By Amy Pollock
St COLUMBANUS’ College has been recognised for its involvement in Co-operation Ireland’s cross-border schools programme ‘Entwined Futures’.The award was presented to the school by the Lord Mayor of Belfast at a special event hosted at Belfast City Hall.Co-operation Ireland is an all-island peace-building charity that works to facilitate collaboration between people from different backgrounds through a series of programmes.Entwined Futures encourages young people from both sides of the border to better understand Irish history, diverse contexts and common ties. Taking part in the programme were 16 schools across the island; eight in Northern Ireland and eight in the Republic of Ireland.Year 10 pupils at St Columbanus partnered with St Oliver’s Community College, based in Drogheda, for a group filmmaking project. Dr Lindsay Doulton, head of history at St Columbanus’ College, said that through the programme, the partner schools came together on six different occasions through workshops and field trips to strengthen their bond prior to making the films. Covering historic topics such as the Ulster Covenant, Representation of the People Act 1918 and the Easter Rising, the students joined forces to learn the different ways such events have shaped citizenship, identity and sovereignty. “Getting pupils to understand that it could be the same historical event, but seen differently by others depending on their backgrounds, was very important,” said Dr Doulton.The culmination of the project was a two-day residential at the Share Discovery Village in Fermanagh to do the filming as well as other team building activities. On January 30, the red carpet was rolled out for a dedicated showcase at Belfast City Hall to screen the finished short films to an audience of hundreds and celebrate the students’ hard work.Dr Doulton said it was ‘like the Oscars’ and that the films were ‘really successful’.At the event, Co-operation Ireland presented each of the schools involved with an honorary plaque to thank them for highlighting the importance of inclusion, peace building and reconciliation.The plaque reads: “Your enduring partnership with us, spanning years of inspiration and impact, has been instrumental in advancing reconciliation, particularly through the Entwined Histories and Entwined Futures Programmes.”Dr Doulton says learning history beyond the classroom in a ‘hands-on way’ is invaluable.“We are grateful to Co-operation Ireland who have generously funded our involvement in these projects, and for the opportunities they have allowed the students to have.“The children really enjoyed the friendships they made throughout the project.”
