25 Years - News - Rural Community Network

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25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
Net wo r k News
RURAL

                        March 2017
                                   .          NUMBER 60

         www.ruralcom
                     munitynetwor
                                  k.org - Celebratin
                                                    g 25 Years

Celebrating
 25 Years
25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
Chairperson’s Foreword

 T      o be celebrating 25 years is a significant milestone for any organisation. It has
        been a privilege to have been involved in RCN for over half of this time during
which we have seen many changes, celebrated many successes and faced many
challenges. Throughout this time RCN has consistently demonstrated at the core of its
work a commitment to rural people, rural communities and rural issues. As someone
living in a rural community this is why I initially became involved as a Board member
and it is RCN’s ongoing commitment to rural that keeps me involved.

We are facing challenging and uncertain       RCN is grounded in the groups that it         In my time as a Board member with RCN I
times socially environmentally and            works alongside. It is managed and owned      have been extremely fortunate to have
economically. Rural communities, which        by those groups. Its strategic plan places    worked with many highly skilled and
make up 35% of the overall population of      at its core an ambition to support, develop   talented people. I have learned so much
NI, will not be immune to these               and grow local groups in order that we are    from their knowledge and experience of
challenges. If they are to develop and        in a position to make informed responses      rural issues. For me, many of my best
thrive we need to ensure there is a           to government policy making and take          experiences with RCN have centred
commitment within government to better        informed decisions about the direction of     around having opportunities to visit
understand the particular challenges          travel in our lobbying and campaign work.     organisations working in their own
facing rural areas and a commitment to        Our connection with groups on the             communities. Seeing first-hand how rural
finding resolutions to these challenges at    ground helps us as, an agency, to provide     groups, most of whom are volunteers,
both a local and central government level.    evidence of the impact of polices on rural    work to bring real changes to their
                                              communities and helps us to articulate        communities has been truly inspiring.
Over the past 25 years RCN has worked         the views of rural groups to policy makers.
tirelessly to grow and develop the capacity
of local groups to find local solutions to    We want to thank all of those groups,         PAUL DINSMORE
local issues through working alongside        individuals and organisations who have
                                                                                            Chairperson RCN
these groups to develop their                 shaped and supported the work of RCN
understanding of policy contexts, their       over the years. You have made it the
capacity to respond to adverse impacts of     thriving, passionate and ambitious agency
disinvestment, service withdrawal and         that it currently is. In these uncertain
challenging financial circumstances and       times we continue to commit to working
we have worked to articulate their voice      tirelessly to articulate the needs of rural
and their viewpoints right across             dwellers, particularly those who are most
government.                                   marginalized, to those who both make and
                                              influence policy.

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25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
Unlocking the Potential
       have spent almost 20 years working in rural development; firstly when I
   I   managed Oakleaf Rural Support Network, then as an RCN Board member, an
RCN employee and now Director. During that time I have witnessed first-hand the
drive, ambition and passion of this organisation, its staff, its membership and its board
in lobbying policy makers and investors to view rural areas as a valued asset rather
than a challenge to be overcome.

Improving the lives of those living and        social isolation, service withdrawal,          within their gift to unlock the potential of
working in rural communities has been a        unemployment and connectivity to name          their areas to deliver opportunities for
key function of Rural Community Network        a few. The prospect of Brexit adds a           local employment, local services, local
since its inception 25 years ago. All          further set of complications to rural          facilities and social support. RCN will
through those years the organisation has       communities and in particular our rural        continue to support them in their
had held tight to a vision which would         border communities. We know that the           endeavours.
ensure vibrant, sustainable rural              ‘one size fits all’ approach to rural
communities by working alongside our           development will not work as rural areas
member groups to support their efforts to      have different needs and require different     KATE CLIFFORD
achieve their potential in areas of            solutions. Having worked alongside our         Director
economic, social and cultural                  strong, supported and empowered
development. In its 25 year history this       communities for the past 25 years we
organisation has worked alongside a wide       know from experience that many of these
variety of stakeholders, from local groups     issues can and will be addressed with local
and key agencies in the community and          innovation and creativity.
voluntary sector to government
departments and Ministers, to deliver          Rural Community Network believes that
policy changes, pilot programmes,              the most important resource in any rural
financial investment, research and support     community is its people and through the
services. This special edition of Network      development and support services we
News highlights some of the key                offer, along with our partner organisations,
successes that RCN has delivered in its        we aim to capitalise on the talent,
lifetime and reflects on our journey so far.   creativity and energy of rural people to
                                               maximise their assets and overcome
As we look to the future, Rural Areas will     barriers to their development. Rural
be faced with many challenges, including       people, across Northern Ireland have it

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25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
NICVA
 H
          aving worked together for         “That voluntary and community sector          effective way. We have enjoyed a
          so many years, it was great       organisations across Northern Ireland         mutually beneficial relationship built on
          to finally cement the             (urban and rural) are provided with the       trust and appreciation for each
relationship between the two                key generic infrastructure support which      organisations’ expertise. We are delighted
organisations by joining in                 allows them to function effectively to        that this relationship has continued to
partnership to deliver the generic          deliver government objectives and             develop and we are now providing joint
strand of the Regional Infrastructure       maximise the impact of the work               support for faith based community
Support Programme (RISP) funded             they do”.                                     organisations.
jointly by then Department for
Social Development and                      NICVA and RCN alongside CO3 and CENI
Department for Agriculture and              developed a programme of work to help
                                                                                          UNA MCKERNAN
Rural Development (now                      ensure that the Voluntary and Community
                                                                                          Deputy Chief Executive
Department for Agriculture,                 Sector (VCS) operating in Northern Ireland
                                                                                          NICVA
Environment and Rural Affairs and           is supported to operate in an effective
Department for Communities).                way. This support, on which the VCS
                                            depends, includes a combination of
The joint policy statement produced in      capacity, skills, physical resources and
2012 demonstrated government’s              structures which help those organisations
commitment to working with and              function appropriately to meet the needs
supporting the Voluntary and Community      of the communities they serve.
Sector to help secure the delivery of
efficient and effective public services,    NICVA and RCN have worked hard
particularly to vulnerable and              together since 2012 to deliver this support
disadvantaged communities. The vision for   ensuring the needs of organisations, urban
the programme was:                          and rural across NI are met in the most

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  Twenty Years a Growing
                                                                                                 migration to work elsewhere doesn’t

 T
         here’s a well-worn Irish                consistent disappointment (though the
         description of the life-                new Mid-Ulster Council’s Local                  require the cruel, long separations that it
         cycle that starts “Fiche                Development Plan 2030 Preferred Options         used to bring. New, vigorous people from
bliain ag fás/Twenty years                       Paper includes a great deal of thinking         Europe are now central to many of our
a-growing … Fiche bliain faoi                    that’s inspiringly refreshing for those of us   local economies. Local entrepreneurialism
bhláth/Twenty years in blossom”.                 lucky enough to live in Mid-Ulster).            just won’t lie down. And since the first
                                                                                                 Rural Development Programmes arrived
On that basis, we are, frighteningly for         Rural-related health care has been a            Tyrone have won 13 All-Irelands compared
some of us, now half-way through the ‘in         one-way street of accelerated retraction.       to just three before that!
blossom’ period of structured rural              Too many core infrastructure projects
development here. Over those three               earmarked for rural areas (such as the          To those who helped make those many
decades the rural development space has          Police College and the A5 and A6 roads)         good things happen for us … Thank You!
become cluttered, confusing and, too             get beset by problems. Important small          And that includes RCN.
often, frustrating for the people,               Schools disappear and it continues to be
communities and groups actually living in        impossible to get the Schools estate            To finish where we started. That Irish take
and making up rural NI. But given that           opened up for other uses.                       on the life-cycle finishes out “Fiche bliain
before the late 1980s happy arrival on the                                                       ag cromadh/Twenty years declining, Fiche
scene of the ‘Three Wise Men’ of the then        Despite their centrality to daily personal,     bliain gur cuma ann nó as/Twenty years
Department of Agriculture, Bill Hodges           community and economic life, broadband          when it doesn’t matter if you’re there or
(RIP), Felix Dillon and Gerry McWhinney,         and mobile phone coverage are either            not”! It’s clearly therefore time to start
the rural development space was more of          absent or unacceptably poor in too many         planning for the decades ahead. Over to
a desert, many of us would prefer the bit        rural areas.                                    RCN and the good people in it!
of clutter any day.
                                                 The development of Sprucefield, a place
Plenty of good things have happened in           nicely accessible to many rural people,         MARK CONWAY
the years since but there’s still a lot to do.   seems stymied because of a reluctance to
                                                                                                 Inaugural Chairperson RCN
As a rule-of-thumb for me our local              accept that ‘traditional’ city centres aren’t
Councils provide very good civic                 and won’t ever again be what they once
governance and service delivery for rural        were.
areas but the performance of too many
things organized for us at the regional          But for all that, for me rural life here is
level here is correspondingly poor.              better than it ever was. Most populations
                                                 are growing, after more or less a century-
Planning, from the PSRNI ‘Green Book’            and-a-half of grinding decline from the
through to PPS 14 and 21, has been a             Great Famine. Modern travel means

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25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
Rural Development
  Council

    rom as far back as I can remember there has been a
  F relationship between RDC and RCN and for me that
accounts for almost twenty of the twenty five years that
both organisations have been in existence.

In fact, my first role within RDC was         and experience particularly when it comes     continued budgetary pressures and
within Community Based Actions. The           to promoting rural development and            concerns for sector sustainability, one
CBA team was set up in 1996 to deliver        working for the betterment of rural           thing is certain, we need to continue to
EU Peace Programme funding to rural           communities.                                  work together to strengthen the rural
communities, working in partnership with                                                    presence and ensure the rural voice
RCN to form what was known as the Rural       I still remember in 1999 the                  is heard.
IFB - an Intermediary Funding Body for        announcement that there was no longer a
the EU Peace Programme. This                  need for a Rural IFB and the tremendous       We wish RCN all the very best as they
partnership approach in the delivery of the   rural lobby that mounted resulting in a       celebrate 25 years and wish them well
Community Based Actions measure               further £13.18m being secured and             for the future.
ensured that rural communities right          the continuation of a rural specific IFB
across Northern Ireland engaged in and        until 2009.
had access to the Peace Programme.                                                          TERESA CANAVAN
The response for funding was great and        That said, working in partnership it is not
                                                                                            Chief Executive
the projects were many and varied.            without challenge and both organisations
Indeed it gives me great pleasure to          have seen many changes over the years
witness how many of these groups remain       which have brought with them ups and
in existence today and that the RDC and       downs but we always seem to arrive back
RCN partnership, in some small way, may       to recognising the huge benefits to be
have contributed to their success along       gained through working in partnership
the way.                                      and collaboration.

Both organisations are in no doubt about      As we embark on a future of new
the value of partnership and bringing         challenges and opportunities facing into
together the diversity of skills, knowledge   Brexit, the outcomes of elections,

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25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
INTERVIEW

  No point hankering after
  the status quo

Network News spoke to Denis McKay            adopted its constitution in 1987.            under the first Rural Development
North Antrim Community Network               We worked away and encouraged the            Programme. Re-naming as North Antrim
founder member and founding Board            establishment of community                   Community Network was more reflective
member of Rural Community Network            organisations in each of the Glens and we    of the wider reach of the Network.
about the formation of community             had some members from outside the
networks in the Glens of Antrim.             Glens geographical area.                     NN What were the key successes for
                                                                                          the Network in the early days?
NN How did the Glens of Antrim               Some of our committee members and
Community Development Association            groups were initially content to remain as   DMcK A key milestone was when we
come about?                                  a Glens of Antrim organisation but there     employed our Network Development
                                             were other member groups and people,         officer Breige Conway who is still with the
DMcK – Before GARCDA was formed we           myself included, that recognised the value   Network as Manager. We were very lucky
had individual community groups              of a wider North Antrim alliance of          to recruit Breige and she played a key role
operating in three of the Glens, namely      community organisations. If we had           in developing the Network. The Network
Cushendun District Development               remained as GARCDA we would probably         Directors still retained their role and took
Association, Cushendall District             continued to have been perceived as an       the strategic decisions and that was how
Development Group and Glenariffe             organisation dominated by one side of the    it should operate. We had a strong group
Development Group. These three separate      community. So we decided that we             of people democratically elected on our
associations were established and working    needed to expand the coverage of the         Board who were all very active in their
together as the Glens Development            Network and we met with new members          respective communities and I think we
Group. I can only speak for Cushendun        in villages across North Antrim who          gave good support and complemented the
where a loose association, a village         wanted to join us or who were interested     work of the staff. I would say our key
committee was established in 1985.           in finding out more. I’m a keen fisherman    success was getting new groups to join
As far as I can remember Malachy             and I remember I often brought a bag of      the Network and ensuring that there was
McSparran heard Cushendall were              fish with me to distribute to people we      a wide range of groups from across the
developing a community group in the          were meeting in those new groups, it was     community in North Antrim who could
village and that was motivation for people   a great way of breaking the ice.             buy in to what we were trying to do.
in Cushendun to establish one. The three                                                  We offered practical advice and support to
groups came together out of necessity        GARCDA then became North Antrim              groups when they were setting up and we
and to be honest funding was a               Community Network in 1997. Initially we      were able to help groups access a
motivation as well as we all realised that   expanded into five wards adjoining the       computer which helped them with their
together we would have a lot more            Glens as this corresponded with the North    administration and communication.
leverage with potential funders. GARCDA      Antrim Area Based Strategy brought in

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NN What were the key challenges for            regeneration and community                    NN Looking back what would you
NACN in those early years?                     development but very little in rural          say are the key lessons from your
                                               communities. At that time farmers were        involvement in NACN and RCN?
DMcK A key challenge was getting around        having more bad years than good years
all those small member groups, working         and many of the smaller farms were only       DMcK Once people are stirred out of their
with them to get organised with a clear        keeping going through income earned off       lethargy they will become active and make
plan of what they wanted to do. I believe      the farm. A key challenge was to ensure       their voice heard. I found that lots of
there is a natural limit to how far a local    that rural communities were getting a fair    people involved in community
network can reach, especially in rural areas   share of EU funding. The Rural Halls          development in committees are blow-ins
where distance is an issue. NACN couldn’t      programme run by RCN became very              or incomers to that community, including
expand much further beyond the North           important at that time and it allowed rural   myself. Although I had links to Cushendun
Antrim area with Cushendall as a base          communities to either develop or renovate     – my father was from here – I grew up in
because the travel time to other areas         community meeting spaces and places           Glasgow. I think the input of outsiders is a
would have been prohibitive.                   where people could come together and          good thing in a community as it stirs
                                               develop services. I would say at that time    people up and gets the locals involved, as
NN How did you get involved with               we also reflected the views of smaller        they would say “who does he think he is
the original board of RCN?                     farmers who weren’t members of the UFU        spouting off when he’s only been here a
                                               and whose concerns would have been very       few years – I’ve been living here all my life
DMcK I was an original board member            different from those larger farmers who       and I have something to say as well!”
and as I recall we were invited, as a strong   were UFU members.                             Rivalry between villages and places can be
rural network, to get involved in the Board                                                  a good thing and it can motivate people to
of RCN by sending a representative.            NN What were the key successes                push on and get their own projects up and
One of the key motivations for us to get       of RCN in those early days?                   running.
involved, to be honest, was due to RCN’s
developing role as a distributor of funding    DMcK I’d say the Halls Programme was a        I think in many rural areas older people
to rural communities at that time and we       key success and was money that was very       liked to live below the radar and not stir
were keen to learn how we could benefit        well spent across a wide range of rural       things up too much they just accepted
from RCN.                                      communities throughout Northern               poor services or circumstances. If you
                                               Ireland. The other key success was that       want to improve things in your area then
NN what were the key issues                    people realised they could make their         you have to raise your voice. Change is
RCN faced in those early years?                voice heard through working collectively      happening all the time anyway and there’s
                                               and that important issues could be raised     no point hankering after the status quo,
DMcK I’d say the most important                with decision makers.                         you have to try and shape change to
challenge was raising rural issues - Rural                                                   benefit your area.
representation and raising the rural voice
to policy makers and decision makers.
In our view government was spending
millions in cities and towns on

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25 Years - News - Rural Community Network
Community Places
 W
          e share a common                      have about what motivates people who
          ambition with RCN.                    love the place they live to advocate for
          It is to help ensure that             its sustainable development.
communities have their voices
heard and their rightful place in               Without the voices that RCN enables,
the decision making processes                   some communities would simply be swept
which affect them.                              aside in the onward rush for short term
                                                gains at long term cost to wellbeing.
It is thus no co-incidence that down            The challenge for many of us in the future
through the years we have often worked          will be to provide the solid ground from
in partnership with RCN on furthering           which such voices can be heard loud and
community engagement and participation.         clear – and respected. We look forward to
This has ranged from jointly supporting         pursuing this cause with our RCN partners
practical programmes and projects for           for many years to come.
local facilities and services, to lobbying on
broader policy fronts including planning
and rural disadvantage.
                                                COLM BRADLEY
As two relatively small organisations, each
                                                Director
with a wide regional remit, we know at
first hand the real mutual benefits of
sharing information, skills and resources
and being creative to maximise impact.
A recent example is our joint “Re-thinking
Nimbyism” multi-media project. It
challenges the prejudices all too many

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INTERVIEW

   Combatting de-population and
   developing rural communities
Jennifer McLernon worked for the                             JMcL The RDP was a European wide                              as well as ensuring LEADER1 funding was
Department of Agriculture and Rural                          initiative and it put rural development on                    spent. That was the theory, but in practice
Development (DARD) as one of three                           government’s agenda. Initially I believe                      we sometimes found it difficult to make
Rural Area Co-ordinators (RAC) at the                        there was some debate within                                  significant impact with some other
time RCN was established and the new                         government as to whether RDP would                            Departments and local authorities where
Rural Development Programme was                              even be a DANI responsibility. Bill Hodges                    personnel jealously guarded their territory.
being introduced. In this discussion                         who was the Permanent Secretary in the                        LEADER1 was aimed at rural community
with RCN she reflects on some of the                         Department at the time hadn’t come from                       initiatives rather than agricultural
issues facing rural communities at the                       an agricultural background which perhaps                      initiatives and also targeted the most
time and how the Rural Development                           contributed to him seeing the wider                           deprived rural wards. As we developed the
Programme influenced the                                     picture and championing rural                                 programme there was debate within the
Department’s approach to wider                               development. He argued strongly that it                       Department as to how we should develop
socio-economic issues in rural areas.                        needed to be located within the                               projects. One school of thought was that
                                                             Department. Felix Dillon was just below                       we should focus on economic
NN Jennifer, tell us a bit about your                        permanent secretary level and he related                      development and work with the business
background and how you ended up                              well to rural development with Gerry                          people in rural communities who could
working on the Rural Development                             McWhinney, who became my direct boss.                         develop projects that would bring
Programme.                                                   I think they understood what rural                            employment to those areas. There was a
                                                             development was aiming to achieve and                         tension though with some of us who saw
JMcL My early career was in teaching and                     connected well to some of the main                            that there was also a need for more social
delivering training in the Hospitality                       players across rural Northern Ireland.                        development type projects and that the
Sector. I then took up a lecturing post in                                                                                 “softer” projects, as I would call them,
the Department of Agriculture in the                         NN How did the emergence of the                               were legitimate to do.
Communications Department at                                 Rural Development Programme change
Loughry College. From there I went on                        the approach of the Department                                NN You worked for the Department
secondment to NIPSA for 4 years after                        regarding the significance of rural                           when both RCN and RDC were
which I returned to DANI as a training                       development?                                                  established in 1991. Why did
officer and eventually became                                                                                              the Department actively support
Departmental Training Officer. I spent a                     JMcL Initially within the Department there                    rural development organisations at
year in policy division in DANI mainly on                    was some tension between the more                             that time?
European Funds and legislation. It was                       traditional agricultural side and the rural
basically a desk job and that probably                       development side whose main concern                           JMcL Rural Community Network’s role at
didn’t best suit my personality or                           was engaging with the non-farming rural                       that stage was to animate the groups on
disposition but it was to be useful                          community. For the roll out of LEADER1                        the ground in rural communities and I saw
experience. Then the Rural Development                       DANI set up a new Rural Development                           how important that was. We needed
Programme (RDP) came along. It sounded                       Division with a policy team at Dundonald                      those groups to be able to submit project
like an interesting initiative and I liked                   House and three regional teams. Sean                          bids that we could fund. RCN was already
the idea of engaging and working with                        Nugent was responsible for Tyrone and                         in existence and was doing animation
communities so I applied for one of the                      Fermanagh, Martin McDonald was                                work. The Rural Development Council
RAC posts .                                                  responsible for Armagh and Down and I                         (RDC) was established to encourage and
                                                             looked after counties Derry and Antrim.                       develop project ideas and support groups
NN What do you remember of                                   Our role was to work as Rural Area                            to submit projects to DANI for funding.
the Department’s focus on rural                              Co-ordinators. Although we were                               LEADER funding was used to match other
development before the rural                                 employed by DANI which was to become                          funding but the initial idea was that the
development programme?                                       DARD, we were to assist the co-ordination                     community had to find 10% match
Was it on the agenda of the                                  of all appropriate government                                 funding of their ow, either in cash or in
Department in any way?                                       interventions in those rural communities
1 The LEADER programme (an acronym in French meaning Links between actions for the development of the rural economy) is a European Union initiative to support rural
   development projects initiated at the local level in order to revitalise rural areas and create jobs

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kind, to put into the project. An example       community we would work with them to              trying to work with groups who had the
of this was the Glenshesk Hatchery and          provide the support to get an application         bones of a good idea but whose project
Rivers Restoration project developed by an      over the line. Our ultimate aim in                was perhaps over-ambitious. We might
association of angling groups around            supporting both RCN and RDC was to                have made suggestions to amend their
Ballycastle. The river system and salmon        reduce out-migration from rural                   plans and keep them involved in the
stocks had been badly damaged in                communities by providing infrastructure           programme. Looking back now I don’t
disastrous floods in 1990. With a               and opportunities that made it possible           think too many white elephants were
comparatively small funding package             for people to remain with a reasonable            funded through the RDP.
members of this association physically          standard of living. The main issues we
helped to build the hatchery. They              were concerned with were economic                 NN How did having new partner
certainly gave their time and expertise to      development and job creation, public              organisations in the community and
gathering the roe, from what was left of        transport, services, leisure facilities and the   voluntary sector change the way the
local salmon, to stock the new hatchery         provision of public or affordable housing.        Department worked? Or did it?
and then manage it. The plan included
environmental, social/leisure and               NN Were any views expressed on this               JMcL I think it worked because there were
economic outcomes as both locals and            changing policy direction by the then             sufficient people, both inside the
visiting anglers could be accommodated.         Direct rule ministers?                            Department, other agencies and in the
                                                                                                  community sector, who understood what
The animation and development of grass          JMcL I don’t recall much of an issue in           we needed to do collectively to deliver the
roots groups was an essential element in        relation to our direct rule ministers at the      programme. Whilst, undoubtedly, there
those early days and was the foundation         time.                                             were disagreements the shared goal was
of later success. When I started as Rural       As long as decisions had been cleared by          to develop rural communities and combat
Area Co-ordinator in Derry and Antrim my        senior departmental officials they were           the de-population and desertification of
perception was that the community               largely content.                                  rural areas for the benefit of the whole
infra-structure in parts of those counties                                                        society of Northern Ireland. To be honest,
was less well developed than say in             NN From your point of view what                   as I remember it, there wasn’t a dramatic
Fermanagh or in County Armagh. After            were the challenges the RDP faced                 change in the philosophy of the
five or six years of work by RCN and the        at that time?                                     Department.
Rural Support Networks there were viable
groups in Derry and Antrim that allowed         JMcL One of the big challenges was                The Rural Development Programme was
these areas to attract their fair share of      getting local stakeholders, including farm        introduced across Europe and we knew we
RDP funding. Rural Support Networks             families, to engage. We found it easier to        couldn’t deliver it ourselves. DARD
were important in encouraging local             engage with the business people in the            needed viable community and voluntary
groups to take responsibility for their         community or those who were focused on            groups based in rural areas to help deliver
own networking.                                 economic development and regeneration.            it so it was a pragmatic approach adopted
                                                Another challenge was working with local          by the Department at the time. I
RCN also played a key role in keeping a         authorities to get them to address                thoroughly enjoyed my time helping roll
focus on the social development issues          community development as this wasn’t an           out the Rural Development Programme
that needed to be addressed when some           issue that was on their radar at the time.        across Northern Ireland. I met some
agencies and authorities would have             The other challenge for the Department as         amazingly energetic and dedicated people.
interpreted their aims in a way that            a funder, and for the LEADER programme            I think together we made a significant
focused on the economic development             was to avoid delivering ‘white elephants’.        difference through, what was for its time,
side of rural development. I saw my role        We did have to try and manage that as             quite a radical initiative.
then as getting the RDP funding spent           funders and ensure that public money was
effectively and we tried to be as flexible as   used to achieve the aims of the
possible within the rules to make that          programme and that it was properly
happen. If we saw a good idea from a            accounted for. In some cases that meant

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Forkhill Community
 Development Association

M
         ajella Murphy from                  With Support from DARD , DSD and our           about the impact of Brexit. Will there
         Forkhill Community                  local council and councillors we have been     again be a physical barrier between us and
         Development Association             successful, the site has been secured and      our southern neighbours? We have worked
speaks about the challenges the              the twenty social houses built by the          hard to re-connect with neighbouring
community faces in the next 25               FOLD Housing Association, now occupied         communities within the border region
years. Forkhill is a rural village in        by young families.                             since the re-opening of border roads after
the south of County Armagh with                                                             the Troubles ended. Our people work,
a population of 498, close to                Work is almost complete on a green             socialise and have family and community
Dundalk in County Louth and                  spaces project which links the school,         links across the border. Our young people
Newry in County Down. Forkhill               church and village by a half mile walk way,    travel to Dundalk and Dublin to further
is a small village but there is a            meandering through the site with               their education, will this still be affordable
strong community infrastructure,             historical and cultural features recording     after Brexit?
with a thriving GAA club,                    the history of the area. Our next major
community development                        project is to secure funding for business      We celebrate and are very proud of our
association, senior citizens club            and retail units which will provide local      wee village in South Armagh. This is an
and women’s group.                           employment. We are unsure about the            area of outstanding natural beauty sitting
                                             impact of Brexit on this phase of our          at the foot of beautiful Slieve Gullion.
During the Troubles the British Army         Village regeneration.                          We are a united and growing community
occupied land in the centre of the Village                                                  ready to face the future in a positive
and built one of the largest army bases in   Our population is growing and we have a        fashion.
Europe. With the onset of the peace          gap in support and opportunities for our
process we began a lobby to obtain this      young people. There is no youth club in
eight acre site, which included the former   Forkhill and if young people are not
RUC station, for the regeneration of our     interested in sport we have little resources
village. Our aim was, and is, to put the     for them. Our village sits on the border
heart back into our community.               with North Louth and we are concerned

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  Development Trusts NI
 D     evelopment Trusts NI is a relative newcomer to community development in
       Northern Ireland. The work we undertake to deliver in support of our members is
closely aligned with the work that RCN have been to the fore on for the past 25 years.
Where others have come and gone RCN has weathered many storms and consolidated
its significance as the lead advocate promoting the interests of rural communities.

Those times of change have largely been       question on whether Lough Neagh might         promoting rural voice. We wish you well
at the behest of the public purse holder      be brought into community ownership           for the next 25 years in facilitating rural, in
seeking more services for less investment     and that the bed of the Lough be acquired     place shaping and in changing the places
and all the while many of the problems        by the communities that surround it and       in which we live so that they continue
that characterise rural life persist. Those   developed as a resource for social and        to represent the types of places we
problems, the lack of investment in the       economic renewal. In asking that question     want, that we need to sustain our rural
economic infrastructure, reduction in         we ventured into the rural communities        way of life.
public services and access to services,       that have a vested interest in the Lough.
migration and social isolation continue to    We were ably partnered in that process of
shape the rural experience. Having an         engagement by RCN and in particular by        CHARLIE FISHER
advocate, a representative body like RCN      its present Director Kate Clifford. Without
                                                                                            Programme Manager
has been, and remains, pivotal in ensuring    the intervention of RCN we would not
the voice of rural communities is heard       have reached out to the significant
and their needs are met. You don’t            numbers of people needed to make our
develop a track record of 25 years in rural   consultation on the future of the Lough
development by getting it wrong but by        viable. That we concluded our work on
consistently doing it right.                  community ownership of the Lough and
                                              presented a report on the Future of Lough
Recently DTNI have had an opportunity to      Neagh is testament to the knowledge and
promote an agenda of community                expertise of RCN.
ownership, of promoting the rights of
communities, to own, to buy, to build and     DTNI would like to congratulate, celebrate
to shape the places in which they live.       and share in your 25 years of active rural
Recently we have progressed on asking the     community development, of advocacy and

                                                                  15
Keep your Eyes on the Prize
     asting my mind back 25 years may run the risk of rewriting
 C   history, but hopefully I can highlight some useful memories
and perhaps some lessons. Overall it is fair to say that
things would have been much worse for rural areas had rural
development not taken place.
RCN has played a significant role in that     of the work was carried out. Community         no small legacy. Keeping an awareness of
process. That may be stating the obvious      Development (CD) was core to this work         other local national and international rural
but, when I think back to the 1980s, rural    and RCN set about supporting a                 community development experience and
areas were largely forgotten. This neglect    comprehensive coverage of rural NI             sharing this experience continues to be
became a concern to some in the               through helping and supporting the             vital for the future.
Belfast-based voluntary sector and, in        development of local rural support
conjunction with the then DHSS, the           networks who would support and promote         When looking back it is true to say rural
sector picked up on an opportunity from       community development activity. The            areas are more vulnerable now than ever
the EU poverty programmes to begin to         crucial decision of RDC to shift from its      before; Brexit will be hard to counter;
address rural poverty. This programme         community development approach to a            shifts in the economy such as the 2007
focused on 3 rural pilot areas and ended in   project-based delivery approach, left RCN      crash disproportionately affected rural
1990 when a new focus on Rural                with a greater role in keeping a focus on      areas and the recent fall of the political
Development emerged from the EU. This         community development.                         institutions will leave a vacuum.
new focus extended the remit of existing                                                     Turf wars are a waste of time and energy,
Agricultural institutions to address the      Concepts of Rural Development were             and I do not absolve myself from this
wider concerns of rural communities.          being hotly debated at every level of the      lesson, but keeping good relationships,
Locally the Department of Agriculture         EU; from what value should be placed on        while working on conflicts, is something to
(DANI) stepped into this role and soon        each pillar of social, economic and            keep to the fore. There is only one
incorporated its new responsibilities into    environment content within funding             question for those working with rural
its name, transforming from DANI to           support programmes, to how agriculture         communities and it is this, ‘is what you are
become DARD – the Department of               might lose out in this new debate.             doing benefiting rural communities, not
Agriculture and Rural Development.            The interplay of networks from the most        yourself or your institution?’ If you can
                                              local to developing new partners across        affirm this you will not go far wrong.
Large credit for this new emphasis on the     the EU was heady stuff in its time.            Others will make this assessment but for
need to pay attention to Rural                Keeping the voice of local communities to      what it is worth my conclusion is that
Development rests with the EU; which          the fore in all of this was vital. The Small   RCN have stepped up to this challenge
went on to develop the LEADER*                Grants programs of the new EU Peace            pretty well and have not been complacent.
Programmes. In its first phase in NI the      Programme in 1995 and later the
LEADER programme was implemented by           Millennium Halls programme both                Finally I could have named so many
the Rural Development Council (RDC).          enabled RCN to deliver tangible benefits       wonderful people in this piece but, alas
Local authorities had hoped for a larger      to local rural communities. RCN’s              they are too many. To a staff and board
role in the management of the Rural           Community Development educational              and leaders, many of whom have stayed
Development Programme. This eventually        work, networking and funding of CD with        the course for the full 25 years, we all owe
came about in the second phase of the         support from DARD was highly significant       you a great debt. It was a great honour to
LEADER programme. In parallel to the          in keeping the voice of rural communities      work along-side you for a short time.
growth and development of RDC, RCN            in mainstream policies across the board.
was set up to support networking,             All of this work was a modest, if important
promote a voice for rural communities         backdrop, to the cease fires and peace         NIALL FITZDUFF
and support community development.            process which was to come.
                                                                                             Inaugural Director RCN
RCN’s commitment to address our divided       Having a well-developed community
society played a part in how every aspect     infrastructure with a set of core values is

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 A light hearted reflection on the development of RCN by
   our longest serving staff member Kathryn Kerr.
Having started with RCN in May 1992 never in my wildest
dreams would I have imagined I would still be here 25 years
later nor to be honest would the organisation.
I was employed on a 2 year contract and       change after change after change, stamps      and others, who over their coffees in
for RCN to still be functioning at such a     had to be bought, licked and runaway          Turkington’s café in Cookstown, were the
high level is testament to the drive,         carts, with minds of their own, wheeled up    initial driving force securing funding for
tenacity and forward thinking of its          to the Post Office with the hundreds of       not only this Network but also the rural
directors and I have actually enjoyed every   publications.                                 support networks.
minute of it.
                                              As this space became cramped we               Over the years RCN has benefitted from
RCN’s first official office was in            expanded across the entry to 47 James         the input of Board members and a range
Molesworth Street, with Niall Fitzduff’s      Street. This office felt like a sauna in      of staff who have come and gone as their
office overlooking the main street while I    summer and like the dawn of the ice age       project work has ended and other projects
was stuck beside the Market Yard, with the    in winter. Health and safety wouldn’t         are initiated to meet the needs of rural
drone of the auctioneer trying to compete     have been great either in those days. Our     communities. Rural communities have
with the cows. It was during these days       fire evacuation ‘policy’ was to clamber out   been enriched by projects like Millennium
that I honed my computer skills with          of the window onto a pointed roof top or      Halls, Community Halls Advisory Service,
solitaire and minesweeper; I believe this     open a box, throw a ladder out of the         Women’s Sectoral Programme, Rural
could have been classed as continuing         window while hopefully not breaking a leg     Community Estates Programme, Technical
professional development. Amenities were      on descent – depending on which side of       Assistance, Rural Enablers Programme and
limited to say the least – the kitchen was    the alley you were on.                        Skills for Solutions, many of which have
a large cupboard with a sink and only cold                                                  evolved or morphed into other things.
water and the public toilets were 2 floors    Our new building in Oldtown Street is
below. On the upside it was above a local     definitely luxury compared to all that        RCN’s work is ever changing; reflecting the
pub, and with Board meetings stretching       went before. Now we have state of the         nature of rural communities and society.
into the evening, I usually just managed to   art computer systems, heat, a car park and    Nothing stands still but the work of the
get in before last orders.                    a dishwasher. Staff numbers have gone         Mediation Unit - now known as Cohesion,
                                              from 2 to 34 and now back to 6. But we        Sharing and Integration and the core unit
After a few years and the promise of more     still have the paperwork from 25 years ago    of RCN, that of supporting and relaying
staff, we moved to luxury offices in James    despite our best efforts trying to tidy the   the voice of our rural members remains
Street - certainly luxury in comparison.      place. So our filing system still makes use   our focus. That was, is and will always be
Again, two floors up and with external        of James Street – a place where some staff    at the heart of our work – some things
metal steps, it was obviously built long      have never dared to set foot!                 remain the same.
before anyone considered disabled access
- and the enclosed steps were frequently a    I have had the pleasure of working with a     So, here’s to the next 25 years by which
refuge for those with a penchant for          rich variety of people over the years and     time I will be 80 – hard to believe I know
alcohol. Staff numbers started to rise but    have made many lifelong-friends among         – and just might be eligible for the new
partners were still needed to make up the     the unbelievable total of 100 people who      state pension.
numbers at the Christmas dinners.             have been employed by RCN. I can still
Technology has certainly changed things       remember each of them, and many of
over the years – and for the better. Then     their idiosyncrasies! RCN has come such a
publications were typeset in house, with      long way thanks to Niall, Mark Conway

                                                                  17
From Rural Remainder
  to Rural Asset
Gareth Harper and Roger O’Sullivan            existed despite the promise of rural            represented a turnaround moment for the
were joint editors of Network News.           proofing, community planning and the            organisation and ourselves. The combined
Here they reflect back on their 20            rural development programme. The                drive of the staff and board during those
combined years of working in Rural            Centralization of Services Strategy, the        years saw some of the most ground
Community Network.                            Noble Index of Deprivation and then             breaking work in giving voice to the
                                              PPS14 resulted in one of the last Network       difficult issues that communities,
We both took up our posts in RCN at the       News that we worked on together entitled        organisations and funders faced -
end of 1990s, a time before individual        The onslaught on rural. Mark Conway             understanding the other narrative of
work emails, mobiles that fitted in your      summed up the feeling at that time:             the legacy of the Troubles and minority
pocket, when ‘all other duties’ in your job                                                   experiences. RCN went through the
description really meant it.                  After many years of honestly trying to play     process of embedding Equity, Diversity
                                              a part, PPS14 for me is the last straw…         and Interdependence (EDI) – led
Working in RCN was a time of growth and       What really is the point when people just       enthusiastically by Michael Hughes, later
development both for the organisation         ride roughshod over the genuine input of        to become CEO. It was not just telling
and ourselves.  The Policy, Research and      others and dictatorially apply ill-thought      others how to behave but challenging
Information (PRI) team had been               blanket policies across a whole series of       our own perceptions and others
established with encouragement from the       totally different contexts and issues… you      perceptions of us.
rural sociologist Mark Shucksmith of          should be ashamed of yourselves. Maybe
Newcastle University and an ambitious         it’s my rural Tyrone arrogance at its worst,    Divisions in rural communities may be less
vision by Niall Fitzduff, RCN’s CEO with a    but I increasingly think people like us don’t   obvious, but no-one can deny that they
work ethic second to none. Our role was       deserve the like of you. What consoles me       exist. They affect the whole structure of our
to bring policy and evidence into the core    is the sure knowledge that PPS14 or not,        communities; in the most personal details
of the organisation and for the team to       our rural people will still be here when        of our lives: whom we marry and are friends
“clean its own face” financially at the       you’re all long gone. Network News N44          with, where we worship, where we live,
same time! This in turn involved providing                                                    what we say to one another. For many of us,
a service and a challenge function to         Mark Conway is a part of RCN folklore -         survival is in the silences - the things that
government who after many years had           his term as chair of RCN had passed             are left unsaid, the conflicts that remain
realised that they needed to understand       as we arrived and Libby Keys with her           ‘under the table’. We have a Peace process,
(or at least show the desire to understand)   compassion and commitment to                    but no history of how to do this - a bit like
rural issues in planning and delivering       community relations became our chair            fixing the plane while flying it. And some of
rural services.                               and ‘go to’ person for any event or             the steps we need to take run against
                                              meeting – always generous with her time         deeply learned behaviour.
RCN’s work on the Department of the           and wisdom. (Later Roy Hanna would              Libby Keys Network News N33
Environment’s Shaping Our Future strategy     become our chair followed by Alan Poots
saw a major shift from a sentence on rural    - rural community development would             No reflection on our time spent with RCN
in the first document, to a paragraph, to a   become the focus of discussion on those         and Network News could be complete
page and then a section - a change in         M1 shared journeys!)                            without reference to the annual
perception and language - from rural                                                          conferences; two days in late September
remainder to rural asset. However, we also    Tony Macaulay joined RCN in 1999 as             when rural community groups had a
saw the mixed and conflicting policy          deputy director and head of the Policy          chance to share best practice and catch
decisions for rural communities, that         research & information team. This               up. The moving conference was like a swan

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upside down – what seemed like panic on
the top but always calm underneath as
this tried and tested model had never
failed us - from Hilltown to Lusty Beg
island, from Knockatallon to Coleraine.
That said, our role was to have the annual
report ready for day one of the conference
and one year the ink on the report had to
dry on its way down the motorway
in the back of Gareth’s Toyota Corolla!
Working in RCN was different every day,
some days challenging, other days
frustrating but always rewarding, mainly
because of the people you met and
worked with. We had the chance to visit
new places and discover new ways of
working from very committed people
trying to make the most for rural
communities often on less than a shoe

                                              “
string. Network News’ role was to ensure
that it reflected and also informed, from
frequently contrasting positions, key areas
of concern and debate.

During our time, over 50 community
meeting spaces were supported, highly
valuable peace building work was funded,
areas of low community infrastructure
                                              RCN had a focus on
were supported to build confidence, the
skills of community organisations’ boards
                                              tackling poverty and
and staff members were enhanced, the
voice of rural communities was
                                              disadvantage – but it
strengthened and a wide range of
policy areas were addressed.                  never had a poverty of
                                              ambition for rural

                                                            ”
Finally, we must take time to remember
the sad passing of our colleagues who
worked with us on Network News during         communities.
this time: Ruth Stewart, Carol Foster,
Ann McGeeney, Dr. Jimmy Kearney and
Dr Jeremy Harbison.

                                                   19
Cookstown and Western
  Shores Area Network
CWSAN and indeed the Rural Support Networks are delighted to share in this
very special celebration, the Rural Community Network’s 25th anniversary.
We take this opportunity to congratulate RCN and its current staff on having
reached this important milestone, having been a key pillar in supporting and
assisting many sub- regional community and voluntary organisations at various
points over the past two and a half decades.

We have no doubt that RCN will be joined      communities, combined with the selfless        Going forward, we wish RCN, in their
by many community organisations from          contribution of many volunteers has been       efforts to continue delivering a strong
right across the country, board members,      evident in their work since humble             advocacy role in supporting rural
supporters, staff and colleagues to           beginnings from Cookstown’s main street        communities, and in particular through
reminisce and ponder the challenges they      in the 1990’s. It is this contribution that    encouraging community collectives to
have faced and the contributions they         undoubtedly has helped create the success      decipher and help rural policy outcomes,
have made over the years. Indeed              of many of our Rural Support Networks          become more meaningful and accountable
personally, I can recount many positive       who today, independently, strongly, forge      to all who work or reside in rural
experiences and also reflect upon the         their own way in what certainly isn’t an       communities. The secret to date has been
many difficulties faced by the whole          easy operating environment.                    that RCN certainly understands fully that
community sector over the past 25 years,                                                     those communities know best in the
much of which was mitigated by the            The RCN’s role in promoting the                identification of and provision of solutions
support and dedication of RCN staff.          sustainable development of rural               to their own particular issues and are
Suffice to say, we have most certainly        communities, initially through the support     certainly best placed to facilitate positive
come a long way since RCN first assisted      of local support organizations such as         change with appropriate support
us to develop CWSAN, the local RSN            CWSAN, has indeed served the rural             initiatives. As Lao Tsu wrote, “start with
network in the Mid Ulster area in 1996,       community well. Supporting a                   what they know, build with what they
and to provide support to other Sub           community development approach has             have.., when the work is done, the task
Regional Networks over those initial          ensured that the voice of small, local rural   accomplished, the people will say “we
formative years.                              communities has been heard collectively,       have done this ourselves”. A true reflection
                                              practice to policy made appropriately, and     of much of the behind the scenes work
Undoubtedly, the past 25 years have been      civic leadership developed immeasurably.       embodied by the RCN.
both challenging and eventful but I believe   As part of the supporting infrastructure,
that RCN’s longevity is down to the           owned and managed by the collective
network’s ability to evolve effectively as    rural community, RCN has indeed helped         CONOR CORR
an organisation, to meet the changing         to create and encourage those most             CWSAN
needs of the sector and to continue to        disadvantaged to engage in community           Development Manager
provide innovative solutions to helping       activity to address social need, cohesion,
empower local organisations voice rural       social exclusion and to embed a shared
concerns. A strong sense of belonging to      future through their work.
and belief in advocating on behalf of rural

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  Community Foundation NI
   I     t is a privilege to be given the opportunity to contribute to the
         Rural Community Network’s 25th anniversary celebrations.

 The histories of the Community               contributions to keep their communities        opportunity and investment, play its part
Foundation for Northern Ireland and Rural     together, to be cohesive and to build          in the development of a society that is
Community Network have been very              relationships.                                 fair, just and peaceful.
much interlinked as both organisations
have a long association in working            We’ve seen RCN as one of the key               On behalf of the Community Foundation
together in efforts to address issues of      community development contributors to a        for Northern Ireland may I congratulate
poverty, social exclusion and sectarianism.   wide range of strategic projects we’ve         Rural Community Network for its
Whilst this work has been challenging,        been involved in, including grants panels,     achievements and contributions to not
what has been consistent in our work with     the early development of the Building          only rural communities but also wider
RCN has been their steadfast                  Change Trust and the Space and Place           society in Northern Ireland. We will
commitment to rural communities and to        Programme. RCN’s rural perspective makes       continue to find ways to work together
community development principles and          positive contributions to address poverty,     and look forward to the challenge of how
practices.                                    inequality, sectarianism and discrimination    we as an organisation consider rural
                                              in all its forms. We particularly celebrate    proofing in our work.
This operating ethos has enabled many         that RCN continues to take risks; we know
joint projects between our organisations.     that being a critical voice for rural
When we sought European support for a         communities can place the organisation in      ANDREW MCCRACKEN
fledgling Peace Process, RCN provided an      uncomfortable spaces. Rural communities        Chief Executive Community
invaluable critical dimension to this         should be grateful that there is such an       Foundation for Northern
highlighting their own experiences and the    organisation fighting for rural issues;        Ireland.
experiences of their members. RCN has an      reminding policy/programme makers and
invaluable expertise in the particular        funders, including ourselves, that rural
nuances of the impact of the conflict         communities are of equal value, that life
within a rural context and the way rural      experiences in rural areas are different but
community organisations are making vital      that rural does and will, given equality of

                                                                  21
INTERVIEW

   NIRWN a focus for
   Rural Women
RCN spoke to Majella Murphy a                             training for rural women delivered at the                  for us to develop a rural women’s
founding member of South Armagh                           point of need. We delivered basic                          infrastructure across NI. This was a big
Rural Women’s Network and NIRWN                           community development and capacity                         shift for both staff and management
Co-ordinatorand Louise Coyle NIRWN                        building courses to rural women with                       committees of the Networks as we had
Development Officer about the origins                     childcare costs and travel costs included.                 been focused on the sustainability of our
of NIRWN and its contribution to                          The fact that childcare and travel costs                   organisations and in that extension period
rural community development over                          were included allowed women who                            we had to re-focus on how we could
the past decade.                                          previously wouldn’t have been involved in                  sustain the work rather than the
                                                          community education to participate.                        organisations.
NN How did NIRWN come about?                              The expenses were paid by cheque and
                                                          that meant women, who had never had                        NN Why was there a need for a
Majella & Louise: NIRWN was founded in                    bank accounts before, had to open their                    separate women’s rural network?
2006 as a result of a lobby for support for               own accounts. For some women on those
rural women across NI. This lobby was led                 programmes that was an important step                      Majella & Louise: Women were coming
by the then 6 rural Women’s Networks,                     in building their personal independence as                 out to local women’s groups and getting
Women’s Resource and Development                          it raised those women’s consciousness of                   involved in their programmes and taking
Agency and RCN.                                           their importance as individual people,                     on leadership roles in those groups but
                                                          rather than them seeing themselves as a                    they weren’t getting involved or leading in
Fermanagh Rural Women’s Network and                       wife or mother or partner.                                 wider local community development
RCN had run a conference on women and                                                                                initiatives. Gender equality wasn’t an
community development called “Making                      The Networks began realising the                           issue that was talked about much in rural
the Tea or Making the News” in 2003                       importance of responding to policy and                     communities at that time. We felt we had
which kick started the rural women’s                      the need to lobby on women’s issues.                       to develop a regional network as we
policy forum and gave voice to the                        As the new Assembly started to develop                     couldn’t sustain the 6 local networks and
specific needs of rural women.                            legislation, and local Ministers began to                  most of us believed that we needed to
                                                          shape the services government                              sustain the work. Our motivation was to
Following the Ceasefire and the Good                      departments were delivering, we knew we                    ensure that women’s voices would be
Friday Agreement there had been a                         needed to be influencing those decisions                   heard in debates on community
mushrooming of women’s groups across                      but knew that this was a gap in our skills.                development, on policy and on service
the North, supported by lead groups in                    We realised that unless we zworked to                      delivery across rural NI. There were huge
their areas which then developed into                     influence the development of policy                        challenges for us as 6 separate
local women’s networks following the                      which would influence how services                         organisations moving to one regional
Fermanagh model. 6 separate women’s                       were delivered on the ground the                           organisation.
networks became established in: South                     circumstances that led to the exclusion
Armagh, Roe Valley, Omagh, Newry &                        of women would persist.                                    NN What have NIRWN’s
Mourne and Mid-Ulster alongside                                                                                      achievements been?
Fermanagh. These were all independent                     Funding was running out for the 6 Rural
organisations who met regularly and                       Women’s Networks and we faced the                          Majella & Louise: NIRWN has developed
accessed Lottery funding to employ                        prospect of closure. During our lobbying                   a strong rural policy voice for women and,
staff and run programmes.                                 for funding the feedback from politicians                  to an extent, we have addressed the
                                                          and officials was that they wanted the                     previously unmet need of strategic,
NN What types of work did the                             Networks to ensure complete                                regional support that the 6 Networks
Rural Women’s Networks do?                                geographical coverage across NI and                        recognised existed when the Assembly
                                                          weren’t interested in funding 6 separate                   came into being. We deliver strategic
Majella & Louise: The core work was                       organisations. The Networks received a                     support for rural women. We are a central
grass roots community development and                     funding extension from DSD to allow time                   point for: networking; consultation; policy

2   Women and Public Appointments in NI http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2014/assembly_exec_review/11914.pdf
3 	Women in Politics and the NI Assembly http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/reports/assem_exec_review/women-in-politics.pdf

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