Co-operation Ireland, Global Peace Foundation, along with co-convening partner, the Administration for Children and Families Region 2 are piloting an established cross-community engagement model in Jersey City, New Jersey. This youth engagement approach builds community cohesion in challenging urban environments and inoculates youth against violence and extremism.
The purpose of this pilot work is to demonstrate a national model for replication and measure the empirical impact on identity-based attitudes and behaviors. Global Peace Foundation (GPF) and the Co-operation Ireland (CI) advocate for a unique, dual approach that leverages the authority of faith and civil society leaders, combined with a community-based youth engagement model solidified by thirty years of successful implementation results and European Union support.
The unique value proposition of the CI/GPF cross-community engagement project is the replicable pilot of urban peace-building work focused on youth, with a measurable evaluation of attitudes and behaviors related to violence and extremism. The evaluation and assessment will make a contribution to the peace and conflict field of work. The pilot leverages the assets of both organizations – CI for implementation expertise, and GPF for a diversity of international peace and conflict work through a strong local Chapter network. It uses methodology of proven engagement tactics, to reach people in their home communities with messages from trusted moral authorities.
During the week of June 1st, 2015, Co-operation Ireland and Global Peace Foundation will jointly host and deliver an intensive and developmental capacity-building training program for adult facilitators/mentors. This high-quality and interactive training program benefits from Co-operation Ireland’s 30 years of successful youth and community programming and their recent and successful ‘managed contact’ approach/methodology within Northern Ireland.
This unique and facilitated training opportunity provides ongoing and complementary professional development/enhancement for community based professionals within their own fields of work, in addition to contributing to the successful implementation of the Jersey City pilot program.