Mr Ulster

Slow and steady will win this race #love #running #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-27T12:03:00.001Z

Taken at Ballygowan, Co Down

Today we brushed Beverley's beautiful red hair #love #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-26T22:54:00.001Z

Taken at Royal Victoria Hospital

A prayer for Beverley #love #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-26T13:59:00.003Z

Taken at St Anne's Cathedral

A prayer for Beverley #love #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-26T13:59:00.001Z

Taken at St Anne's Cathedral

In sickness and in health #love #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-25T14:33:00.001Z

Taken at Royal Victoria Hospital

To have and to hold #love #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-25T14:32:00.001Z

Taken at Royal Victoria Hospital

To have and to hold #love #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-25T14:31:00.001Z

Taken at Royal Victoria Hospital

The one that got away #derry #londonderry #northernireland #streetphotography #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-23T21:19:00.001Z

Taken at Altnagelvin Area Hospital

Waterside walk #derry #londonderry #northernireland #streetphotography #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-23T19:23:00.001Z

Titanic Belfast opening #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-23T16:47:00.001Z

Taken at Cornmarket Belfast

Cityside walk #derry #londonderry #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-23T14:40:00.001Z

Taken at Altnagelvin Area Hospital

Taxi Booking Office #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-23T12:55:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

Morning buses ready @translink_ni #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-23T07:21:00.001Z

Taken at Ballygowan Bus Yard

Coffee break #streetphotography #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-22T12:21:00.001Z

Taken at Caffè Nero

Objects of desire #streetphotography #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-22T12:17:00.001Z

Taken at Lunns Jewellers

Keeping Belfast tidy #streetphotography #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-22T12:15:00.001Z

Taken at Belfast City Hall

Coming and going #streetphotography #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-22T12:11:00.001Z

Taken at Boots

Woman descends #streetphotography #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-22T12:09:00.001Z

Taken at H&M

Entry adults only Gresham Street #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-22T11:56:00.001Z

Waiting for the news @niassembly #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-21T15:55:00.001Z

Taken at Northern Ireland Assembly

Welcome to Parliament Buildings @niassembly #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-21T15:52:00.003Z

Taken at Northern Ireland Assembly

Welcome to Parliament Buildings @niassembly #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-21T15:52:00.001Z

Taken at Northern Ireland Assembly

Belfast #hijab #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-20T17:33:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

DUP Advice Centre @simonhamilton @duponline #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-19T16:07:00.003Z

Taken at Saintfield

DUP Advice Centre @simonhamilton @duponline #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-19T16:07:00.001Z

Taken at Saintfield

Candle blown out #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-18T21:06:00.001Z

There will be romance @muppets #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T21:17:00.001Z

Taken at Odeon Cinema

Chiquito menu #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T19:43:00.001Z

Taken at Chiquito

Beer bottle chandelier #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T19:41:00.003Z

Taken at Chiquito

Beer bottle chandelier #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T19:41:00.001Z

Taken at Chiquito

Tyre's Puncture's #apostrophefail #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T12:58:00.001Z

Keep calm and Zamba @QUBSU #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T09:25:00.001Z

Taken at Queen's University Students' Union

Middle East in revolt @QUBSU #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-17T09:20:00.001Z

Taken at Queen's University Students' Union

Dinner candles #food #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-16T21:21:00.001Z

Shorn #tree #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-16T13:48:00.003Z

Taken at City Hospital Railway Station

Shorn #tree #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-16T13:48:00.001Z

Taken at City Hospital Railway Station

UVF / There is a better way #graffiti #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-15T15:14:00.001Z

Big thrills #ni2012 @discoverNI #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-15T15:09:00.001Z

Taken at City Hospital Railway Station

One Stop Ulster Shop storefront #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-14T11:34:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

Anti-abortion / pro-life advice #belfast #northernireland #streetphotography #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-14T11:33:00.001Z

Napoleon in #Belfast 01 #northernireland #streetphotography #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-14T10:49:00.001Z

Taken at Belfast City

Hanging utensils #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-13T22:20:00.003Z

Taken at The Barking Dog

Hanging utensils #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-13T22:20:00.001Z

Taken at The Barking Dog

Our Time Our Place #Belfast 2012 #discoverni #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-13T08:16:00.003Z

Taken at Belfast City

Our Time Our Place #Belfast 2012 #discoverni #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-13T08:16:00.001Z

Taken at Belfast City

Mr Bump Easter Egg #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-12T17:28:00.001Z

Taken at Tesco Knocknagoney

After dinner mints #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-12T15:38:00.001Z

Taken at Belfast Castle

Belfast Castle Sunday lunch #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-12T13:53:00.001Z

Castle badgers #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-12T13:50:00.001Z

Taken at Belfast Castle

Mr Ulster learns street photography

2012-02-11T23:20:00.001Z

Recently I took a one-day course on street photography, held at Belfast Exposed. My motivation was that while I learned how to use a camera 30 years ago (printing from black and white film shot in a Canon AE1 Program), I have been wanting to go beyond taking competent publicity shots and colourful tourist scenes.

I was intrigued by street photography, particularly about approaching strangers.

One of the first things we learnt was that you don't have to ask for their permission! Okay, but then how do you go about this?

Chris Barr was our tutor and was very friendly and approachable. In a concise yet comprehensive overview of street photography, he gave good practice examples of others' work. At one end there are the carefully prepared scenes where the photographer has a planned vision to convey. At the other end are the totally candid situations where often the image is grabbed immediately.

We focused on the this latter approach.

Bruce Gilden is a well know street photographer, and he does not hesistate when he's at work:

Meanwhile, the following video we watched examined the legal dimension of public street photography. In the United Kingdom, essentially if you are on public property, you are entitled to take photos of pretty much anything you want. I would generally cooperate with a police officer's advice, but I've always known that they can't compel you to delete any image or hand over any equipment (unless they are actually arresting you). It's the private security sector that isn't as well informed:

So, armed with all this knowledge and excitement, Chris led us out on a particularly wet day to several venues: St George's Market, Belfast City Hall, Castlecourt Mall, Smithfield Market, the Tavern Bar (Union Street), and finally a tour through the University of Ulster Belfast campus, where we reviewed some current students' work.

I very much enjoyed the experience. I was so anxious at the start. Chris gave encouragement, and I was able to keep calm and soon found my stride. This was definitely not something I would have ventured on, on my own. I highly recommend this course and Chris' tutelage!

I look forward to meeting up with some new street photographers, those from the course and others in Belfast and further afield.

Here are a few of my images from my journey (slideshow of all at end). All taken with an iPhone 4S. The phone's discreetness provides a noticeable advantage. Shortcoming is autofocus lag.

My first street photography shot of the day. I noticed this man stopping a young female shopper. Right after this shot she opened her purse and gave him some money. Victoria Square Mall, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This image a little more daring for me. I noticed this woman with her umbrella on the other side of the street while waiting for the light to change. I didn't want her to notice me, but she did. The clever aspect of taking these shots at pedestrian crossings is that people are less likely to challenge you on the spot. Victoria and Chichester Streets, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Three Dames. I am happy with the composition and timing of this shot. St George's Market, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Course classmate Thomas in the background!

I got chatting with this seller. Loved the blue denim hat. Didn't convert to black and white because the colourful yarns and jumper are part of the story. St George's Market, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

I saw this woman in outrageously large fur hat and was thankful the iPhone autofocus worked on this quickly grabbed shot; I did not want her to notice me. This is one of my favourites of the day. St George's Market, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

I was planning an unposed shot but then they noticed me and invited me to take one. I failed to ask them the significance of their sign. But I subsequently learned that they went through an ordeal from security authorities in Turkey during a holiday there. Belfast City Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

"Have you just taken a photo of me?" said this bus inspector. We then had a discussion, when he asked me several times to delete the image. I replied that I may or may not. I was grateful for the tutorial and legal briefing I had just received a few hours earlier. People may not like their photo being taken in public, but the fact is that it already happens all the time. This was my first street photography confrontation, I survived intact and am now a little more confident. But yes, a little scary. Belfast City Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

This is the elderly mother of the owner of a bric-a-brac shop. She sits in front of this electric heater and small tv most of the day. Another one of my favourite images of the day. Smithfield Market, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Pizza Girls at work #food #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-11T20:08:00.001Z

Taken at Ballygowan, Co Down

Muddy #running shoes! #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-11T13:17:00.001Z

Taken at Belvoir Park Forest

Addidas #running trail finish #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-11T13:14:00.001Z

Taken at Belvoir Park Forest

Addidas #running trail finish #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-11T13:13:00.001Z

Taken at Belvoir Park Forest

Absentee ballot by email #ohio #usa #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-10T12:15:00.001Z

Absentee ballot by email #ohio #usa #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-10T12:14:00.001Z

Belfast peace walls: A paradox of leadership

2012-02-09T12:40:00.001Z

At a seminar hosted by the Institute for Research in Social Sciences and the Inter-Institute Peace and Conflict Cluster, Dr Jonny Byrne of the University of Ulster presented his findings of three years of research in regards to public policy on peace walls (interface barriers) in Belfast. His presentation drew upon his 100,000 word PhD thesis and 40 interviews.

In response to intercommunity violence, formal interface barriers were first erected in 1969. There are now 99 identified barriers in Belfast. Dr Byrne noted how since local politicians and community representatives have gotten involved in the process since 1995, the number of new barriers erected significantly increased. Also, since 2010 primary responsibility for policy in this regard lies with the Northern Ireland Executive.

Back in 1971, an official Working Group on Peace Walls expressed its concern at the erection of interface barriers, that if they remained then the "abnormal becomes the normal".

Yet the barriers were not going to come down, and policy changed to one of pragmaticism, namely how best to create and manage them. Dr Bryne remarked that current policy, 40 years later, uses the same language.

His main thesis is that these physical barriers are not going to disappear on their own, so policy will need to be created and decisions made to bring them down.

This, of course, depends upon whether you deem peace walls as a problem, or a condition to be endured.

He said that there is a danger of the establishment of a hierarchy of segregation, as Loyalist and Republican communities are influenced by different factors in the discussion of how to progress this issue. To simplify, both start with a desire to improve community safety. But Loyalists express a concern of encroachment, with Republicans demanding more physical space to accommodate and expanding population:

One can see how this contrasting perspective reflects wider Unionist-Nationalist political dynamics -- one community hesitant to give what they would see as too much too soon to another community that is ever more confident with their agenda and demands.

And this was inferred in Dr Byrne's statement, "Segregation is more than the peace walls."

One slide showed the variety of agencies involved in peace wall policy (sic). Dr Byrne described the paradox of the roles of the Northern Ireland Executive and local communities, whereby local projects improve community relations and add to good practice, but local participants and community leaders look to the Northern Ireland Executive to provide a framework and guidance/leadership for further progress. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Executive's current position is that further progress will be determined by the local communities, not as targeted or seen to be driven by the Executive itself.

Dr Byrne concluded that the way away was for a concurrent top-down and bottom-up approach. For Belfast, his specific recommendation was that Belfast City Council be the primary agent to coordinate the rest. This elicited a response later from David Robinson (Good Relations Officer, Belfast City Council), who explained that its Good Relations Committee unanimously endorsed its municipal investment strategy that sets out a vision with codified aim of removing all interface barriers in Belfast.

Dr Byrne suggested that having dealt with interface barriers for over 40 years, Belfast is in a good position to work with other cities/areas that have them, some only joining this club relatively recently. In the subsequent Q&A session, I described my organisation's work for the Forum for Cities in Transition, which includes Nicosia, one of the cities listed on his slide.

I was intrigued by the paradox of roles that Dr Byrne described, and by a previous questioner who talked about diminishing returns of community based projects.

I suggested that Nicosia's -- who's had its wall for just five years less than our first -- may be useful. There, in the 1980s, the respective mayors of the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot sections of the city came together to deal with practical matters, namely cross-border water treatement. Success here led to other, ever more ambitious projects. Sufficient trust was established and a Nicosia Master Plan was created, which has as its aim the unification of the city. The mayors knew this plan would take decades to realise, but it is the plan that is being implemented today.

I am encouraged by Belfast City Council's vision and Good Relations work, mainly because the structural composition of its Good Relations Committee is the right one -- a combination of elected councillors and representatives from the voluntary, community, and minority ethnic group sectors.

This should be replicated at the Northern Ireland Assembly, with non-MLAs incorporated into a committee's work (or if that's not allowed, into an ad hoc working group).

I recall this approach during the discussions of establishing what became the Strategic Investment Board, when an Assembly committee recommended the inclusion of the voluntary and community sectors, on a basis that these sectors would be the delivery agents for aspects of its decisions. In the subsequent suspension of the Assembly, direct rule Minister Ian Pearson swiftly quashed this thought (in a direct response to me in a June 2003 meeting!).

This multi-agent approach is growing in popularity in community development work (e.g. Scotland; UU course on Civic Leadership and Community Development (declaration of interest!)). Whereas many (if not most) organisations treat Government Department consultation exercises with cyncism, projects that include various sectoral interests encourage trust. Whether this develops to a greater, Nicosia-style master plan is another matter.

Indeed, even Nicosia isn't immune to wider Cypriot politics, especially vis-a-vis Turkey and the European Union. Nicosia's municipal politicians know they aren't going to solve the Cyprus Question. Yet they all work in preparation for those higher developments.

So, the paradox remains between the local and the national. But at least leadership at the municipal level, at a cross-sectoral basis, demonstrates a best practice model for progress.

Q&A audio:

Morning meet up #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-09T08:46:00.003Z

Morning meet up #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-09T08:46:00.001Z

Self portrait 20120208

2012-02-08T09:43:00.001Z

Not easy to take self portrait obscuring the camera while holding it.

Car theory test pass

2012-02-07T14:03:00.001Z

Taken at Great Victoria Street Belfast

Here we go again.

Ulster Bank icon #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-07T13:51:00.001Z

Taken at Ulster Bank

Our Wee Country #football #soccer #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-07T11:48:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

One Stop Ulster Shop #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-07T11:47:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

Caged #bar entry #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-05T15:22:00.001Z

Taken at Union Street Bar

Branded al-Qaida terrorist by Thomas Cook #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-05T14:53:00.001Z

Red pregnancy #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-05T14:46:00.001Z

Jam & Olly's Country Stall #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-05T14:44:00.001Z

Taken at St Georges Market

The King & I @GrandOperaHouse #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-04T19:32:00.001Z

Taken at The Grand Opera House

After dinner jelly beans #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-04T19:20:00.001Z

Taken at Red Panda

Viva la Revolucion del Burrito #food #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-03T14:12:00.001Z

Taken at Boojum

Boojum addict #food #burrito #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-03T14:10:00.001Z

Taken at Boojum

A fistful of coins @UKTesco @BritishMonarchy #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-03T08:49:00.001Z

Taken at tesco express

A call for mentoring support @SOEtrust Together conference #SOEconf12

2012-02-02T17:48:00.001Z

In a work capacity, I was invited to attend the Spirit of Enniskillen's annual Together schools conference at the Wellington Park Hotel, which brought together over 100 Year 13 pupils from 20 schools across Northern Ireland, to explore and discuss 6th Form leadership for the Sharing in Education programme that is supported by the International Fund for Ireland.

I arrived for the afternoon workshops, and we were introduced to a video highlighting the overall work of the Spirit of Enniskillen, who were the winners of the Guardian Charity Awards 2011.

The first workshop was among practitioners. In our group, former SoE Director, Chuck Richardson, expressed his fear that the Northern Ireland Executive may support shared education programmes for economic reasons (i.e. the inevitable need to reduce stock of school buildings), but not include programmes that will prepare pupils for the mixed contact that will bring. Robin Wilson added that this risks what has developed in parts of Scotland, where pupils end up segregating themselves within the shared space.

The second workshop was with a group of about a dozen Together participants; I was the only non-participant. They asked themselves a series of questions about leadership among young people, how it could be developed. Some of them didn't see themselves as leaders, yet, but I said that I thought they were being a little hard on themselves -- the fact that each of them care enough to want to change something they don't see as right in their community and that they've put themselves through this course was evidence that they were already leaders.

But it became apparent to me that these young leaders aren't necessarily getting enough mentoring support. They all had praise for the facilitation during the course, and acknowledged those in their school environments, but felt they weren't yet given due respect in the wider community. Indeed, one participant remarked that she came up against a gatekeeping scenario, where the young leaders weren't given true ownership of a particular external programme.

My concern is that without leadership developed beynod these programmes, through mentoring, each tranche of SoE participants become pioneers but ultimately frustrated. An important factor for some consideration.

It was great to hear feedback from the participants themselves, in an informal plenary session:

Some points made were:

Together programme is useful because it brings people together to do things together, which otherwise isn't going to happen
Talking about contentious issues doesn't change your identity, but it does improve understanding of another's perspective
It builds confidence in speaking with those that you do not know
Participants serve as advocates for this work in their own schools
The importance of mixing with others at a younger age, "because we all live in the same place"
Discussions with others can be hard at first, but easier as you get to know them
The positive role that facilitators play

Department of Education Minister, Liam O'Dowd MLA, was a guest speaker and he made positive remarks:

The Minister said that building a new society requires leadership, and that the Good Friday Agreement was created to serve as a device to build a new society, with leadership at all levels. He said more than once not to let the politicians get away with all the leadership roles.

And that leadership can be lonely, and when they feel this way, to remember why they joined this SoE programme, why they set out on this journey -- to make change.

Ms Mary Southwell, International Fund for Ireland board member, also made some brief remarks, describing all the programme's participants as role models for society: "There is no doubt that our future is in really good hands."

It was up to Maeve Grimley (SoE School Support Worker and acting emcee, and as the Minister would have her, a future journalist!) to conclude the conference. She said that she hoped the participants enjoyed the programme's opportunities to meet others and discuss important issues. And fittingly, she evoked the memory of SoE founder, Gordon Wilson, whom she described as someone who wanted to enable ordinary people to do extradorinary things with good leadership.

Fun @SOEtrust conference #SOEconf12 #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-02T15:37:00.001Z

Taken at Wellington Park Hotel

Drug dealers are not wanted #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-02T15:32:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

Parking violation #car #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-02T10:03:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

Shaftsbury Square #map #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-02T09:59:00.001Z

Taken at Quik Snaps

Recruiting @nifoundation @sharedfuture @forumcities volunteers @QUBSU #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-02-01T10:37:00.001Z

Taken at Queen's University Students' Union

Aachen Printen #German #biscuit #cookie

2012-01-31T16:49:00.001Z

My corner shop Texaco #petrol #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-31T16:45:00.001Z

Taken at Texaco

Silhouette - Can't Keep Up featured

2012-01-31T12:47:00.001Z

Silhouette's song "Can't Keep Up" http://www.myspace.com/silhouetteofficial is featured in @DiscoverNI 2012 campaign advert http://youtu.be/KbctoBGog7I -- looking forward to her 24/2 live performance at Belfast Nashville series https://kiosk.iristickets.co.uk/k?BWC&sixof&promo=belnash12

The Creative Class and Northern Ireland

2012-01-30T11:06:00.001Z

As part of NICVA's series of masterclasses from its Centre for Economic Empowerment project, there was a morning seminar on the topic of the "creative class" (as popularised by Richard Florida) and its applicability to Northern Ireland.

The agenda was to:

Explain Richard Florida's idea of the "creative class" and the link between economic outcomes and the ability of a region to facilitate creativity and diversity
Explore the link between a successful economy and social issues, such as community division, crime and income inequality
Examine how Northern Ireland fares as a place that facilitates creativity and diversity, and what actions could improve its performance

In introducing the concepts and guest speakers, Lisa McIlheron (Head of Public Affairs, NICVA) highlighted some statistics in relation to tolerance, e.g. racist comments by co-workers and managers at migrant workers, homophobic comments at schools.

In regards to the costs of segregation in Northern Ireland, McIlheron highlighted that the siting of investment goes to the "neutral hinterlands", areas that are politically acceptable and practically viable, such as Sprucefield, the Titanic Quarter and the Odyssey. She argued that this is because "we can't get over the line of community division and its impact on the economy".

Dr Nick Clifton is a Reader in Economic Geography and Regional Development, and the first guest speaker. His interest is in how firms use networks to acquire knowledge and innovate, and the factors that influence the location choices of creative individuals.

Clifton gave an overview of the creative class theory, including the argument that whereas in the Industrial Age people followed jobs, in the contemporary Knowledge Economy jobs follow people (who move to "talent pools" or "creative cities").

His research applied the creative class model of Richard Florida to European cities. One interesting result was that social diversity on its own is not a determinate factor for creativity (which includes bohemian artists but extends to those who develop creative knowledge, such as industrial patents). Clifton gave the specific comparative example of English cities Leicester and Camden, where Camden is notably a more creative city with the same level of division as Leicester.

In discussing the Northern Ireland picture, Clifton displayed some data provided by the British Council's Open Cities project. Among British cities, Belfast does less well in: (1) openness; (2) migration; (3) quality of living; and (4) education.

Of interest to me is comparing other cities that have, like Belfast, experienced deep societal divisions. I produced the following graph, comparing Belfast with Barcelona, Bilbao and Cape Town (see link for definition of indicators):

So, in this set of cities Belfast performs better in areas of openness, freedom, barriers of entry, infrastructure, quality of living and standard of living; and worse in migration, international events, international presence, international flows and education.

Tony Macauley (now famous for his book and imminent film, Paper Boy) was the next guest speaker. He wants to know how Northern Ireland will address its divisions within its economic policies.

Macauley said that evidence of prejudice in Northern Ireland is not surprising, as it is a feature demonstrated in other societies in a post-conflict/transformative situation -- discrimination towards the "other" group gets easily transferred to any "other" group in its society, what he called a "dynamic of prejudice". He gave an example of his research experience in the Balkans, where surveyed individuals responded in a similar way towards "others" as in Northern Ireland.

He went further, and described how Northern Ireland's complicity in "an acceptable level of intolerance" led to a policy drift in community relations policy over the past ten years. That is, while there has been progress in good relations policy, there hasn't been much at all in areas of service provision.

Hard-to-reach individuals/neighbourhoods/communities are an example. Macauley prefers to use the term "low peace impact area", and he believes there is significant untapped talent in such areas, citing his own personal experience growing up in one and how education helped him to develop his skills and talents.

Macauley argues that the Northern Ireland Executive's currnet Programme for Government has the wrong relationship between a strong economy and societal tolerance and stability, i.e. instead of the former leading to the latter, proactive policies addressing the latter will help produce the former.

He was concerned with the long term viability of present shared education initiatives, as they are currently funded by philanthropies such as the International Fund for Ireland and Atlantic Philanthropies, with significantly less funding by Executive agencies.

Macauley also noted the Executive's draft Economic Strategy makes no mention of social diversity, and on matters of migration, only in terms of dealing with problems it presents, not as opportunities it creates.

He concluded by saying that the Executive's community relations policy, Cohesion, Sharing and Integration, needs to be ambitious and seen as a driver for economic growth. This provoked a participant to ask whether there was a risk of convincing politicians to support good relations not on intrinsic values. "Hypocrisy matters," replied Macauley, but added that in political terms, it was worth doing whatever it took to get the right policies into place. I sensed some in the room weren't entirely comfortable with this more pragmatic (if not Machiavellian) perspective. Yet this masterclass is part of a concerted effort by NICVA to better inform its clients of the decision making process, especially on policies that affect them in the voluntary and community sector. It is a professional approach, and I hope everyone in the room will apply the day's lessons well.

Sandy Row drug dealers are warned

2012-01-30T08:47:00.001Z

Taken at Sandy Row, Belfast

This warning notice greeted me as I entered my place of work. Plastered along Donegall Road and Sandy Row.

Wearing #gingham check #macro #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-29T21:14:00.001Z

Madame Oui's new fuzzy jumper #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-29T14:48:00.001Z

A vintage white VW #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-28T16:12:00.001Z

Taken at Tesco Extra

Loyalist sheep? #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-28T16:08:00.001Z

Taken at Ballygowan, Co Down

Party #belfast @irsp1974 @kremlinbelfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-27T15:09:00.001Z

Taken at The Kremlin

Holocaust Memorial Day Belfast

2012-01-27T10:33:00.001Z

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is promoting everyone to mark the occasion today with local activities as well as individual acts, such as signing a pledge.

For me, a particular significance is remembering that Nazism was about state-sponsored, systematic discrimination against entire categories of people -- whether Jewish, Polish, gypsies, homosexuals, the disabled, or anyone who over fraternised (contaminated themselves) with any so-labelled degenerate:

[A chart of prisoner markings used in German concentration camps. The vertical categories list markings for the following types of prisoners: political, professional criminal, emigrant, Bible Students (as Jehovah's Witnesses were then known as), homosexual, Germans shy of work, and other nationalities shy of work. The horizontal categories begin with the basic colours, and then show those for repeat offenders, prisoners in Strafkompanie, Jews, Jews who have violated racial laws by having sexual relations with Aryans, and Aryans who violated racial laws by having sexual relations with Jews. In the lower left corner, P is for Poles and T for Czechs (German: Tscheche). The remaining symbols give examples of marking patterns.]

Let's not forget that anyone who opposed the regime politically were also targeted.

For example, shortly after a suspicious fire in the Reichstag on 27 February 1933, Hitler requested the parliament to grant him absolute powers. Nearly all the members of the parliament did, but a few dozen did not. They were ultimately arrested and sent to concentration camps to die. These stones near the entrance of the Reichstag is a memorial to those parliamentarians (and I took this photo on a visit in 2007):

In the following video, the Holocaust Memorial Trust highlights its work and activites that have taken place in local communities. Belfast features at 7:40:

Belfast is hosting some activities today, which includes the screening of an HMD film at the Mid-Antrim Museum, running until 4th February.

Wish I'd had an earlier heads-up of these events, which I wish every success.

Gin & Titonic ice molds #drink #titanic #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-26T10:39:00.001Z

Taken at Waterstones

A sincere hug

2012-01-26T08:41:00.001Z

I absolutely love this sincere photo of President Obama hugging Rep. Gabrielle Giffords at State of the Union Address yesterday: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/0125/Gabrielle-Giffords-casts-her-last-vote-in-Congress-today

Time for the expert sparks #home #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-25T16:05:00.001Z

Taken at Ballygowan, Co Down

Sean Brannigan shows Connswater Community Greenway project @eastbelfastp #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-24T17:04:00.001Z

Taken at Newtownards Road

Sean Brannigan describes community engagement @eastbelfastp #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-24T12:55:00.001Z

Taken at Newtownards Road

Sean Brannigan is the Community Engagement Officer for the Connswater Community Greenway project in East Belfast. He is very enthusiastic and passionate about their work.

Learning about Connswater Community Greenway @eastbelfastp #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-24T12:45:00.001Z

Taken at Newtownards Road

Posting #airmail #letter @royalmail to friend in #USA #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-24T08:53:00.001Z

Taken at Post Office Bedford Street

Donating items @mariecurrieuk #belfast #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-23T13:53:00.001Z

Pouring Madame Oui a cup of #tea! #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-22T19:14:00.001Z

Taken at Scrabo tower

Welcome to Scrabo #Garden Centre #northernireland #iphoneography #mobitog

2012-01-22T19:10:00.001Z

Taken at Scrabo tower