Fighting Words NI receives grant of £9000 from the Shared History Fund to mark the Centenary of Northern Ireland
• 39 projects have been awarded a grant through the Shared History Fund
• The Shared History Fund is a £1million fund which The National Lottery Heritage Fund is distributing on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office to mark the Centenary of Northern Ireland.
Fighting Words NI has been awarded £9,100 through the Shared History Fund. The Shared History Fund, which The National Lottery Heritage Fund is distributing on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office, will support groups in marking the Centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021 in a thoughtful, inclusive and engaging way.
The fund received high levels of interest and following a competitive application and assessment process, 39 projects across Northern Ireland were awarded grants, including Fighting Words NI
The funding will support Fighting Words NI to run a fourteen-week creative writing programme with Year 11 pupils at Malone Integrated College, which explores the shared histories of Northern Ireland. The students will use their imaginations, personal histories and historical facts to creatively connect with life 100 years ago and 100 years from now. Launching in October 2021, the project will include historical visual prompts such as photography and will culminate in a digital anthology of the young people’s writing to be published in March 2022.
Hilary Copeland, Director at Fighting Words NI, said:
“We’re grateful to the Northern Ireland Office and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for providing this funding. Thanks to this grant, we will be able to work closely with a group of young writers at Malone College, share some untold stories about Northern Ireland’s history and bring the community together to mark the Centenary of Northern Ireland.”
In awarding grants, The National Lottery Heritage Fund prioritised those organisations which best demonstrated how they were inclusive of different audiences and interpretations of the past, in line with the Principles for Remembering.
These are a set of principles which The National Lottery Heritage Fund developed in partnership with the Community Relations Council in 2011, to help groups navigate difficult history and to ensure the stories told throughout the Decade of Centenaries were thoughtful and inclusive of a range of perspectives.
The projects funded are diverse and cover a wide range of subjects and key moments in Northern Ireland’s history, from discovering untold stories of our past, to the development of different communities to our hopes for the Northern Ireland of the future.
Mukesh Sharma, Chair, Northern Ireland, The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:
“As a leading funder of heritage throughout the UK, we understand the central role that heritage plays in people’s lives and their communities. We also recognise that there are aspects of heritage that can be challenging.
“However, our experience in supporting partners to navigate difficult periods in our history throughout the Decade of Centenaries demonstrates that there is a way to engage with difficult heritage in a positive way. No one narrative is more important than another, and it’s important we create a space that allows a range of stories to be told.
“We’re delighted to be delivering this funding on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office and have supported projects which will not only mark the Centenary but will show how we can engage with difficult heritage going forward.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund, which also operates as The National Lottery Heritage Fund, is delivering the Shared History Fund on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office. The Shared History Fund uses funds provided by the UK Government, and is not National Lottery funding. Outside of this fund, The National Lottery Heritage Fund uses money raised by the National Lottery, inspiring, leading and resourcing the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £41 billion for projects and over 565,000 grants have been awarded across the UK.
About Fighting Words NI
Fighting Words NI is a creative writing network that encourages and amplifies the voices of children & young people in our society. Our year-round programme of schools workshops, Write Clubs & special projects is free & supported by volunteer mentors
Follow @HeritageFundUK and @HeritageFundNI on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund www.HeritageFund.org.uk
