Organized by Asulis Discourse, Dialog and Democracy Laboratory of Hrant Dink Foundation, the panel titled “The Role of Youth Work in Peace-Building: North Ireland Experience” was held on October 15 in Anarad Hığutyun Building, Havak Hall. Moderated by Aylin Dilaver Vartanyan from Boğaziçi University Peace Education Application and Research Center, the panel was held with the participation of Martin McMullan from YouthAction Northern Ireland, who has been involved in multiple peace-building initiatives in Europe and Africa.

Emphasizing the importance of youth’s participation in peace-building process in terms of establishing and maintaining peace, McMullan talked about the pilot game which they designed for appealing young people and create a discussion platform for them. Talking about his initiatives aiming to encourage young people to be a part of peace-building in divided societies, McMullan told about the works he conducted in Northern Ireland to build a permanent peace after the conflict.

About McMullan (Assistant Director, YouthAction Northern Ireland)

Since qualifying as a professional Youth and Community worker in 1997 Martin has worked for YouthAction Northern Ireland. He has been actively involved in the practice and strategic development of gender-conscious practice, peace-building work, youth participation, inclusive practices (LGBT, Traveller), area-based youth work strategies and widening access for young people to further and higher education. He has helped to secure over €6 million of funding from the European Regional Development Fund to develop localised initiatives which support peace-building with young people across divided communities in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland.

McMullan has been involved in multiple peace-related initiatives across Europe and Africa. He was a member of an academic/practice research team within the Western Balkans exploring youth issues within a contested society; he presented as part of the Peace Network of European Cities and regions seminar in Cyprus; presented as part of a University of Tennessee initiative in Cape-town: “The role, contribution and challenges of youth work in addressing conflict and violence in Northern Ireland”; and presented at the Brussels 7th European Union conference.

McMullan has been actively involved in academic-practice based research projects related to young men and violence, young men and education, area-based research and most recently through his PhD at the University of Southampton “Separation and Sectarianism in NI: a perspective-based evaluation on the contribution of youth work.”