Bridget Brownlow
For 20 years, the Northern Ireland Peace Education Programme has joined university students in Halifax, Nova Scotia with primary schools in Northern Ireland.
The students from Nova Scotia facilitate peace education and conflict resolution workshops amongst children across all sectors of the Northern Irish education system.
Career dedicated to peace education
The founder, Bridget Brownlow, a Canadian university professor and conflict management practitioner has dedicated her career to peace education, mediation and conflict resolution with an emphasis on contributing to the peace process in Ireland.
She explains that her grandfather was from the Shankill area in Belfast and this connection has allowed her to forge trust across communities. “I believe that the people on the island of Ireland understand the real cost of violent conflict,” Brownlow says, regarding what drew her to her work in Ireland.
Brownlow adds, “I endeavour to meet people in the spirit of humility and service; my role is as the facilitator of meaningful connections, relevant education and skill-based training in conflict resolution.”
Cooperative effort
She’s quick to point out that this type of work is a cooperative effort which has taken many years to build and expand. She has the support of individuals such as General John de Chastelain and Dr. Mary McAleese, as well as a wide range of organisations in Ireland and Canada.
“The Presidential Distinguished Service Award belongs to thousands of people over the past 20 years who have made this program possible. I can't emphasise this enough. What I've done as a recipient of this award is to closely examine what could be accomplished by leveraging this honour to further serve the interests of continued peacebuilding in Ireland,” she says.
Cross-community and cross-border peacebuilding
Currently, efforts are underway to secure a permanent centre in Belfast to expand on cross-community and cross-border peacebuilding. Brownlow and colleagues envision a place where people feel welcome no matter what their background.
The intention is to bring together other nonprofits and community agencies under one roof to learn and share knowledge surrounding conflict resolution and other restorative practices.
She is currently working on a project to introduce different perspectives on restorative practices, including Canadian Indigenous restorative practices, saying: “I am very interested in facilitating connections between the Indigenous peoples of Canada and of those living on the island of Ireland.”
Restorative practices and conflict management
She is always looking to meet and engage with others who have an interest in the various projects she helps to coordinate, and invites those with a genuine interest in peace education, restorative practices and conflict management to connect and discuss common areas of potential cooperation across the island of Ireland.
Brownlow says, “It has been the privilege and honour of my lifetime to have had the opportunity to contribute to the Irish peace process. I’ll do whatever I can for the remainder of my life to dedicate my time and energy to this essential work in peace building on the island of Ireland.”