Young leaders celebrate success in Ballycastle

The project has worked across eight communities in the North Eastern area and 126 young people have participated since its inception in January 2012.

The Young People’s Peer Leadership Project enabled young people to develop skills in leadership, by providing opportunities for them to develop and run activities in their local community and gain accredited qualifications in leadership. Participants also took part in a range of activities, training and visits to explore issues such as sectarianism, racism and cultural identity.

Bronagh Mullan, one of the project’s peer mentors, said: “I don’t even know where to start in terms of what I’ve gotten out of being a peer leader. Yes, I got qualifications, as I’d hoped to at the start, but it’s been so much more than that. I learned how to plan, organise and lead a group, how to deal with issues when they come up, how to build relationships with and be a leader for young people, how to communicate better with others and I’ve definitely learned how to be more patient.”