Ballymena Inter-Church Group Training

YESIP Youth Work/EDI OCN Level 2 with Ballymena Inter-Church

 

Ballymena Inter-community group has completed an OCN Level 2 Introduction to Youth Work training programme with participants coming from a range of Churches in Ballymena.

 

 

The training was delivered in High Kirk Presbyterian Church on Monday evenings and weekends during October and November. It was an opportunity for the leaders to reflect upon how division and sectarianism impact on the young people from the town.  It also helps to develop the participants understanding of the needs of young people in the community and consider how they apply youth work core principles and values to their practice.

 

The training also explores how participants respond to conflict and strategies which should be employed when dealing with conflict and encourages participants to engage in cross community or cross cultural initiatives and build trust and understanding between youth workers in the local area. The evaluation of the programme was positive and participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to engage in such training. 

 

Many participants showed a willingness to engage in further training initiatives if they were offered in this area. The trainers agreed that further community relations training will be needed with some participants in the group to prepare them for meeting those with different values and beliefs to themselves.