Boys & Girls Clubs (NI) hosted a youth exchange programme with young people from Essex, Dublin and Northern Ireland. With partner groups from Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, Bradog Youth Service and Scotch Street Youth Club, 24 young people aged 15 – 19 came together to take part in a 5-night residential programme.
Over the 6 days, the young people took part in a range of outdoor adventure activities, team building, leadership and intercultural awareness activities – which included all the young people sharing unique aspects of their cultures and areas with the other groups. However the main theme of the residential was to make new friends and have fun.
The programme was funded under the Causeway British – Irish exchange 2016-17.
The objectives for the programme were:
- Increase communication and contact between young people
- Empowering young people to initiate contacts and develop projects together
- Increased co-operation and contact between those who work with and for young people
- Community-enriching cultural, educational and vocational experiences for young people, which celebrate what the different parts of the islands have in common
- Identifying and jointly exploring areas of common interest in working with young people
- Undertaking joint developmental activities relating to young people.
