Peace Players International Northern Ireland
Peace Players International Northern Ireland
PeacePlayers International - Northern Ireland (PPI - NI) is an independently registered cross-community peacebuilding charity in Northern Ireland (Ref: XR74498) that uses sport – in particular, basketball – to unite and educate young people from Protestant and Catholic communities.
By regularly competing together on mixed teams, children from these historically divided groups discover common ground and forge new friendships, while a mix of local and international facilitators help them adjust to the complexities that accompany growing up in a post-conflict society. In its last programmatic year, PPI - NI worked with roughly 2,000 participants, while providing services to eight of the ten most disadvantaged communities in Northern Ireland according to the Northern Ireland Statistic and Research Agency.
Services
Bridging Divides
Implementing consistent, year-round sports activities that bring together children from opposite sides of religious, ethnic and cultural divides to develop friendship and mutual respect.
Helping marginalized communities developed constructive outlets and positive role models for their youth, strengthening the capacity of the disenfranchised in support of sustainable peace.
Developing Leaders
Training and developing young adults from local communities to work together as coaches, mentors and leaders of peacebuilding efforts in their own communities.
Maintaining diverse and balanced leadership at all levels, including staff, board, volunteers and partners.
Changing Perceptions
Operating first-class sports activities not for the purpose of training top athletes, but as a tool to unite, educate and inspire.
Driving concrete, measurable changes in both the attitudes and behaviors of participants and communities and demonstrating these results to a global audience.
