Integrated Education Panel: Learning Together for a More Peaceful Future

RSVP An evening of discussion about Integrated Education and its ongoing role in building a brighter future for Northern Ireland. Integrated Education is an education model where children from different cultural traditions, of different academic abilities and from all socio-economic backgrounds learn and play together at the same school. It grew out of a grassroots community movement during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Parents recognised that the separation of children into different schools depending on their religious background was fuelling a divided society and hindering social and economic progress. 45 years on from the creation of the first Integrated school in Belfast, much has been achieved…and much remains to be done. Since 1981 Integrated Education has grown from just twenty-eight pupils in one school to 28,000 pupils in more than seventy Integrated schools across Northern Ireland today. However, despite clear popular support for this model, more than 90 percent of Northern Ireland’s children still attend schools that are de facto either Protestant or Catholic. Join us for an evening to explore the successes and challenges of the Integrated Education movement and its role in modern Northern Ireland. Speakers will include: Paul Caskey OBE, Chief Executive of the Integrated Education Fund Past pupils of Integrated schools Light refreshments will be provided.