Community Relations in Schools (CRIS) is a peacebuilding charity which has been working across Northern Ireland’s educations sector for 40 years. Over the last five years, CRIS was privileged to deliver Buddy Up! programme, which has been recognised by the UN in it’s Intercultural Innovation Awards, to schools across Northern Ireland as part of The Executive Office’s Urban Villages initiative. This event will be a celebration of the impact of Buddy Up! over the past five years. It will also see the launch of the independent review of ‘Buddy Up’ which will enable the learning taken from the lifespan of the project to be shared widely amongst schools, statutory agencies and beyond.
Finally, this event will bring together people from across the education sector, and is an opportunity to create new links and strengthen existing partnerships. Speakers range from CRIS staff reflecting on the programme to Education Authority staff, who will provide information for schools on their PEACEPLUS bid and the next iteration of Shared Education.