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 About The INCORE PEACE INITIATIVE |
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‘All politics is
local.’ The University of Ulster exists to build a better Northern Ireland - a prosperous, inclusive and confident one that contributes positively to the wider world. We have pioneered work in peacebuilding since the 1970s and we are deeply proud of the contribution we have made to peace locally and globally. But we know that, given additional capacity, we can do more, much more, and we have ambitious plans to scale the impact of our work. ‘Peace making is not an event, but a process.’ (John Hume, Nobel Peace Laureate) To this end, we have made the John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace one of our top strategic priorities. The Chair, based at the International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE) in Derry~Londonderry, will be a highly experienced researcher practitioner who will combine rigorous research and teaching with practical and policy impact and will work actively to consolidate peace both locally and globally.
 “I
believe that Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time
when hate will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of
a wonderful healing in our Province.”(Mary McAleese) Northern Ireland is at peace, a peace on which all progress depends, but it is in the early stages of recovery and remains a deeply divided society. Many fundamental conditions that fuel conflict have not yet been fully addressed. Over 90% of children still attend religiously divided schools, and live in segregated areas; 99 different ‘security barriers and forms of defensive architecture’, dividing communities, can be identified in Belfast alone; and it is estimated that dealing with social division in Northern Ireland (e.g. community relations, victims, education, health, housing) adds an extra £1.5 billion in public expenditure relative to comparable regions. Peace is not a fait accompli. Much remains to be done. Globally, conflict is a catastrophic problem. Fragile and conflict-affected states, and those recovering from conflict, account for 47% of the world’s population, 70% of infant deaths, 65% of people without access to safe water and 77% of children not attending primary school. 50% of all post-conflict countries slide back into conflict within five years. “I think what today proves is that
dialogue and perseverance and tenacity and persistence can bring
about results.” Our decades of experience have informed our understanding that applied research and education are the foundation for all efforts to build and consolidate peace. Peacebuilding ideas need to be connected to peacebuilding actions; and actions to ideas. The vector through which these links are made is the conduct and dissemination of practice-based research and teaching. A combination of factors makes INCORE uniquely well qualified to fulfil this role.
“I believe that
Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate
will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of a wonderful
healing in our Province.”  The Peace Bridge spanning the river Foyle The Chair will steer the new INCORE Peace Initiative, which will include:
The emphasis is on building the next generation of peacemakers and peacebuilders both in Northern Ireland but significantly also in countries in conflict. The John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace will enable us to scale our support for peacebuilding around the world by:
The Chair will honor Nobel prize winner John Hume, who played a pivotal role in the peace process, and Thomas P. O’Neill who, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, was a major force for enlisting the United States in advancing peace in Northern Ireland. The two men worked together as colleagues and friends. From 2002- 2009 John Hume, in his honorary capacity as Tip O’Neill Chair in Peace Studies at the University of Ulster, brought an unparalleled group of international figures (e.g. Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Kofi Annan), to the Magee campus in Derry~Londonderry to lecture on peace. INCORE has pioneered practice-based learning on conflict, developed a global network of peacebuilders and built a proud heritage of active involvement in peacemaking. The problem of conflict remains massive and urgent. The establishment of the John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace will honor the legacy of two great men of peace by giving a new generation of peacebuilders their best chance of success. We now intend to build on this heritage by creating a full-time, permanent John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace. To do so we are raising an endowment of £3m/$4.8m, of which £2,011,000/$3,240,000 has been secured (£1,011,000/$1,630,000 via private individual donations and £1,000,000/$1,600,000 from the International Fund for Ireland). For further information, or to make a donation to help us realise our ambitions, please contact: Kate Bond
September 2012 - The University of Ulster held an event to mark the centenary of the Honourable Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill’s birth, John Hume’s 75th birthday and the University’s plans to establish the John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace - March 2012 - The John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace was featured at the American Ireland Funds National Gala on 19 March 2012, providing a unique opportunity to showcase our work to key stakeholders in the US - November 2011 - Announcement of major funding by International Fund for Ireland towards the John Hume and Thomas P. O’Neill Chair in Peace - |
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Disclaimer:
© INCORE 2010 Last Updated on
Wednesday, 26-Sep-2012 12:14
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