History

Public Achievement began work in Northern Ireland in 1999, following a visit the previous year to the Hubert Humphrey Center at the University of Minnesota by a group of 'civic educators' from Northern Ireland. The group visited St Bernard's School in St Paul, Minnesota where they were introduced to a programme called Public Achievement. The group were so impressed with the young people at the school and the work they were doing with assistance from 'coaches' from the University, that they decided to pilot and adapt the programme in Northern Ireland. The politicians of Northern Ireland had just agreed the 'Good Friday Agreement' at that stage, and just after the group returned home, a refererndum on the Agreement was held simultaneously in both parts of Ireland. media group

The first groups were in community settings in a pilot project supported by the National Lottery and the first EU Peace Programme. At the beginning of 2003, the organisation employed its first Director, Paul Smyth, and the organisation expanded rapidly from a base of 2 staff to at its peak 14 staff. The work expanded into schools (in response to the new citizenship curriculum) and museums (in association with the Irish Museums Association).

As the work expanded in Northern Ireland, interest in ways of working democratically with young people also grew in other parts of the world, and we now have a strong parnership with colleagues in the Middle East, Europe, South Africa and in the USA. Together with the Youth Council for Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster, we created a project called 'Youth Work in Contested Spaces' which brings together leading practitioners, researchers and policy makers from youth work communities around the world.

Other innovations included the 'Where Is My Public Servant?' (WIMPS) project, our developing coach training programme (with accredited training being developed in association with Queen's University and the George Williams YMC College - London) and a project entitled 'Training Educators for Change, supported by the US Institute for Peace, the Department of Education (Community Relations Branch) and the Community Relations Council (Peace II).

Public Achievement faced serious funding problems from mid 2005 to the summer of 2006, due to the scaling down of the EU Peace Programme, and a more difficult funding climate for voluntary organisations. However, the organisation is in the middle of a second period of growth, thanks to new funding from a range of sources and the success and reputation of our programmes. Moving forward, Public Achievement is developing new projects addressing the impact of violence in the lives of young people, building a culture of learning in local communities (in association with Dr Jerry Stein of the University of Minnesota), our award winning WIMPS project, continuing our work on youth work in conflict regions, and expanding our work in Museums. Check the 'what we do' section for updates on our work.