEA allocations. Some feedback was 

received that the level of funding 

meant that at times the impact was 

small, while some also reported 

difficulty in accessing the grants 

because they were larger than in other 

Council areas. 

There was particular support for 

Council grants to be available on a 

Council-wide basis for youth and 

minority ethnic supported projects that 

may be disadvantaged, according to 

consultees, from a DEA-only approach. 

36 


Some within the faith community, and 

especially Christian faiths, thought 

they were being excluded from public 

space. One example provided was 

with the Council support of a rainbow 

coloured pedestrian crossing. 

Some faith-based organisations and 

churches were, however, undertaking 

significant under-the-radar work or 

socially beneficial activities such as 

the provision of foodbanks, on a cross 

community basis. That linked to many 

people’s views that socio-economic 

need was increasing and could not be 

ignored as a significant good relations 

issue – both as a cause of cross 

community tension and as a common 

need across the community. 

Council’s programmes were generally 

supported and few, if any, suggested 

changing or stopping support for 

any of the programmes. The civic 

leadership programme received 

positive feedback from those 

consultees that had participated. There 

was some thought that more attention 

should be paid to using the learning 

within communities after the visit. 

Within the minority ethnic consultation 

Council was asked to support the 

international decade of people of 

African descent 2015-2024 as declared 

by the United Nations General 

Assembly in December 2014. While 

nearly a decade old already, there 

is clearly still work required on the 

three aims of the UN in declaring it: 

a) work toward equal participation, b) 

increase respect for diversity and c) 

strengthen legal frameworks against 

discrimination. Each year Black History 

Month provides an opportunity for 

closer examination of some of these 

historical issues. If Council were to 

engage in this work it was suggested 

minority ethnic people should help 

lead any design of a programme and in 

the actual activities. 

Many within the PUL community who 

were consulted, referenced Council’s 

initial decision not to commemorate 

the Queen’s jubilee as alienating 

of the unionist community in the 

district especially when contrasted 

with funding for Bloody Sunday 50 th 

anniversary funding; although some 

did then acknowledge Council opening 

aspects of community funding to 

include the jubilee. 

Our Cultural Expression 

The integration of increasing 

numbers of people from minority 

ethnic backgrounds was a challenge 

reported by many interviewees, and 

the need to move from stereotyping 

minority ethnic communities 

through festivals that focus on food 

and cultural celebrations such as 

dancing, to have more significant and 

serious conversations about racism, 

discrimination and integration. 

Continuing to meet the needs of 

refugees whether from Ukraine 

more recently or other areas was 

considered important, promoting the 

district’s reputation as a welcoming 

place. Meetings or education sessions 

focusing on race and ethnicity may 

be educational for the newcomers 

but also important for people local 

to Derry City and Strabane District to 

better understand the dynamics of 

migration and the contribution migrant 

workers make to the region. This might 

include a focus on culture as well as 

backgrounds and myth-busting. 

“Education in schools and workplaces – bring in 

a Council-sponsored scheme recognising a zero 

tolerance to-isms” Quote from a stakeholder 

Language continued to be a barrier 

as newcomers and migrant workers 

sought to access services and make a 

life in the region. 

Other 

Rural versus urban support was 

consistently raised in meetings by 

those from a rural background. This 

included what was delivered, the 

level of support, inequitable access to 

services, and the impact of isolation 

post-Covid, amongst other issues. 

The grant aid from Council is well liked 

by those consulted and the community 

feedback suggests awareness of 

the grant aid programme is high 

although many of the attendees at the 

community meetings already had a 

relationship with Council. 

However, some suggested they found 

it difficult to access the grant aid 

either because of the administration or 

because the DEA allocation meant they 

were disadvantaged as organisations 

working on issues across the district. 

Some also thought the nature of the 

grant allocation may lose impact given 

the size of grants and the inability 

to work on more significant projects 

across the Council. 

Civil society leaders and political 

leaders needed to have regular 

engagement beyond some of the 

existing meetings with long-standing 

relationships that could be rejuvenated 

with the inclusion of others. That 

included church leaders across the 

faiths who should have a regular 

dialogue with political leadership from 

all political parties. That could be a 

38 


two-way process with church leaders 

also being empowered to speak in the 

public arena on sensitive issues. 

Groups appreciated the relationship 

they had with Council and hoped the 

relationship could be renewed after 

Covid. Within minority communities, 

including PUL communities, this 

may be particularly important as a 

trust enhancing need with Council 

corporately rather than officers. 

Promoting the good relations work 

being undertaken in the district, 

normalising the practice of good 

relations, and challenging civic and 

political leaders to do better publicly 

was raised by a number of interviewees 

and in workshops. However, this should 

not ignore the sometimes quiet work 

being done by civic leaders that could 

not be brought into the light. 

However, the greater public profile 

was not just wanted for work related 

to ongoing work but in challenging 

racial discrimination and promoting 

racial literacy, as well to encourage the 

reporting of hate crime regardless of 

origin and victim. 

Inter-generational work, across the 

community and within communities, 

was identified as both a need and a 

positive influence on younger people. It 

was thought that during Covid younger 

people had gotten to know the world 

of older people less. 

Some feedback suggested Council 

needed to engage more directly on 

good relations in those communities 

and areas particularly carrying 

some of the legacy-related issues 

of the Troubles on either side of the 

community, including towns like 

Castlederg, inner-city areas as well as 

those areas with PUL communities that 

had moved from the cityside in the 

1970s. These were areas that still felt 

left behind or that were still carrying 

hurt from what had happened in the 

previous generation or two. 

A recurrent theme was that the district 

was in a generally good place and had 

changed for the better in the last 20 

years in terms of relationships and how 

sectarianism and racism manifested 

themselves. The good relations 

strategy it was suggested, should also 

look 20 years ahead not just the three 

or so years of the funding cycle. 

Key issues include: 

• There was consistent positive 

support for Council’s good relations 

activities, programme and for the 

good relations team. Even when 

some criticism was made of Council 

corporately, consultees usually 

excepted the Council staff and GR 

team from any negative comment. 

• The impact of Covid on relationships 

within and between communities, 

and with public agencies, had been 

negative and feedback suggested 

various implications for good 

relations. Some cognisance of 

what needed to happen to recover 

relationship should be incorporated 

in Council’s overall reconnection 

with communities including on good 

relations. 

• There was consistent support for 

continuing to support some single 

identity work especially when 

involving younger people. 

• Teenagers were considered to have 

been worst affected by lockdown 

but reports also suggested there 

continued to be paramilitary 

grooming on both sides of the 

community. 

• Ongoing paramilitary influence 

and community gatekeeping were 

regular themes. 

• Local organisations such as the 

GAA and bands could positively 

contribute to ground level work. 

• Some within the PUL community 

acknowledged progress on bonfires 

and wanted to return to the 

traditional meaning of bonfires, 

without the issue of burning 

inappropriate materials and flying 

flags. 

• While some faith based 

organisations felt alienated by 

aspects of good relations especially 

around discussion on issues such as 

same sex marriage, some were also 

undertaking significant work across 

the community based on poverty 

and social good. 

• The United Nations decade of 

African descent is closing in 2024 

but still provides opportunity for 

acknowledgement. 

• There was frustration around equity 

and resourcing, especially for 

youth provision, in rural areas when 

contrasting allocations in urban 

areas especially in Derry/ 

Londonderry. 

• Rebuilding trust, post-Covid, was 

going to be an issue that required 

attention, not just between 

communities but also with public 

agencies such as Council. 

40 


CONCLUSIONS 

AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

Conclusions 


Council’s good relations team is 

well regarded and respected by the 

community. They deliver the good 

relations action plan in a practical and 

pragmatic way. The good relations 

action plan also includes many of 

the six pillars of building a positive 

peace including building better 

relationships, its acknowledgement of 

socio-economic factors, and equitable 

distribution of resources as part of the 

reconciliation process. 

The conclusions and recommendations 

in this report reinforce that the Council 

overall and the good relations team has 

been doing timely and well-regarded 

work, much of which should continue. 

It also reinforces that the Council has 

dealt with many challenging good 

relations issues in a positive way 

and that is evidenced in the overall 

feedback. 

While the Council and others fund 

important and impactful work by local 

communities, the post-Covid years 

will also provide an opportunity for 

relationship building as Council helps 

overcome the consequence of isolation 

and building back afterward and helps 

the natural relationship-building driven 

by practical community development 

work involving largely single identity 

communities. 

Bearing in mind the importance of 

four of the six key pillars for building 

a positive peace, we have also made 

some specific recommendations 

for Council to consider for its 

next strategy. These include 

recommendations relating to: 

• Government that functions well – 

exploring structures and systemic 

issues tackling sectarianism and 

racism – exploring good practice 

with other Councils on these islands 

– training and development for 

Councillors and senior staff; 

• Good Relations – including 

exploring how Council may 

approach both the reconciliation 

paradox and stimulating cross 

community contact when local 

areas are proportionately more 

single identity – recognising the 

need for single identity work still – 

diversity and GR sessions in schools 

and communities – small grants 

funding – strategic grants funding; 

• Transparent decision-making – 

including the engagement of GROs 

with elected members locally – 

reach out to communities especially 

post-Covid – democracy in action 

sessions – transparency in grant 

making; 

• Skills development – including civic 

leadership – training and education 

initiatives – dialogues, talks, 

seminars and events; 

• Sensitive issues - understanding 

how good relations can work longterm 

to reduce the flaring of those 

sensitive issues and thereby help 

reduce the long-term cost if the 

issue is allowed to fester and the 

opportunity lost for social and 

economic improvement through 

cross community collaboration – 

DEA special initiatives – grant aid. 

It is striking that the cost of not 

undertaking good relations and 

reconciliation work may be x16 the 

added costs if it is not done. 

Council’s commitment to diversity and 

of working with children and young 

people, and for and with minority 

ethnic communities, is striking and 

positive. Council, however, should not 

lose sight of the central importance 

of relationship development between 

people from Protestant and Catholic 

community backgrounds as a core part 

of the recent civic conflict and that 

was both caused by, and has caused, 

segregation and separate living. 

We are also mindful of the significance 

of small grant allocation to the 

strategy. Council wishes to further 

strengthen the strategic impact of 

the small grants funding through a 

cross-cutting strategic priority each 

year with a substantial allocation of 

funding out of the existing £200,000. 

The strategic theme should be decided 

well in advance. While the allocation 

for 2022-2023 is already set, a new 

“There is good work being done but a long way 

to go. Keep up the great work, it takes time.” 

Quote from a stakeholder 

strategic theme will be introduced 

for the 2023-2024 financial year, with 

a £50,000 budget, and the theme 

(youth) being announced by the end of 

the 2022 calendar year. 

The small grant funding will allow some 

single identity work to a level and for 

specific purposes. 

Overall, however, the good relations 

action plan by Derry City and Strabane 

District Council meets the needs as 

identified in the audit, is effective and 

supported by the local community, 

responds to the demography and 

changing environment of the Council 

area and as outlined in the appendices, 

is broadly consistent with the 

requirements of the T:BUC strategy. 

Recommendations 

The purpose of this audit is to inform 

the development of the Council’s Good 

Relations Action Plan for 2022/23 and 

a subsequent new strategy for 2022- 

2025 which draw down 75% funding 

from The Executive 

The core recommendation is that the 

current action plan is consistent with 

T:BUC and includes many relevant, 

imaginative and worthwhile responses 

to the needs of building a positive 

peace within a limited budget, in 

current Covid circumstances. 

As the strategy evolves programmes 

evolve. Compared to the previous 

year there is a slight reduction in 

programmes, a greater strategic focus, 

which includes the following main 

changes: 

42 


• A new programme exploring and 

challenging racism and sectarianism 

through a review and change of 

systems and policies, training, 

dialogues and research; 

• Significant change to the grants 

programme to provide a more 

strategic focus, greater dexterity in 

tackling new and emerging issues, 

and challenging grant recipients to 

deliver more, positive impact; 

• A new programme marking the 

holocaust and other genocides 

that promote current messages of 

inclusion for minority communities. 

Minority communities are not 

confined to people from a minority 

ethnic background but other 

section 75 categories including 

religious groups depending on their 

geographic location; 

• Continuing to work on exploring 

bonfire management or alternatives 

on the Burning Issues? programme 

developing thinking of aligning 

bonfires to the historical celebration 

or/and challenging whether they 

are needed; and where there is 

insufficient community agreement 

for a bonfire whether alternatives to 

bonfires can be identified; 

• Further developing the global 

festival; 

• Linking young people to public 

agencies and Council more strongly 

through a new Democracy in Action 

programme; 

• Providing a greater focus on 

communicating the good relations 

messages, its importance and the 

good practice; 

• Continuing with successful 

initiatives in schools, with youth 

clubs and community groups, 

with legacy and commemoration 

dialogues, and providing rapid 

response interventions. 

In identifying role models to help 

promote the normalisation of the 

involvement of minority communities 

in civic and public life (not just minority 

ethnic backgrounds) the following 

criteria may be considered and refined 

further by Council. Do role models: 

a) Live or work in the Council area; 

b) Make, or have made, a significant 

contribution to community and 

good relations; 

c) Demonstrate the ethos and 

values of inclusion and antiprejudice 

work; 

d) Demonstrate passion and 

commitment for good relations 

and for the community; 

e) Speak positively and consistently 

about diversity and intercommunity 

understanding; 

f) Have no other roles or 

background that would make 

being a role model problematic. 

International role models would not 

necessarily still be living but might 

have made a global difference on 

issues that Council and GROs work on 

at a more local level. This may relate to 

policy or practical delivery of activities 

that challenge racism and sectarianism. 

RESULTS, INDICATORS AND IMPACT 

The strategy, like all strategies, is 

organic and Council will respond 

and refine or amend as the context 

shifts. It should be monitored with 

regard to timeframes, achievement of 

performance indicators and budget. 

Indeed, the indicators and impacts 

identified should be a regular feature on 

the agenda of good relations working 

group meetings going forward. 

Over the three years of this strategic 

plan and the two years that remain, 

we highlight below the outcomes 

that Council wishes to achieve, the 

indicators they will work to to assess 

whether they are on track, and how 

they will measure whether or not they 

have achieved change. 

The measurement of success also 

puts an onus on the Council good 

relations team, and requires some 

thought to operationalise the proposed 

indicators and measurements. Given 

the timeframe and the fact that it takes 

time for these to bed in they may be 

more robust for the next strategy from 

2025 onwards. 

44 


Results Indicators Outcome or Impact 

• Sustaining projects of good practice; 

• Further development of existing relationships 

across the community; 

• Identification and establishment of new 

relationships across the community; 

• Schools, youth clubs and community groups 

working with young people involved on a cross 

community basis with socio-economic and 

geographic spread; 

• Mechanisms developed for involving parents and 

teachers to share learning; 

• Production of mainstream and social media tools 

for widening the learning further; 

• Skills and experience development; 

• Identification of role models and attitude 

enhancers; 

• Positive media coverage and awareness of public, 

civic, community leadership to promote good 

relations; 

• Development of new good relations initiatives; 

• Better management of contentious or sensitive 

events and activities; 

• Better relations across interfaces; 

• Greater sense of identity, culture and langaue being 

respected; 

• Budget spent with opimum impact. 

• Numbers of projects 

supported 

• Number of participants/ 

beneficiaries 

• Number of other 

stakeholders engaged 

• Media coverage 

• Numbers of non-direct 

beneficiaries engaged 

• New ideas or projects 

• New people and 

communities engaged 

• Additional stakeholder 

engagement 

• Increased awareness 

• Increased understanding 

• Enhanced skills 

• Increased confidence 

• Greater numbers travelling to 

events or activities to different 

locations 

• Better relationships 

• Additional resource identified. 

APPENDIX A 

Outline 2023-2024 Action Plan 

46 


APPENDIX A 

APPENDIX B 

100% 75% 

Total cost £570,388.56 £427,791.42 

Consultation 

Total programme costs £328,253.44 £246,190.09 

Total staff costs £242,135.12 £181,601.33 

Activities/Events 

Cushnie Richard The Executive Office 

Programme name Code Key Aim Total Cost 

Post Primary Anti- 

Prejudice and Training 

Initiative 

Culture Quarter – 

Primary Schools 

Post Primary Anti- 

Prejudice and Training 

Initiative 

DCS1 

DCS 2 

DCS 3 

Our Children 

and Young 

People 

Our Children 

and Young 

People 

Our Children 

and Young 

People 

Grant Aid DCS 4 Shared 

Community 

Breaking Barriers – 

Tackling Racism and 

Sectarianism 

Legacy and 

Commemoration 

Dialogues and 

Acknowledgement 

Special DEA Good 

Relations Initiatives 

DCS 5 

DCS 6 

DCS 7 

Shared 

Community 

Shared 

Community 

Shared 

Community 

£17,000 

£17,000 

£17,000 

£200,000 

£5,000 

£5,000 

£11,000 

Holocaust Week DCS 9 Shared 

Community 

Burning Issues DCS 10 Safe 

Community 

Interfaces and 

Contested Spaces 

DCS 11 

Safe 

Community 

One World Festival DCS 12 Cultural 

Expression 

Democracy In Action – 

Let’s Talk 

DCS 13 

Cultural 

Expression 

GR Week DCS 14 Cultural 

Expression 

Other Voices DCS 15 Cultural 

Expression 

Travellers Support DCS 16 Cultural 

Expression 

Support for people 

from ethnic minority 

backgrounds 

DCS 17 

Cultural 

Expression 

£2,000 

£8,000 

£8,000 

£12,753.44 

£3,000 

£11,500 

£2,500 

£500 

£3,000 

Good Relations Committee DCSDC 

DUP grouping 

Londonderry Bands Forum focus group 

Holywell Dialogue focus group 

The Churches Trust focus group 

Rural focus group 

Youth focus group 

Independent Councillor grouping 

North West Migrants Forum focus group 

LGBTQ+ focus group 

Sinn Fein grouping 

Survey of businesses 

Survey of community sector 

Survey of staff 

Survey of youth 

Ulster Unionist grouping 

Anderson Lisa An Droichead Project 

Askin Angela DCSDC 

Biega Amanda DCSDC 

Day Peter Community Relations 

Council 

Divin Sue Peace Plus 

Dougherty Brian North West Cultural 

Partnership 

Fagan Fiona The Churches Trust 

Gallagher Paul, Cllr Independent 

Gallagher Martin DCSDC 

Hussey Derek, Cllr UUP 

King Gavin The Executive Office 

McCallan Derek NILGA 

Moore Derek Londonderry Bands Forum 

O’Doherty Patrick DCSDC 

O’Neill Pauline DCSDC 

O’Neill Colleen The Rainbow Project 

O’Reilly Martin, Cllr SDLP 

Pollock Catherine An Droichead Project 

Seenoi-Barr Lilian, Cllr SDLP 

Civic Leadership 

Programme 

DCS 8 

Shared 

Community 

£21,000 

48 


APPENDIX C 

Published Year (where known) Name 

CFNI 2017 Galvanising the Peace 

Community Relations Council 2016 Peace Monitor Report 

Community Relations Council 2018 Peace Monitor Report 

Community Relations Council 2015 A Good Relations Framework 

Derry City and Strabane District Council 2018 Good Relations Strategy 

Derry City and Strabane District Council 2019 Other Council plans, reports and strategies 

ECNI 2015-2018 Race Equality Audit 

ECNI 2010 Embedding Good Relations in Local Authorities 

Flags, Identity and Cultural Tradition Commission 2021 Report by the FICT Commission 

ICR/CRC 2017 Peace-building and the Women’s Sector in NI 

ICR/CRC 1999 Cost of the Troubles 

Morrow and Byrne 2018 Bonfire Scoping Exercise 

NI Life and Times Surveys 2021 Life and Times Survey Results 

NIARIS 2018 Good Relations Matters 

NIHRC 2018 Out of Sight, Out of Mind 

NISMP 2016 Migrant and Minority Ethnic Profiles for Councils 

OFMdFM 2015 Racial Equality Strategy 

OFMdFM 2013 Together: Building a United Community 

PSNI 2021 Statistics and Security Situation 

Scottish Government 2018 Defining Sectarianism 

SEUPB 2019-2022 Peace Plus programme guidelines and programmes 

The Executive Office 2018 What Difference Did We Make? 

The Executive Office 2019 District Council Good Relations Programme 

The Executive Office 2019 Good Relations Indicators Update 

50 


Derry City and Strabane District Council 

Derry – 98 Strand Road, Derry, BT48 7NN 

Strabane – 47 Derry Road, Strabane, BT82 8DY 

Tel: 028 71253253 

E: info@derrystrabane.com 

E: goodrelations@derrystrabane.com 

Website: www.derrystrabane.com/goodrelations 

52

Good Relations Strategy 2022 2025

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