Building Strong Leadership in Ballycarry!

I am pleased to be one of 5 members from Ballycarry Community Association (along with David, Carla, Lesley, and Carol) taking part in the Community Leadership Programme (CLP) organised by NICVA and funded by the International Fund for Ireland. This is the third (and final) year of the course, which will be a huge boost for the Ballycarry community.

Through training, facilitation and workshops the CLP will empower our group to make real differences in the local community. It will help the local community to take ownership of our  development and offers external support from NICVA and the University of Ulster. This programme will build the capacity of Ballycarry Community Association so that we will be able to work together to address issues, network with others and influence policies that effect local people’s lives. More importantly, however, we will be able to run a Community Association which is a vibrant group, organising events which matter to the people of Ballycarry.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago at the first Round Table event, held in Galgorm, at which we met our facilitator, Bernard Black, got to hear from other successful groups in the programme, and had a really useful brainstorming session about what areas we need to improve on. I am looking forward to taking part in the workshops over the coming year, which will no doubt compliment the encouraging work of the revitalised Community Association over the past year.

 Our first session with our facilitator will be held in the Community Centre later this month, and then NICVA will carry out a governance survey on how the Association is actually run, making suggestions for improvement. The programme will also give us the opportunity to test our new and improved skills in organising a project in the Village, funded by the IFI.

Thanks must go to Dr. David Hume MBE for his hard work in securing this fantastic opportunity for the Ballycarry community. I'm sure I will update in the near future with more information on how we are all getting on...