Let's talk is a project which seeks to encourage young people to explore, discuss and debate issues of justice, peace and reconciliation on these islands.
Like many similar projects, it attempts to support young people in becoming more pro-active in practising and building peace in their own way and from their own perspective. This supplement has been put together to provide some ideas, arguments and activities to stimulate this process. The activities below are offered as an initial starting point for those groups or schools wanting to become more active.
There are many additional ideas and activities available and these can be obtained from any of the five organisations involved (their addresses and phone numbers are provided below).
Some general activities Encourage your school, class, youth group or organisation to arrange an event, workshop or session on the issues raised by Let's Talk. Use this resource and some of the ideas contained in it to stimulate the session.
Let us know what you did and we'll tell others about it. Sharing ideas and activities is always useful.
Identifying the issues Working in small groups of five or six people, make a list of the issues which the group feels are a cause of conflict in your own community or local area. Encourage everyone to contribute and then try to agree a list of the group's most important four or five issues.
Discuss these issues within your group and then make a list of the obstacles to resolving such conflicts as well as the opportunities for doing so.
Share the results of the smallgroup discussion with other groups by using, for example, a poster or a mini-drama.
Describing the issues On large sheets of poster paper draw a large circle with arrows pointing inwards towards the centre. Again, working in small groups, invite everyone in the group to label an arrow with what they see as an important cause of conflict. See if the group can agree on the most important sources of conflict. On another circle, repeat the process but this time identifying forces or movements promoting peace and reconciliation. Your circles might look like the ones shown here.
Different groups might focus on different issues or areas: for example, issues affecting Ireland, these islands, Europe and the wider world. Discuss why people see these as causes of conflict or reconciliation.
Debating the issues Organise a debate around the issues raised by Let's Talk or by the activities above - e.g. "Conflict is caused by the actions of older people, it has nothing to do with young people;" or "Peace is the responsibility of politicians, there is little the public can do."
Finding Out More Visit the Irish Times Path to Peace website at www.irish-times.com/irish-times/ special/Peace.
Read different newspapers and identify the ways in which their coverage can be different. Compare the newspaper coverage with that of radio and television. Get a copy of the Belfast Agreement or a summary and share it with your friends or group/class. (Let's Talk can give you a summary prepared by the Ulster People's College.)
Joining with Others Find out what's happening in your local area around peace and reconciliation issues and join in. If nothing's happening, organise something yourself.
