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12th August is International Youth Day 2022.
International Youth Day puts a spotlight on challenges young people are facing. But it’s also a chance to celebrate the power of youth, and their potential to make our world a better place.
This year’s theme is Intergenerational Solidarity. By developing relationships across generations, people young and old can work together and learn from each other.
To mark this year’s International Youth Day, we’re looking back at some of the fantastic projects that received National Lottery funding over the past year. These are just some of the community led projects connecting people of all ages across Northern Ireland. These projects offer amazing opportunities for people young and old to share skills and get to know each other across generations.
Six Counties Bus Preservation in Magherafelt received funding through National Lottery Awards for All. Their project brought the community together to restore old buses and coaches, with older members passing on practical skills to younger members.
“Our project works with young adults with autism or learning difficulties, and we’ve had some amazing success stories. One lad would hardly speak when we first met him, he kept himself to himself. Through the project, we’ve taught him how to maintain the vehicles and find out info about them, and that’s become his niche now – every vehicle we get he can find out the history of it for us straight away. He’s also become so much more outgoing, chatting to people at events and sharing what he knows. It’s been such a positive thing.”
Nigel Glenholmes, Six Counties Bus Preservation
Earlier this year, Horn of Africa People’s Aid Northern Ireland received £49,987 through the Ethnic Minority Communities Pilot Scheme.
Over the next two years, funding will allow them to grow, offering even more services and activities to support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the Belfast area.
“Our National Lottery funding has opened so many doors, providing us with safety and security so that we can create opportunities, partner with other organisations and make great connections with the whole community.
When you see what communities are doing, you become very optimistic. The young people we work with are so inspirational and the will become the voice of our community.”
Suleiman Abdulahi, Horn of Africa People’s Aid
“HAPANI has supported East Africa Youth NI and we are so grateful. We currently run variety of activities such as Football for Kids, Teenagers and Adult, basketball for girls and HAPANI support us the venue cost and all the equipment is required to run the different activities. Currently we use the premises of HAPANI, we do run drop sessions and workshops for the youth and we are so great full having a space where we can support our people whether is filling forms for GP, dentist, housing & Universal credit and application for jobs and many more.
We are giving an opportunity to the youth that they wouldn’t have got it before due to lack of knowledge of the system, language barrier and different culture.”
Mohamed Ahmed, East Africa Youth NI, a youth-run programme supported by HAPANI
In 2021, The 1825 Project in Brownlow received £386,624 for their five-year Power to Empower Project.
This project offers young people opportunities and fun activities to help them become future community leaders. The young people also help to recruit new cohorts, passing on what they’ve learnt by acting as young leaders’ trainers and peer mentors.
“The 1825 project is giving young people in Brownlow and wider Craigavon area a chance to have their voices heard and take action to create change and opportunity in their local communities.”
Laura Murray, Funding Officer, National Lottery Community Fund
We love to hear from National Lottery supported projects and find out more about what you’re getting up to. Leave a comment below to tell us about your project or to let us know what you’re doing for International Youth Day 2022.
The National Lottery Community Fund Northern Ireland 