Mr. Martin McMullan:

I thank the committee for having us here today. I will provide a brief insight into Youth Action Northern Ireland and some of its key work. Ms Redpath will take us through aspects of employability in young people and some key issues for the future.

Youth Action Northern Ireland, a charitable regional voluntary youth non-governmental organisation in the North, has been around for between 65 and 70 years. Like Youth Work Ireland, our strategic partner, we are a membership-based organisation. We have regional bases across the North in Derry, Enniskillen, Armagh, Ballygawley, Kilkeel, Newry and the hub in Belfast. We are based in these locations but we also prioritise work throughout the region, including Border counties both North and South, with a range of programmes operating across them.

The organisation is based primarily on research and needs assessment, working in partnership with local communities. Our practice develops through evidence-based need, and we are a practice-based organisation that builds the capacity of the youth sector in the North. We are also strategic in working across Departments, taking in health, education, employment and learning. We contribute to policy discussions and involve young people in engagement with politicians and as my colleague mentioned, we are looking at Let's Talk programmes, where young people can come together on a range of issues to debate with politicians. Our work is very much about education and a community-based approach.

I will speak about peace and reconciliation before handing over to my colleague. Reconciliation issues are a priority this year for the committee. We are working with young people on the ground on the issue of peace education and the legacy of the conflict, and a sentiment that arises is that it is always in the back of people's minds. There is not the same level of shootings and bombs but in the back of young people's heads, it is there consistently. This may relate to safety of movement in school or leisure services, for example. There is now an issue with flags in the North, which is contentious, and we must engage with young people on it.

We live in a segregated society, with segregated housing, education and leisure services. Even still there is segregated employment. The challenge is to work with young people to try to help them develop critical minds and meet young people different from themselves. They should learn to appreciate the diversity in Ireland beyond the traditional Protestant-Catholic population, and we have many minority ethnic communities. We must take in how to approach broader diversity in a range of issues. According to researchers in Queen's University in Belfast in 2009, 75% of young people expressed a fear of travelling to another community, whether for education, employment or social friendships. That means three quarters of young people still feel very frightened with regard to mobility. One of our executive members, who works for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board spoke recently about young people from the South, particularly Dublin, who are still frightened to come to the North and Belfast because of the legacy of the conflict and fear for safety. That is how young people feel.

The Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister and BBC worked on a legacy pack a number of years ago, and we were able to hear and read the stories of mostly adult civilians and those involved in the armed conflict. What was missing from that pack was the voice of young people. We have been trying to capture the voice of young people through publications, with an example being Peace and Quiet, Noise and Riot. It sums up the very volatile position in the North, where we can be living with peace and quiet and believe everything is okay, with something erupting because of volatility, leading us to feel we are going backwards rather than forwards. We must try to capture the voice of young people so others can listen to what is going on.

Some 82% of young people in a Community Relations Council 2009 report cited that they believed community relations between the two primary communities would be better if there were projects to address community relations. However, in speaking to young people about community relations, there is often a disconnect and they can feel it is not particularly relevant; it may appear that they are apathetic and it has no impact on them but that is not true. We must keep the work real and relevant, helping young people to provoke curiosity and break down attitudes and barriers. We should help young people to come together through contact, paradoxical curiosity and inquiry.

Let us take the flags issue in the North which led to young people and adults demonstrating on the streets in Omagh and elsewhere. At the same time we must appreciate and savour how far we have come and recognise that young people are actively involved in their communities and act as volunteers. As Youth Work Ireland has cited, young people are keen to become involved in politics, but they do not know how. They have an interest in political issues but perhaps not in party politics in the North. They present their visions of peace through symbols like those in the booklet I have in front of me. They want to remain connected and contribute, but sometimes they do not know how. From my perspective and that of Youth Action and Youth Work Ireland, we aim to develop a flourishing community, including young people. It is our responsibility to inspire a more optimistic and happy society and young people.