Our Aims & Objectives
To improve community relations in Northern Ireland.

By developing an understanding of cultural identity while raising awareness around issuse of prejudice, justice, rights and equality.

By enabling attitudinal and behavioural change in young people and communities through mutual understnading and respect of diversity.

By creating opportunities to build relationships between young people and communities in Northern Ireland together with young people and communities in the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and beyond.

By promoting community relations and upholding the priniciples of the NICHS Community Relations Policy.

To provide the opportunity for young people and their communities and their communities in Northern Ireland to develop.

By providing social, recreational and educational programmes to develop young people's self-esteem, self-worth and self-belief in order for them to become more confident, aware, open, independent and skilled.

To enable young people to go beyond cultural constraints and make them aware of prejudice and its effects.

NICHS is commited to a policy of equal opportunity, anti-sectarian practice and to upholding the principle of working in a non-discriminatory manner.

Organisational Background
Northern Ireland has a population of approximately 1.5 million, since 1969 over 3,500 people have died during the Troubles and few have been left untouched by the years of violence. Many have experienced the anguish of losing a loved one, many have to cope with physical or emotional injury and most still experience the fear and tension of living in isolated, divided and conflicting communities. For more detailed information on the Troubles and the political situation in Northern Irelandvisit the CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) website: http://cain.ulst.ac.uk.

NICHS was established in 1972, at a particularly bleak time in Northern Ireland's history when sectarian violence was at its height. The organisation's original aim was simply to provide cross-community holidays for underprivileged Protestant and Catholic young people from areas most affected by the violence. NICHS gave these young people the opportunity for a break away from the sectarian tensions of their home environments. Since those early days NICHS has moved forward and has been pro-active in developing its work to meet the changing needs of the young people and the communities they live in. NICHS has helped bring together successive generations of young people from both sides of the religious divide and has helped thousands of young people to explore alternatives to hatred and bigotry. Moving into the twenty-first century, NICHS is a professional youth organisation, with its headquarters in Belfast and a branch office in Dublin, offering integrated programmes to young people on both sides of the border in Ireland.

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NICHS is a company limited by guarantee and registered in Northern Ireland, Registration Number NI 18372, and has charitable status, Registration Number XN 48644.
© Copyright NICHS 2003.