Project Directory - Project Entry

Description:

Project Background:
Project Portadown has been in existence since 1990 with its core funded CR project coming into being in November 1995. The organisation operates within a collaborative model which represents partnership between groups and individuals across the sectarian divide.

Initially the organisation was little more than a cross community ACE scheme which organised community relations projects and programmes as an aside to its main activities. Since then we have advanced through various stages of development to our present position as one of the main promoters of community activism in this area.

Our project was born out of and driven by the local community and can claim to be 'grass roots' led in the purest sense of the term. One of our main concerns when developing the project was to ensure that our work remained relevant to the local communities. We achieved this by placing members of our CR team inside those housing estates within which we can carry out our work.

Project Aims:
To provide a programme of inter-community work in the Portadown area in conjunction with Drumcree Community Co-operative and Killicomaine Caring and Housing Committee which will lead to an increase in cross community contact.

To support specific community development in Protestant and Catholic areas of Portadown which encourages existing projects to develop and increase their cross community base.

To allow Project Portadown to raise issues and campaign on issues related to sectarianism.

To support specific community economic development and job creation schemes which are implemented in specifically anti-sectarian ways.

To facilitate the development of anti sectarian/community relations practises in other local agencies, institutions in the Portadown area.

To apply the expertise and experience of the co-operative model developed by Drumcree Community Co-operative and Killicomaine Caring and Housing Committee to other estates/communities in the Portadown area.

Project Activities:
Project Portadown have been and are involved in a variety of programmes and activities which attempt to meet the aims outlined above. These include:

* Provision of Drop-In Centres aimed at the unattached youth
* International Youth Exchanges
* Wider Horizon Programmes
..... - Job Creation
..... - Enterprise/Business Start Up
..... - Information Technology
..... - Music (emphasis on recording skills)
* Inter-Community Dialogue Group
* Inter-Community Think Tank
* Women's Groups
* Community Publications
* Oral History Projects
* Inter-Generational Contact
* Group Development and Resourcing
* Political Discussion
* etc.