Mission Statement - Vision Statement - Aims

Donegall Pass Community Forum (DPCF), first constituted on 20th August 1996, is the main representative body for the ‘urban village’ of Donegall Pass.  The organisation is a registered charity (No. XR80283).

Donegall Pass Community Forum has been assessed as ‘low risk’ by the Department for Social Development.

Since its inception, DPCF has been at the forefront of delivering innovative and imaginative capacity-building programmes within its community.  Such programmes, particularly latterly, have been successfully delivered in the teeth of bureaucratic inertia.

The Forum’s constitution provides that it shall

“...promote for the benefit of the public, the relief of poverty, unemployment, the disaffection and exclusion of youth and the aged, and to promote the protection and preservation of health to the benefit of the inhabitants of Donegall Pass without distinction of age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnic identity, disability, political or religious opinion by associating the statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and the inhabitants in a common effort to advance education, and to provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation or other leisure time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants.”

The Forum has sought to achieve the above objects mainly, though not exclusively, through the avenues of training and education.

The Community and the Forum are reliant upon a small staff of five (four full-tme and one part-time) workers.

DPCF needs, in so far as possible, to be freed from its current dependency on short-term, ‘stop-go’ funding.

Donegall Pass is one of the most disadvantaged communities in Belfast and, indeed, Northern Ireland. It has some of the highest levels of unemployment, educational under-achievement and ill health.  Donegall Pass, part of Belfast’s Shaftesbury Ward, is designated as having ‘Core New TSN Status’, has a ‘Multiple Deprivation Score’ of 14 and a ‘Child Poverty Measure Score’ of 16 (Source:  Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure - 2001). The area is, therefore, the fourteenth most deprived in Northern Ireland (out of a total of 566 electoral wards) and is well within the ‘top’ 2½% of indices of deprivation.

The Shaftesbury Ward demonstrates the highest levels of employment deprivation in the South Belfast Partnership Board area; it is ranked 12th in the Belfast City Council area, and 25th out of the 566 Northern Ireland Wards. Its score indicates that over 21% of the population experience joblessness through unemployment, sickness or disability.

Recent data indicates that the unemployment rate in the Donegall Pass stood at 6.12% - significantly higher (+80%) than the South Belfast Parliamentary Constituency average of 3.4%.  (Click here to go to the relevant table of Appendix 1 of Queen’s Univerity’s ‘Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community’, Final Report – June 2008.) Statistical data (q,v,) also reveal that 44.6% of Donegall Pass unemployed were classified as ‘long term unemployed’ (25.99% higher than the South Belfast PC average of 35.4%); 49.16% of the community’s population were classified, rather inelegantly, as ‘economically inactive’ (33.95% higher than the South Belfast PC average of 36.7%).  DSD data, 2004 (q.v.) indicate that 34.28% of persons aged 18 - 59 years claimed Income Support (328.5% higher than the South Belfast PC average of 8%); 25.32% of persons in the age range 16 - 59/64 claimed Incapacity Benefit (228.83% higher than the South Belfast PC average of 7.7%); 41.2% of persons 16+ claimed Housing Benefit (343.01% higher than the South Belfast PC average of 9.3%).

Furthermore, the educational attainment of the working age population (16 to 74 year olds) in Donegall Pass is lower than that of Belfast LGD and Northern Ireland as a whole (q.v., at Table 8).  54.71% of those from Donegall Pass have no qualifications compared to 41.82% for Belfast and 41.64% for Northern Ireland (30.82% and 31.39% higher, i.e., worse, respectively).

Clearly, there is a large, untapped human resource in the area which is excluded from contributing to the local economy and a, consequently, high benefit dependency coupled with a shockingly high percentage of people without any educational qualifications whatsoever. There are several contributory factors to this economic exclusion, such as educational under-achievement - referred to above, family histories of long-term unemployment, low levels of key skills, disturbingly high incidence of the lack of essential skills, widespread feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy, low self-esteem, poor social skills, absence of positive feelings of self-worth and general disassociation from wider society and its expectations.

Most, if not all, of the above negative indicators are attributable to the affects of the recent conflict and a very long period of little or no investment in communities and their constituent peoples.

Donegall Pass Community Forum’s mission statement is as follows:

“Our aim is to make a better and safer community for all”

and Donegall Pass Community Forum’s vision statement is

“Our Vision for Donegall Pass is of an attractive, welcoming, vibrant and safe community, working together, celebrating the past, present and future.”

In an effort to realise the overriding objectives embodied in the mission statement and the vision statement, Donegall Pass Community Forum aims to:

1. Tackle the problems of unemployment and increase employability through skills training;   2. Address inequalities in areas such as education and training, health and wellbeing, housing and the environment;   3. Promote the efficiency and effectiveness of charitable projects in the area of benefit by means of advice, education and training for the benefit of the public;   4. Provide and support programmes of education and training for adults in the area of benefit;   5. Deal with issues affecting children and young people;   6. Promote the regeneration of the area – economic, physical and social - so that it becomes strong, safe, attractive and sustainable;   7. Promote road safety for the general protection and benefit of the inhabitants in the area of benefit;   8. Encourage and facilitate social inclusion;   9. Improve community relations, collaborate on the provision of and accessibility to shared spaces, and work in partnership with interface neighbours towards a shared future;   10. Identify the key priorities for developing the area and prepare a strategy and action plan for addressing these priorities;   11. Develop the Forum as an effective network for community groups and others working for the benefit of the area;   12. Raise awareness of the needs of the community and attract investment and resources to meet those needs.

(Please note that the above aims are not listed in any order of priority and should be regarded as having equal ‘weight’ and importance.  Aims 3, 4 and 7 are specified objects contained in the constitution of Donegall Pass Community Forum.)

The aims and objectives of the Forum project arise from, and are founded upon, consultative exercises, focus group work and ‘open days’ conducted over a number of years by project staff, Queen’s University Belfast researchers (‘Donegall Pass Action Research Project’) and a number of consultants.. The Forum’s aims and objectives are informed by, and accord with, the themes forming the framework of the Neighbourhood Action Plan agreed  by members of the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership and submitted to the Department for Social Development on 4th April 2007.  The Neighbourhood Action Plan is based upon a series of six consultative exercises (referred to as ‘planning workshops’), held during May and June 2006 in the three constituent communities (viz., Donegall Pass, Lower Ormeau and the Markets) that, together, comprise the community sector representation on the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership – from which emerged over 120 recommendations. (The ‘workshops’ were intended to bring together local residents, community workers, statutory representatives and local councillors.)

The Forum’s aims and objectives are also formulated with reference to Queen’s University’s study, Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community, June 2008. The principle matters of concern illuminated in, together with key findings and recommendations of, this seminal community study - concerning Geography and population, Internal migration and community dynamics, Housing and the environment, Health and wellbeing. The needs of children and young people, Education, Community - have obvious relevance to, and strong resonances with, the problems that confront specifically inner-city deprived communities and the exploration of possible solutions.

Needs and issues that concern local people and that require action by the Forum project are also communicated to Forum staff on a daily basis (via contact with local residents) - so that the organisation is constantly aware and updated on matters peculiar to the locality in addition to the ever-present challenges highlighted by the Noble indices’ domains indicative of deprived area profiles and the particular degree of severity as experienced in Donegall Pass.

To execute the above aims in pursuit of the objectives described in the mission and vision statements, the Donegall Pass Community Forum will continue to develop and deliver the following services:

1. [Tackle the problems of unemployment and increase employability through skills training] Jobs sign-posting and employability-mentoring through partnership work with entities such as GEMS NI (e.g., GEMS’ Employability Outreach Programme and Minority Ethnic Employment Support Project), together with employment opportunities information sharing through the South Belfast Employability Forum.  Jobs sign-posting and South Belfast-specific job opportunities information is also provided on site and on the Internet by arrangement with the Job Vacancy Team at NISSA, Shaftesbury Square. When funding allows, using its training suite’s status as an OCR-approved Centre for the administration and delivery of recognised (by QCA) Vocational Qualifications (Registered Centre No. 78038), the Forum project delivers training, from basic level to Diploma standard, in skills to enhance recipients’ job and life opportunities. As it becomes available, other externally-provided training is accessed, arranged and facilitated in the community. Ethnic minorities and migrant workers are sign-posted by the Forum project and their employability is increased through the provision of ESOL courses (funding permitting).  Ethnic minorities and migrant workers also access employability-enhancing vocational training, when available. The above services are available within the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Renewal Area (and beyond – resources permitting).   2. [Address inequalities in areas such as education and training, health and wellbeing, housing and the environment] The provision of quality education and training is a significant factor in any person’s health and wellbeing profile.  This also applies to the provision of good quality housing and a pleasant, welcoming, safe environment including the availability of facilities that afford life-enhancing opportunities at local level.  Indeed, there is a mass of publicly-available (e.g., the Internet) literature that discusses the correlation of education-income-health and the negative health impact of poor housing and environment. “It is probable that [the] mental health of the population of Northern Ireland has been significantly affected by the Troubles.” (Vide: Mental health in Northern Ireland: have "the Troubles" made it worse?  D O’Reilly, M Stevenson - Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland).  See also: ‘Half the Battle: Understanding the impact of the Troubles on children and young people’ by Marie Smyth and The Cost of the Troubles Study, 1998 ISBN 0 95333 05 2 4.  For research and discussion on the impact of socio-economic status, and other factors, impacting upon the health and wellbeing of people who reside in areas of deprivation, such as Donegall Pass, see Karen Galway and Dermot O’Reilly’s chapter entitled ‘Health And Wellbeing’ (Chapter 5) in Queen’s University Belfast’s ‘Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community, June 2008’ (Final Report). “Within countries there are dramatic differences in health that are closely linked with degrees of social disadvantage.  Differences of this magnitude, within and between countries, simply should never happen. These inequities in health, avoidable health inequalities, arise because of the circumstances in which people grow, live, work, and age, and the systems put in place to deal with illness.  The conditions in which people live and die are, in turn, shaped by political, social, and economic forces. Social and economic policies have a determining impact on whether a child can grow and develop to its full potential and live a flourishing life, or whether its life will be blighted. Increasingly the nature of the health problems rich and poor countries have to solve are converging. The development of a society, rich or poor, can be judged by the quality of its population’s health, how fairly health is distributed across the social spectrum, and the degree of protection provided from disadvantage as a result of ill-health.” (‘Closing the gap in a generation’: World Health Organisation, Commission on Social Determinants of Health Final Report, Executive Summary,  See also World Health Organisation Commission on Social Determinants of Health Final Report ‘Closing the gap in a generation’. Vocational and other training (see 1., above) will be delivered, funding permitting. Improved educational resources, for adult education, for young people and for children, will be sought on an ongoing basis.  Access to educational and training resources will be sought in partnership with relevant agencies – geared to the various needs of adults, youth and children. Education and training will include health and environmental awareness and information. The Forum will continue to support the work of the Inner City South Belfast Sure Start programme. As a vital contribution to the wellbeing of deprived people, the Forum project will continue to provide and facilitate an advice service in conjunction with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and the Five Areas Advice Project. In partnership with the South Belfast Highway To Health project, the Forum project will continue to promote and facilitate the Community Health & Well-Being Group, the Young Men’s Football Team and the Pensioners’ Group. The Forum will continue to support, promote and facilitate the Health Development Project, aiming “to contribute to a reduction in inequalities in health, by facilitating access to information and supporting disadvantaged individuals and communities in South Belfast to take action to improve their own health and wellbeing and to enable them to renegotiate their relationships with service providers.” This will include providing information, delivering specific programmes, hosting one-off events, intercommunity work and developing partnerships at grassroots level that enables the identification of local health needs with key service providers. The Forum project will continue to promote, facilitate and develop the Women’s Group – which will positively impact upon this aim (and others).  The Forum project will continue to promote, develop and facilitate the Environmental Group and the Residents’ Parking Action Group and continue its engagement with the Department of Regional Development to address the ongoing parking needs and associated problems in the Donegall Pass area.  The Forum project will, in partnership with Belfast City Council and Groundwork NI, continue to facilitate health and safety guidance with reference to the Bonfire Builders’ Group and maintain liaison with the Bonfire committee on matters concerning the management of the local Bonfire site and the accompanying programme - which includes educational and cultural input. Working in partnership with the Arts Council and Groundwork NI the Forum project will continue to lobby local ‘activists’ to join in implementing the Re-Imaging Communities programme. The Forum will continue engagement with local ‘activists’ on a range of issues including the continuation of a comprehensive Conflict Transformation initiative.  Such engagement, however, remains contingent upon such individuals’ genuine, and demonstrable, willingness to become fully integrated within ‘normal’ society and to eschew all manifestations of criminality. The project will continue to survey the housing needs of the community and will maintain ongoing dialogue with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive in relation to the everyday housing needs and upgrading of homes in the area The Forum will, through its Community Development Company vehicle, examine the options for the development of the Posnett Street site, and other opportunity sites within the Donegall Pass area, with, variously and appropriately, the co-operation of, and input from, the community and through partnership and co-operation with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the South Belfast Partnership, Queen’s University Belfast, various funding agencies, the private sector and others. The project will continue to work, through its Donegall Pass Community Development Company, on a strategic Development Plan for the Donegall Pass area, identifying sites and buildings for future development/redevelopment. The Forum has identified, through meetings held with representatives of the International Fund for Ireland, an interface site that will accommodate a landmark, and innovative, cross-community project (click here). The Forum, through the Donegall Pass Community Development Company vehicle and in partnership with Belfast City Council, Belfast Education Library Board and Consarc Design Group Ltd, will oversee the completion of the Feasibility Study of the “Inclusion Zone” building in Donegall Pass and will seek funding to implement the actionable results of the study, including community facilities and Social Economy projects.   3. [Promote the efficiency and effectiveness of charitable projects in the area of benefit by means of advice, education and training for the benefit of the public] The Forum project, since its inception in 1996, has concentrated the bulk of its effort on training, education and advice.  The advice aspect of its work – apart from sign-posting and general mentoring – has been provided through partnership with the Five Areas Project and, relatively recently, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. This service will continue, subject to the continuance of funding. Education and training has centred around vocational training (Oxford Cambridge RSA Examinations providing the bulk of recognised qualifications).  Recently, 158 individuals achieved 281 recognised accreditations in addition to 52 ‘in-house’ certificates. Of the individuals achieving recognised certification, 26.58% were ‘non-indigenous’ – 14.29% Chinese ethnicity, 2.6% Black African and the remainder being Brazilian, German, Iranian, Moldovan, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Ukrainian. Courses delivered included AITT-ITSSAR Fork Lift Truck Counterbalance, AITT-ITSSAR Fork Lift Truck Reach, Construction Skills Register, E.S.O.L., Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene (in Cantonese, English and Mandarin languages) and Principled Negotiation Skills (OCN Level 2); OCR Level 1 Certificate for IT Users (147), OCR Level 2 Certificate for IT Users (36), OCR Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Text Processing (18), OCR Level 1 & Level 2 Diplomas for IT Users (3). E.S.O.L. Classes (in partnership with Belfast Metropolitan College) have been delivered under the auspices of Element 4, Early Wins, Neighbourhood Renewal.  This course was hugely over-subscribed (x 2.5) – there being some forty applicants for a course deigned for sixteen students. Courses have also been delivered, in partnership with the Ulster People’s College, aimed at local people with literacy difficulties. In partnership with the Ulster People’s College, local people, together with Chinese and Polish people, have taken part in a ‘Shared History’ project culminating in an exhibition in Belfast City Hall.  The project has been exhibited at various other venues. The ‘Abolition of Slavery Project’ is an example of a collaborative educational project.  The project marked the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act and involved Donegall Pass Community Forum, Black Youth Network, CWA, Springfield Inter-Community Development Project, NICRAS, the South Belfast Roundtable on Racism, the Ulster People’s College and Donegall Pass Community Centre - and was initially exhibited at Belfast’s Linenhall Library (followed by other venues). A representation of the project exhibition can be found on the Forum project’s website. The ‘Pass In View Project’, funded by Lloyds TSB Foundation, was a germinal project acting as a foundational springboard for the formation of a sustainable, fully constitutionalised, self-funding and proactive women's grouping to tackle and positively resolve, on a continuous and evolving basis, a range of issues particularly affecting women in the community - rather than in the, ultimately ineffective, ad hoc and sporadic fashion that had been the norm to date.  Through further training and education germane to community and women's development, and relevant proactive project and general community work, these women volunteers will become the pre-eminent engine for constructive change and vital socio-economic evolution and growth of their community. The development manager will mentor and 'signpost' the group regarding further funding and the direction and growth of its work. “In recent years there has been much rhetoric around the need to engage adults in lifelong learning. In an economy where skill needs are constantly changing, adults need to have access to learning opportunities throughout their lives and to contribute to the knowledge-based economy and the development of communities in Northern Ireland. The needs for such learning opportunities has never been so great in disadvantaged communities where there is a need for those with lower levels of educational attainment to have the opportunity to improve their skills for life and work.  In an ageing society, it is important that everyone has a chance to make a contribution to the development of the economy and their communities. The contribution of learning and skills to greater prosperity and social inclusion is firmly rooted in Government policies on sustainable development.  A Government Report in Northern Ireland, noted that: ‘Lifelong Learning can make a major contribution to economic development and to healing the divisions that exist in society. It will contribute to social cohesion, help communities to respond to social and economic change, and help address the problems of exclusion among those in our society who, for one reason or another, feel isolated or disaffected.’ Lifelong Learning: a New learning Culture for all (DEL 1999, p. 2).” (See Queen’s University Belfast’s ‘Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community’, Final Report’, Chapter 8, Introduction and Background.) The above services are available within the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Renewal Area (and beyond – resources permitting).   4. [Provide and support programmes of education and training for adults in the area of benefit] See 3., above, under education and training. Please see Queen’s University Belfast’s Donegall Pass Action Research Project and Shaftesbury 2 SOA (95GG39S2) – Ward Profile, ex NINAS – Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2005, respectively,  Education: 55% (16+) no qualifications (30.95% above Belfast average) and Education, Skills and Training Domain SOA Score: 51.26 (Rank 80). The project will continue to source and apply for the necessary resources to implement the recommendations contained in the ‘Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community’ (QUB) Final Report (See Chapter 8 under ‘Visions for the future: some key issues for the promotion of adult learning in Donegall Pass’), viz., “Recommendation 1: There is a need to establish a local learning community.” “Recommendation 2: There is a need to provide education which will attract new learners into education.” “Recommendation 3: There is a need to provide information, support and guidance to promote wider involvement in adult learning.” “Recommendation 4: There is a need to provide ongoing support for existing learning activities and for new opportunities based on local needs.” “Recommendation 5: There is a need to develop and strengthen local learning networks.” “Recommendation 6: There is a need to identify appropriate funding mechanisms to enable learning to happen.”   5. [Deal with issues affecting children and young people] Swimming Lessons The Parent and Toddler group avails of Swimming Lessons (funding provided by SBH2H) facilitated by a qualified water baby’s instructor. As well as children achieving the ability to swim, relationships between parent and child are improved. Cook-It for Parents Helps to enhance relationships between parents and children as well as teaching the basics of cooking and safety. Parent & Toddler Health & Well-Being Programme This four-week course delivers Complementary Therapies and mentoring for parents, and increases the knowledge of good parenting skills. Parents feel more able to deal with stressful situations as a result of participating in this programme. Youth Exchange Programme Young people from Donegall Pass and Rosario Youth Centre were the beneficiaries of Donegall Pass Community Forum’s decision to approach the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (An Roinn Gnóthai Eachtracha) for financial assistance under its Anti-Sectarianism Fund. Due to the funding obtained from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs the Forum was able to make a donation of £3,000 towards enabling 12 young people (6 from Donegall Pass and 6 from Rosario Youth Centre) to take full part in the South Belfast Area Project’s Community Relations Programme Mallorca International Outward Bound Residential, February 2009 - May 2009. The project’s aim was to provide young people, from both Unionist and Nationalist traditions, with an exciting opportunity to take part in a two-phase programme that included informal education, outdoor education, and trips to interesting places finishing with an International Residential in Spain (Mallorca). In their evaluations, the young people were asked what they liked about the overall programme and what they learned. The following are some of their comments: “I learned how to navigate, how to work together as a team, not to give up on the mountains and some Spanish. This programme helped me to learn more about my identity, the history of Belfast and how to respect others.”  [Young person, aged 15 years.] “I liked the people who took part in the programme and the expeditions in Spain. I learnt that any religion can work together.” [Young person, aged 15 years.] “I liked everything about the programme; learning to cook, and meeting up with the other group. I learnt to respect other people’s decisions, listen more and how to organise myself better.”  [Young person, aged 17 years.] Youth Dance Group Local girls take part in dance classes, offered twice weekly. The membership is quite high and the dance programme allows the youth involved to keep active, develop new skills and coordination, as well as enhancing interpersonal and social skills. The group was involved in delivering a performance at the Waterfront Hall in April of last year, and this greatly increased confidence levels among the girls. Young Men and Women’s Group A programme of personal and social development was delivered throughout the year.  This involves team activities that looks at communication, working with others and dealing with group conflict among other things. Confidence levels of participants are increased and individuals are much more willing to listen and work with others to complete activities. Cook-It Youth Programme (Youth) Young people in the Youth Club take part in a Cook-It programme, where they learn basic food hygiene, safety in the kitchen and cooking skills and techniques. Those who take part thoroughly enjoy themselves and can demonstrate by the end of the programme an ability to plan, prepare and serve a basic meal. Developing such skills increases confidence and teaches young people the benefits of healthy eating. Midnight Street Soccer (Youth) A very successful initiative has been the Midnight Street Soccer, which is funded and delivered through South Belfast Sports Development Unit. The Health Development worker worked with the local men’s football team and recruited volunteers to take the boys to the Midnight Soccer event. SBH2H also contributed to the transport budget. The project aims to reduce the levels of antisocial behaviour by engaging young men aged 14-17 in football on a Saturday night (9midnight), when they may be most at risk of getting involved in such behaviour. This venture has now been successfully running in South Belfast for almost one year. Basic First Aid (Youth) The Young Men and Women’s group undertook further training through SBH2H, and this involved Basic First Aid delivered by British Red Cross. All participants achieved their accredited certificate, while being able to practically demonstrate the basics of first aid. Following on from this, the group took part in a Sexual Health Empowerment Programme and residential. This involved looking at issues affecting young people around Sexual Health and dispelling the myths around this. On the residential young people cared for the Infant Simulator (a doll which simulates the experience of caring for a real baby). This gave an insight into what exactly it entails to be a parent with a small baby. The programme ensured young people were fully informed with the accurate information. Health Promotion for Youth at Risk In partnership with the Belfast Education and Library Board Youth Service we identified a need to provide a programme of events that were specifically targeted at young people who were not accessing service provision. The Forum successfully applied for funding to establish a fishing group, and the funding has provided one outing, with a further two to follow. We are encouraging these young people to be aware of the environment and affording an opportunity to take part in a sport that is both fun and involves a moderate amount of physical activity. Lifeline This is a NI Crises Response Project, through which the Forum has been delivering counselling, alternative therapy, befriending and mentoring services. This project was awarded funding in order to address the high incidents of suicide and dependency of prescription drugs in Northern Ireland. From the commencement of the project we have received circa 170 referrals for clients from all areas of Belfast as well as South Belfast. We are the only community organisation delivering this essential service in South Belfast. [Click here for the Lifeline page.] Health 4 Life (Youth) This is a holistic health awareness programme that is currently being delivered to young people every Monday afternoon. The course explores issues around health and fitness, alcohol and drug misuse as well as looking at smoking and healthy eating.  The group is provided with accurate and up-to-date health information, as well as learning skills around working with others. A number of successful inter-community events have also been hosted in the past two have been held.  One entitled “Making Connections” to celebrate community relations week.  It brought people together in a safe space to share stories and cultural traditions. The second was to celebrate World Mental Health Day, this focused on creating positive attitudes towards mental health, and afforded participants the opportunity to take part is workshops that looked at managing stress. The Forum is currently, and continually, seeking an appropriate level of funding to sustain a full-time youth worker within Donegall Pass – for, at least, a period of 3 years. Children’s and young people are being very badly let down by the local education system. As an example of this appalling situation please see House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, Improving literacy and numeracy in schools (Northern Ireland), Second Report of Session 2006-07 (HC 109): “Improving literacy and numeracy standards in schools continues to be major challenge in Northern Ireland. As recently as 2002, the Department told the Public Accounts Committee at the Northern Ireland Assembly that it was indefensible that around 20% of children left school unable to master the basics of reading and writing. A framework of Key Stage targets covering expected levels of achievement by the typical pupil was established under the Strategy. Significant numbers of children fail to reach appropriate levels of attainment despite the additional funding. For example, at Key Stage 2 nearly a quarter of children – around 2,000 girls and 3,000 boys – left primary school in 2004-05 with literacy skills below the standard level, while at Key Stage 3, in secondary schools, almost 7,000 of the pupils tested (41%) failed to reach the standard expected of their age. There are a number of other worrying features of educational attainment in Northern Ireland. Boys consistently have a lower level of achievement in English and mathematics than girls at both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3. This has been attributed to the problems some boys experience with engagement and experience of schooling. Moreover, within the Belfast area, in schools with high levels of social deprivation, there are disturbing differences in achievement between pupils of different religious backgrounds. The evidence shows that, in Belfast, among non-grammar schools with 40% or more pupils entitled to free school meals, Catholic maintained schools achieve, on average, at a higher level than pupils in Protestant controlled schools. Comparative data on the performance of Catholic and non-Catholic schools in Glasgow shows a much closer fit in performance between the two types of school. In addition, pupils in non-Catholic schools in Glasgow perform much better than pupils in performance between the two types of school. In addition, pupils in non-Catholic schools in Glasgow perform much better than pupils in Protestant schools in Belfast. These differences between genders and religious groupings are cause for concern because they suggest that pupils within them are facing additional barriers that prevent them fulfilling their potential.” Annually, the local media trumpets the A-level achievements of N.I. schools and neglects to mention the abysmal failures of the local education system at the other end of the spectrum. The Forum has continually to try to provide avenues of remedial education and training opportunity in an attempt to ameliorate the consequences of these failures - as it affects the life opportunities of local children and young people – and, subsequently, adult vocational skills deficits. There is a massive problem of educational under-achievement among school-leavers – few have educational qualifications that could lead to employment. This has serious consequences for life opportunities.  It is salutary to note that the Donegall Pass Community has no access to a primary school, or youth club, within its locality. “Educational achievement is not disconnected from employment potential.  In this context, it must be a source of considerable concern that educational under-attainment is a real problem in socially disadvantaged areas – particularly for boys and especially for Protestant boys.  Unaddressed, such a reality could have profound and long-term implications for future employment prospects.” (See under ‘Foreword’ - Equality Commission for Northern Ireland’s ‘Monitoring Report No. 15 A Profile of the Northern Ireland Workforce, Summary of Monitoring Returns 2004’.) “During 2004, Protestants accounted for almost eighty per cent (78.3%) of net job losses in Manufacturing industry.” (Ibid.) “In 2005/06, more Roman Catholic (40%) than Protestant (34%) students progressed to higher education.  This was influenced by a number of factors, including different levels of educational attainment, aspirations and culture.” (See under ‘In Brief...’ - Equality Commission for Northern Ireland’s ‘Research Update: Educational Migration and Non-return in Northern Ireland, May 2008’.)  “There is a clear link between the level of deprivation in the area in which a student lives and the likelihood of progressing to Higher Education.”  (Ibid.) “Similarly, research has suggested that there may be cultural barriers to continuing in education facing boys from poorer Protestant communities. Interviews carried out with teachers and community leaders highlighted that many disadvantaged Protestant communities were still adjusting to the fact that there were no longer the same opportunities available to school leavers in manufacturing.  In addition, the research found that there was less support from parents of disadvantaged Protestant boys regarding continuing their education.” (Ibid.  See under ‘Progression to Higher Education - Religion and Progression to Higher Education’.)  “While we know social class to be a predictor of access to Higher Education, this is particularly the case for boys, and those boys from less affluent Protestant communities, who are least likely to attend university.” (Ibid.  See under ‘Recommendations -  Policy on Higher Education’.) The lack of education qualifications is directly proportional to the high incidence of joblessness – the root cause of many other problems in Donegall Pass. As an essential component of regeneration, the Forum continues to seek funding for the necessary resources - aimed, primarily, at the long-term unemployed, young school leavers with no educational qualifications and those wishing to re-enter the labour market. The project continues to lobby and apply for funding for a programme that will entail a pro-active, practical and realistic approach to these problems involving training (both ‘tailored’ and accredited vocational ICT) and education in Essential and Key Skills, Personal Development, Citizenship, Community Relations and Community Leadership - allied to the essential elements of the provision of childcare and user-friendly premises. A step toward addressing the problems of educational under-achievement experienced by local children may be realised by the resourcing and re-introduction of after schools/homework facilities in the locality. The project will seek the necessary funding.   6. [Promote the regeneration of the area – economic, physical and social - so that it becomes strong, safe, attractive and sustainable] There are many factors that contribute to the physical and economic impoverishment of a community such as Donegall Pass – not the least of which is the aftermath of the ‘Troubles’ (‘legacy of the conflict’ in the clichéd phrase) as it applies, in particular, to a protestant, unionist, loyalist (PUL) community. The word ‘regeneration’, in the context of community development, is not confined to the ‘physical’ and ‘economic’ domains but includes – as it should and must – the ‘social’ domain. “A good starting point in community development is to build on existing and established structures.  For example, those initiatives that are already generating local interest such as education and training should be developed and enlarged for other, wider regeneration purposes. The education and training facility has brought a diverse range of under-represented groups such as ethnic minorities, women and the unskilled into the Forum.” (See Chapter 9 under ‘Conclusions and Recommendations’, Queen’s Univerity’s ‘Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community’, Final Report, Dr Ken Sterrett.) Recent data indicates that the unemployment rate in the Ward stood at 4.73% significantly higher than the South Belfast Partnership Board average of 3.022% for the period. Statistics also reveal that the problem is significantly acute for males in the area, with the proportion of unemployed and long-term unemployed males higher than the average for the South Belfast area. Within the Ward 622 people were registered as unemployed in March 2000, 82% of whom were male. 69 people in the Ward were registered as long- term unemployed in March 2001, 84% of whom were male. Statistical data, researched and compiled for Queen’s University Belfast’s Donegall Pass Action Research Project - ‘Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community’, Final Report (see Appendix 1) indicate that the portion of the local population who may be classified as “economically active” is 44.2% (22.32% less than Belfast average; 29.05% less than N.I. average); the portion of the local population who may be classified as “economically inactive” is 49.2% (14.15% above Belfast average; 30.5% above N.I. average); the portion of the local population classified as “unemployed” is 6.1% (12.96% above Belfast average; 48.78% above N.I. average); the portion of the local population classified as being in receipt of “income support” is 34.3% (102.96% above Belfast average; 217.59% above N.I. average) and the portion of the local population classified as being in receipt of “incapacity benefit” is 25.3% (97.66% above Belfast average; 136.45% above N.I. average) Clearly, there is a large, untapped human resource in the area that is excluded from contributing to the local economy. There are several contributory factors to this economic exclusion, such as educational under-achievement, family histories of long-term unemployment, low levels of key skills, disturbingly high incidence of the lack of essential skills, widespread feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy, low self-esteem, poor social skills, absence of positive feelings of self-worth and general disassociation from wider society and its expectations. An additional negative factor being that 33.5% of the local population is reported as suffering from limiting long term illness – this datum being 38.43% above that reported as the Belfast average and 64.22% above that reported as the N.I. average (qv. Donegall Pass: Towards a Sustainable Community, Final Report, Appendix 1 - Table 19.). Most, if not all, of the above negative indicators are attributable to the affects of the recent conflict and a very long period of little or no investment in communities and their constituent peoples. As a result of the ‘legacy of the conflict’, the Donegall Pass community has been isolated from surrounding communities – both in a tangible, physical sense and in a mental, attitudinal sense evinced by entrenched misconceptions of the culture and values of communities other than its own.  The long shadow of the conflict continues to give rise to outbreaks of inter-community violence and tensions – particularly heightened around parading disputes - which erupt upon communal consciousness, notably during June, July and August. Tensions and violence were further exacerbated by paramilitary factionalism, intimidation and attendant criminality. These negative factors are continually transmitted throughout the community and serve to reinforce divisions, to act as an excuse for confrontational tactics, give succour and respectability to the retention of ‘ancient’, visceral hatreds and the ‘ghetto-isation’ of people’s hearts and minds. It is absolutely indisputable that this destructive negativity would be immeasurably worse were it not for the indefatigable, and unsung, efforts of community workers to ameliorate tensions and divert misdirected energies toward capacity-building, training and educational pursuits which redound to the benefit of individuals and the community, as a whole. The significance of the process of canalising people’s energies into educative programmes and skills-based training – designed to redirect minds away from the laager mentality with the corollary of the adoption of a more outward-looking, self-questioning, less parochial view of the world external to their community and inculcate a range of growth sector IT-based skills to provide ladders of opportunity for gainful employment – cannot be over-stated. It is a fact that, despite the, much-trumpeted, increase in investment in South Belfast, the levels of employment, access to education, training, health or leisure has shown a disturbingly negligible increase – leading to a situation where people feel isolated and alienated from the whole progression of peace-building. The Gasworks development, for example, has been – in the view of the communities that surround it – a ‘non event’ concerning employment and has blighted the adjoining neighbourhoods with horrendous parking problems, increased traffic flow and associated environmental degradation. More recently, the public/private partnership involving the tax payer, through DSD, contributing £260,000 in the form of an urban development grant (as part of the Neighbourhood Renewal Strategy) to the development of Lee Foods supermarket on a derelict site in Donegall Pass (officially opened by Cllr Sammy Wilson, MP, MLA on Saturday 9th December 2006) occurred without even the pretence of a remotely meaningful consultation with the local community. While it is granted that the development, certainly, presents a considerably more aesthetically pleasing physical aspect than the ‘eyesore’ it replaces – it cannot be credibly claimed that it has materially benefited the people of Donegall Pass (except through the employment of the most abstruse sophistry). Donegall Pass is an area suffering from physical dereliction which has arisen because the Donegall Pass Community experienced high levels of violence during the ‘troubles’ and, more recently, from localised interface tension and violence that have blighted the area. The troubles also had a significant impact on commercial activity conducted within the Pass, itself. The Pass was, in the relatively recent past, a significant shopping street, however, the number of small businesses that serviced the day-to-day needs of the community and constituted core trade in the area has virtually disappeared. This generalised air of dereliction and neglect is further exacerbated by the unfettered development of soul-less, under-occupied office blocks (architecturally ‘out-of-sympathy’ with this historically significant area) and the impact of ‘out-of-town’ shopping centres. Although Northern Ireland, in common with other regions in the British Isles, has experienced its share of ‘negative equity’ and other harmful effects of the recent ‘credit crunch’ (including what is effectively a ‘mortgage famine’ in respect of first-time buyers) – reflected in Donegall Pass - the cost of housing in Donegall Pass remains at a level such that it continues to be increasingly difficult to attract young families into our community and, thus, enhance the regeneration process. The (until very recently) high levels of private investment, mostly speculative, have had a downside for our community. All too often, property is converted for use as office space or left in a derelict condition – leading to vandalism and the appearance of blight. This does not attract newcomers. The physical environment of the Donegall Pass community locality has been under constant siege by the corporate mindset - apparently obsessed with ‘lego-like’, singularly unimaginative, utilitarian structures constructed to house like-minded corporate entities, government departments, agencies and quangos together with high-rent ‘apartments’ (which, naturally, local people cannot possibly afford) and, perhaps, the odd ‘local’ manifestation of a supermarket chain. While the property developers ‘gleefully count their loot’, residents of the local community are: saddled with rampant commuter-parking and environmentally-degrading pollution arising from increased traffic congestion; stressed by a feeling of being compressed, squeezed and hemmed in by massive, looming concrete, glass and steel structures - anonymous, unsympathetic and disinterested; angered and frustrated at not being consulted at any stage in any meaningful way (as is, almost invariably, the case); depressed, and afflicted by ennui, at their evident powerlessness to materially influence the machinations of (monied) power blocs and their brokers, seeking, successfully, to impose their ‘money factory’ structures on ‘community space’, without let or hindrance. They are disgusted at planners and local government politicians who, apparently, care nothing about, and do nothing to defend, community interests or concerns and are perceived as being mesmerised and too easily persuaded by the blandishments of greedy private interest ‘carpetbaggers’ (who give nothing and receive a very great deal). A ‘Marie Antoinette Let them eat cake’ attitude toward the ‘sans-culottes’ of deprived inner-city areas is perceived by residents as being all-pervasive among the upper and middle echelons of local and province-wide, expensive and expansive, bureaucracies and their political masters. This is leading, increasingly, to the embedding of a deep-rooted cynicism toward politics and local politicians who, frequently, seem entirely divorced from any appreciation of, or concern about, bread and butter issues that affect ‘have not’ communities. Perceptions, of course, may bear no relation to fact - however, they, obviously, shape how people think and form opinions. It is notable that in Belfast and, indeed, throughout Northern Ireland, there has been no real attempt to regulate the harmful predations of property developers. It is also worthy of remark that local authorities throughout the UK and the rest of Europe, in line with the new EU social agenda, are, increasingly, including community benefit clauses in public funding and procurement contracts - reflecting wider social, economic and environmental policy aims that take account of developmental impacts on communities and include community sustainability and social economy aspirations. Except in Northern Ireland it seems, property developers are being made amenable to regulation and to transparently comply with socio-economic and environmental policies. It must be asked: why is Northern Ireland so evidently ‘out of sync’ with the new zeitgeist and what, if anything at all, is the local dispensation’s new Minister for the Department of the Environment doing to eliminate the predatory despoliations of greedy speculators?  Why is the extant plethora of planning policies not rigorously applied to property potentates - not made legally-binding - not given teeth? Why all this execrable timidity?   7. [Promote road safety for the general protection and benefit of the inhabitants in the area of benefit] The project will continue to lobby for the introduction of ‘speed bumps’ and other safety measures in areas of its locality, other than the main thoroughfare.  Many of the locality’s side streets are used as commuter ‘rat runs’ and short cuts and the resultant increased traffic flow (at speeds frequently in access of the speed limit), allied to the associated elevation in levels of airborne pollutants, poses a considerably increased health and safety risk to residents. These externally-imposed health and safety hazards (caused by planning blight and political/bureaucratic policy myopia) are entirely unacceptable to the community of Donegall Pass, other communities in the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership and, indeed, affected centrally-located Belfast communities in general; for example, Barrack Street, Brown’s Square and Sandy Row.  The project will, therefore, continue to act in concert with other communities, and, in particular, through its membership of the Residents’ Parking Action Group, to find a solution to the problems caused by commuter parking, together with attendant health and safety concerns. Any solution(s) must be sensible of the needs of local residents, adequately address the requirements peculiar to affected localities and, through consultation, meet with the approval of local communities.   8. [Encourage and facilitate social inclusion] The term “Social inclusion” may be understood as the converse of “social exclusion”. A suggested definition of “social exclusion” is as follows: "Social exclusion is a multidimensional process of progressive social rupture, detaching groups and individuals from social relations and institutions and preventing them from full participation in the normal, normatively prescribed activities of the society in which they live” (Hilary Silver, “Social Exclusion: Comparative Analysis of Europe and Middle East Youth”. Middle East Youth Initiative Working Paper – September 2007, p15).  It is a term used widely in the United Kingdom and Europe - first utilised in France. It is used across disciplines including education, sociology, psychology, politics and economics. Groups that are marginalised and experience social exclusion include: lone parents; workless households; ethnic minorities; migrants; homeless people; people who misuse drugs and abuse substances; people with a high dependency on prescriptive psychotherapeutic drugs (benzo-diazepines, tricyclic anti-depressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, etc.); disengaged young people; low paid workers; disabled people; ex-offenders; abused and battered women; people in thrall to paramilitaries; people living in areas that are subject to de facto paramilitary suzerainty; people lacking in essential skills; people with no recognised educational or vocational skills qualifications; isolated senior citizens.  Many other examples of socially-excluded groups may be cited. The project will continue to lobby and apply for the necessary resources to tackle (through educative and other means) and ameliorate the multifarious factors that give succour to social exclusion and marginalisation.   9. [Improve community relations, collaborate on the provision of and accessibility to shared spaces, and work in partnership with interface neighbours towards a shared future] There are, currently, three main ‘strands’ to the project’s work to improve community relations, viz., i.   the ‘traditional’ cross-community/inter-community interface relationships (Donegall Pass has two interfaces in this context, i.e., with the Markets community and the Lower Ormeau/Mornington interfaces) ii.  intra-community relationships, e.g., between various groupings within the community locality iii.   relationships with ethnic minorities/migrant workers i.   The project will continue to work in partnership on mutually-beneficial programmes with the communities represented by the Markets Development Association and LORAG – not the least of which is the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership – and continue to act in concert with those communities, and others across the city, to meet challenges that confront deprived communities, regardless of their respective perceived political/cultural ‘stripes’. The Community Training & Education Co-ordinator will remain as a board member of the Belfast Interface Project.  Educational projects that promote good community relations will continue to be pursued. ii.   Resources to inaugurate and develop inter-generational projects will continue to be sought together with funding to enable the project to develop initiatives that target domestic violence and other forms of abuse. Attempts to obtain funds for youth-centred programmes will continue.  The development of a residents’ group will be maintained alongside efforts to diminish the harm inflicted on the community by continuing paramilitary criminality. iii.  The project will continue to foster and improve links with the community’s ethnic minorities and migrant workers, e.g., through E.S.O.L. classes and myth-busting’ sessions. DPCF will maintain its strong links with the South Belfast Roundtable and the Ulster People’s College. Donegall Pass Community Forum has, for may years, pursued a policy of partnership working with its interface neighbours (viz., the Markets community and LORAG/Mornington) for example, as an active constituent member of the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership; tripartite shared resource (Coyle’s Place) consortium (with the Markets Development Association and LORAG); reimaging consultation partner (with LORAG, An Droichead and others); successful joint bidder with the Markets for an educational/employability programme under Peace II (Measure 2.4a); participation by a Donegall Pass women’s group, together with women from the Markets, in the Ulster People’s College People's History Initiative (culminating in the production of a local history exhibition); ‘Shared History’ project with the Chinese and Polish communities (exhibited in Belfast City Hall and elsewhere); ad hoc ITC Courses delivered to members of the Chinese community; E.S.O.L. classes; ‘Abolition of Slavery Project’ with the CWA, Black Youth Network, NICRAS, Springfield Inter-Community Development Project, South Belfast Roundtable on Racism and the Ulster People’s College (exhibited in the Linenhall Library and elsewhere). Our most recent large-scale project attracted almost 27% of its participants from ethnic minority groups and/or foreign nationals (over 14% were of Chinese ethnicity). DPCF’s strategic plan incorporates aims and objectives directed toward outcomes that, together with the promotion of social cohesion and inclusion within the community that it is based, include the creation of trust between the interfacing communities of Donegall Pass the Lower Ormeau and the Markets through the common identity of socioe-conomic disadvantage across the seven ‘domains of deprivation’ (Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure 2001, Noble, Smith and Barnes), improvement in the provision of, and access to, services, the fostering of mutual respect for one another’s traditions, established through a tripartite approach based on equality, and partnership-based work leading to a shared future, shared space and shared resources. Donegall Pass Community Forum’s plans have unity of purpose with virtually all aspects of the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership’s Neighbourhood Action Plan – Theme 3 of which is entitled ‘Improving Community Relations’. Vision Statement 3B, viz., ‘The community encourages greater acceptance of and respect for cultural diversity’ is accompanied by Action 3B1: ‘A dedicated community development worker will work with local groups and residents to improve participation, develop community structures, and promote cultural awareness and cross-community working’; Vision Statement 3D, viz., ‘People and organisations from different backgrounds are encouraged to engage in collaborative work on common issues.’ is accompanied by Action 3D1: ‘Appropriate training, resources and protective measures will be provided to ensure the interface can be managed effectively and that relations can be built across the interface.’ Donegall Pass Community Forum’s Vision Statement, derived from its strategic plan states: ‘Our Vision for Donegall Pass is of an attractive, welcoming, vibrant and safe community, working together, celebrating the past, present and future.’ Such aspirations and objectives, in a community relations context, can be achieved only through the realisation of mutual respect, trust and understanding; commonality of purpose; the building of sustainable inter-community and personal relationships that transcend currently perceived stereotypical cultural, ideological and religious dichotomies; the sharing of resources and space; and a willingness in all three communities to take risks to progress to the assurance of their respective sustainability in a shared future. Consonant with ‘Positive Steps’ and other agendas for change, the organisation views the implementation of tripartite partnership working in the three communities constituting inner south Belfast as an essential prerequisite for tackling cross-community social need and deprivation; delivering social, economic, cultural and environmental change; and tackling sectarianism and racism. DPCF’s Community Relations Policy, Disability Employment Policy and Equal Opportunity Policy (copies available upon request) have relevance to, and take account of, community relations principles and considerations. The objects of the organisation’s constitution (specifically 3.1) and its membership rule (specifically 4.1) implements protocols for the inclusion of all, without any form of distinction, in accordance with good practice, that are relevant to the general principles of the promotion of good relations. Both our procedures and practices are guided by the above policies, good relations principles, in general, and the agenda for change embodied in, for example, ‘Positive Steps’. Donegall Pass Community Forum has amply demonstrated in its past and current recruitment practices, consonant with the above policies, that it, for example, recruits its staff from differing perceived religious backgrounds and, indeed, nationalities. The organisation will make a lasting impact on community relations in inner south Belfast with particular reference to its three constituent deprived communities through participation in a tripartite steering group whose agreed objectives will encompass the provision of a shared resource space (currently identified at Coyle’s Place, Ormeau Road) accommodating projects that address the common needs of the neighbourhood’s disadvantaged communities. DPCF, through its representation on the Belfast Interface Project, has obtained the agreement of its Director to facilitate a continuing programme to promote good relations, understanding and mutual respect – in the proposed shared resource space – between the three communities. Such work will also promote mechanisms to ameliorate the potential for racial conflict. By the end of December 2009, the tripartite steering group had examined, agreed and accepted letters of offer from the International Fund for Ireland for the sum of £800,000 towards the purchase, and refurbishment, of the above building at Coyle’s Place (provisionally entitled the ‘Cromac Regeneration Initiative’). This award, together with a further substantial six-figure sum awarded for the employment of an Inter-Community Development Worker (working title), means that the group’s efforts have yielded almost £1million in funding for the benefit of Inner South Belfast’s interfacing communities. The International Fund for Ireland’s proactive engagement, from the outset, and its retention of the invaluable services of Mr Derek Brown (of Insight Business Services) to conduct a feasibility study and economic appraisal of all aspects of the project proposal has been immeasurably helpful. The positive result of this ‘quality assurance’ process has reinforced the Forum’s confidence in the project’s prospects for success. The Forum, and its partner community organisations, will immediately begin negotiations with various bodies to set in motion application processes to secure a further £230,000 to bring the capital phase of the project to final fruition. The Forum anticipates that rental income derived from a shared resource space will be used to fund projects germane to the needs of the local people of all three areas. The execution of this project will result in enhanced social capital across the Inner South Belfast Communities through the raising of educational, employability skills and strengthened inter and intra community relationships. It is intended that this project will be a model of good practice and will attract mainstream funding and other sources of investment. The success of the Project will encourage new participants to become actively involved, on a voluntary basis, in all aspects of the programme. The realisation of the programme’s aims and objectives - most particularly the establishment of a shared resource accessible and available to all - will be a lasting legacy and a catalyst for a shared future and space.   10. Identify the key priorities for developing the area and prepare a strategy and action plan for addressing these priorities; The project, together with Queen’s University Belfast, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Donegall Pass Community Development Company Ltd – and other well-disposed interested parties, will continue its work with regard to the physical regeneration of the locality – including the ‘IncluZion Zone’, the Posnett Street site and the Coyle’s Place/Ormeau Road Interface site. The project will continue to seek resources to augment the educational and training levels and capacities of its community to enable residents to participate in the regenerative process and, thereby, secure and affirm its successes. The above, and other identified key priorities, will be embedded in a strategic action plan – continually monitored and reviewed – designed to achieve targeted strategic objectives.   11. [Develop the Forum as an effective network for community groups and others working for the benefit of the area] The project works in partnership, both on a regular and on an ad hoc basis, with a range of sector-related entities, e.g., Belfast Metropolitan College, Ulster People’s College, Workers’ Educational Association, Inner City South Belfast Sure Start, South Belfast Highway To Health, GEMS NI, Belfast City Council, Belfast Interface Project, Queen’s University Belfast, University Of Ulster, various minority ethnic groups and migrant worker associations, the South Belfast Roundtable (On Racism), the Markets Development Association, LORAG, Belfast Regeneration Office South & East Team, the Inner South Belfast Neighbourhood Partnership, the South Belfast Partnership, Northern Ireland Housing Executive. These examples are merely illustrative and are not exhaustive. DPCF represents, mentors, develops and facilitates all of the various local, more narrowly focused groups. The project is open to all residents of the locality and, through daily interaction with individuals and groups, constantly updates its awareness of local issues and needs. The project will continue to develop itself and extend its network to improve its effectiveness as a facilitator and conduit for local groups and individuals.   12. [Raise awareness of the needs of the community and attract investment and resources to meet those needs] The project - through its extensive, and constantly developing, network, its Donegall Pass Community Development Company Ltd and extant and evolving partnerships – will continue to proclaim, and raise awareness of, the needs of its community and continue to seek to attract the necessary level of investment and extent of resources to adequately deal with all domains of deprivation.

© Donegall Pass Community Forum 2010