Partner Organisations

Footprints Women’s Centre

Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People

Northern Ireland Women’s European Platform

Training for Women Network

Women into Politics

Women’s Tec

Footprints Women’s Centre has provided services for women and children within the Colin Neighbourhood since 1991.  The Centre has evolved from a strong self-help ethos and operates within a Community Development context.

The Centre is a valuable asset within the community and has developed a diverse range of services that have filled a gap caused by the lack of investment, both private and statutory, in the Colin neighbourhood.  The Centre operates as a Social Enterprise with a view to supporting services directly of benefit to women and children.  Footprints Daycare facility remains the only provision of its kind within the Colin area and Footprints Trading Ltd has created employment in an area of multiple deprivations.

The Centre works with 400 women per week and up to 90 children, they employ 35 staff. Services offered:

• Drop in and listening ear
• Advice and advocacy
• Health awareness
• 50+ Group
• Volunteering opportunities
• Adult learning
• Children’s services
• Refresh catering services

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Patricia Lewsley is the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children & Young People. Her job is to promote and safeguard the rights and best interests of children and young people to help them challenge and change the world in which they live!

The Commissioner’s role is defined in the legislation setting up the Office – The Commissioner for Children and Young People (Northern Ireland) Order 2003. The Commissioner’s principal aim is described in the legislation as “to safeguard and promote the rights and best interests of children and young persons”.

The Commissioner has to report to the Assembly and Parliament about her work and how the budget is spent.

While the detailed powers are set out in the legislation they can be grouped under three main areas of work:

• Promoting children’s rights – the Commissioner is guided by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international agreement setting out how children should be treated and the rights that they have. The Commissioner is developing fun ways of communicating with young people and encouraging their participation in decisions.

• Complaints and Legal action – the Commissioner can deal with individual complaints from children and young people, or their parents/guardians about government services like education, health, adoption and fostering, youth justice, road safety – indeed any service that impacts on those under 18*. The Commissioner has to take account of any existing complaints mechanism first. Where appropriate the Commissioner can start or take over legal proceedings on behalf of a child or young person if a general principle is at stake.

• Research and Inquiries – the Commissioner wants the Office to base all its work on helping children and young people on thorough research. The Commissioner has been working with universities and other agencies to do this. The Commissioner has the power to undertake general inquiries into issues where she believes children are being adversely affected. This may be an informal inquiry or more formal with the powers of the High Court to summons witnesses, obtain documents and enter premises. She can also respond to request from the Assembly and Parliament to look at issues. The Commissioner is also required to review the ways that those providing services for children listen to complaints and take acount of childrens' views.


To find out more information visit www.niccy.org

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NIWEP works at a local, European and international level

At local level:

• Shares experience and information with women, groups and other partners and sectors
  
• Supports the Older Women's Network Northern Ireland
  
• Works with other groups on policy development, equality and human rights
  
• Responds to consultation from the Programme for Government on local issues

At European level:

• Works on planning and action with the European Women's Lobby, seeking change in violence against women, migration and trafficking and employment rights

• Contributes to European debate including the enlargement of Europe and the Convention Reports on work done by women in other European Union Member States and opportunities for change

• Makes links with European vehicles for change and with Northern Ireland Executive's office in Brussels

At international level:

• Has special consultative status with the United Nations and develops the opportunities for women in Northern Ireland to participate at international debates and to share outcomes

• Raises discussion among women in Northern Ireland preparing a response to the Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW)

• Takes the views of women from Northern Ireland to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held at the UN Headquarters each year

To find out more information visit www.niwep.org.uk

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Established in 1996, Training for Women Network (TWN) is Northern Ireland's leading network for the promotion of women's training and development, through policy, training, networking and education.

TWN is ideally placed as a first stop shop for women in Northern Ireland seeking information on training, development and entrepreneurship. TWN is one of the largest network's in Northern Ireland with a membership that encompasses a wide variety of groups, individuals and organisations from the public, private and voluntary/community sectors. TWN's activities seek to encourage women to look at opportunities for advancement in a variety of ways.

Additionally TWN acts as an Implementing Body under the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation for the delivery of Measure 1.5 - Positive Action for Women. To date TWN has allocated and managed in excess of £10.35 million to projects throughout NI delivering training and development for women.

TWN is a non-profit organisation which aims

• To advance, promote , develop and co-ordinate provision of accessible, high quality vocational and pre-vocational education and training for women in Northern Ireland leading to sustainable employment
• To facilitate vertical and horizontal integration of women in the labour market
• To provide a range of services to members and promote good practice in training for women
• To encourage and empower women to take up leadership roles and become involved in decision making in public and professional life

TWN is especially keen to support actions that will

• Breakdown barriers to training and employment for women 

• Introduce innovative pilot projects which others can emulate 

• Help women gain access to occupations in which they have traditionally been under represented 

• Assist women in vulnerable and declining employment sectors to re-train themselves for potential employment 

• Promote accredited training projects to help women progress in their chosen career

For more information visit www.twnonline.com

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Women Into Politics is a cross-community organisation, practicing and encouraging the principles of democracy, feminism and community development.  We are independent of all political parties, promote good relations and actively encourage the participation of women in all their diversity.

Communities cannot be developed from without and must build their internal capacity for change and growth.  We bring together women, encouraging their involvement in negotiation and conflict resolution to build a more positive future for everyone.

Women Into Politics aims to raise awareness of the principles of community relations and strategies for building peace and promoting reconciliation.  We seek to contribute to the development of new methods of decision-making that ensure equal opportunities for participation.  We encourage and support women in acquiring the skills and knowledge necessary to enter or to progress in public life.

Women Into Politics works in partnership with grassroots organisations in a cross-community context and in co-operation with elected representatives and policy makers for the advancement of women and to the benefit of the women's sector.

History

WiP was first conceived in 1993 at Downtown Women's Centre in response to an International Women's Day Conference.  A workshop at the conference, Breaking the Silence - Women Speak Out, highlighted women's fears surrounding the political stalemate in Northern Ireland.

WiP took the initiative during the first ceasefire period to encourage discussion and dialogue between women about how they felt about entering male dominated arena of politics and public life.  Since then we have brought women together to talk about issues of concern and have created a space to explore our political difference and similarities.

Who is the project for?

At first WiP worked with women from Greater Belfast who had been actively working for change in their local community or in the wider political community. This current phase will work with women from throughout Northern Ireland to remove the barriers that make it difficult for women to participate in politics and public life.

Why?

• Women make up 51% of the population, yet in Northern Ireland we are virtually invisible in public life and politics.
• Women are often portrayed in limiting and stereotyped ways by the media and other institutions.
• Women's concerns and interests are usually placed at the bottom of the political agenda - for example domestic violence, access to education, childcare, reproductive choice.
• The narrow definition of 'politics' here means that the valuable work carried out by women in their local communities is underestimated and largely unnoticed.
  

For more information visit www.womenintopolitics.org

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The WOMEN'STEC is the largest quality provider of training for women in non-traditional skills in Northern Ireland.

Based in Belfast, the organisation enables women to return to employment in non-traditional sectors and contributes to reducing the chronic skills shortage in the Construction and ICT industries.

TEC stands for Training, Enterprise and Childcare, as the organisation provides such valuable facilities to women who are socially and economically disadvantaged, ultimately offering them new career and life perspectives.

For more information visit www.womenstec.com

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