N.Belfast: right people + right attitude = success

The last few weeks I have visited Ashton Community Centre in North Belfast, within which operates an incredible community model of Fablab Belfast (maker space), New Lodge Arts, North Belfast Social Enterprise Hub, a Youth Centre and a number of connected local community projects. It's in an area of high unemployment, streets of boarded up houses and many youngsters growing up with a lack of hope. Yet, despite the challenges, it's a very simple model that works incredibly well - community collaboration on community projects + the right tools + a collective vision + the right people + a 'can-do' attitude where no one gets left behind. Last night I was delighted to see them being showcased on TV on the True North series:

In the programme you'll see the incredible Paddy O'Hare from Fablab, inspiring, engaging, motivating and most importantly, not giving up on people. Give Paddy the tools (that they have at Fablab - which is part of a global open-source movement out of MIT), add his own knowledge, experience and local methodologies - and he achieves great results. Small individual goals, often with those with no hope. Personal successes which are starting to add up to achieve social change on a slightly bigger level.

I've met Paddy a couple of times now and he is truly one of NI's unsung heroes. He inspires and he changes lives .. and there's not many of us who can say we do the same. When you walk around the Ashton Community Centre you meet Adam Wallace (Fablab), Katrina Newell and Anne Delaney (New Lodge Arts), Ciara Rea (Social Enterprise) ... and others, all of the same mould, all unsung heroes achieving great things. The 'can-do' attitude is incredible. In my time here in NI I don't think I've met a natural collaboration like it, especially one that quietly achieves so much under the radar.

Yet within the square mile from Ashton there is also the thriving North City Business Centre (a business park nearly at full occupancy) managed by another 'Can do' person in Peter Tomlinson. Business start-up and growth in one of the so-called deprived areas of the city.

There is also the Duncairn Centre, a relatively new arts centre which has been set up phenomenally well and proves the theory of 'Build it and they will come' - operating already at near full capacity with gigs, workshops, performances and classes. You guessed it, the vision of Rev Dr Bill Shaw brought it to life, and the energy and passion of folks like Ray Giffen have made it happen. An hour with Ray and you can't help but feel enthused for the quiet evolution of the area that is clearly happening beneath the surface.

Social and economic change, particularly in 'deprived' areas, cannot happen with buildings alone. A few people jokingly talk about the number of White Elephants you can spot in Belfast on Google Earth. It's not enough to just put up a building, make it look pretty, add wifi and things will happen. Social and economic change also cannot happen with just running it on a proven, successful, model. There are some great crowd and social models that are proven to work well just now - they are cheap, fast and can achieve incredible instant results if executed properly (e.g. local fund set up by random local person to raise money for neighbour in need that goes viral and raises ￡1m+ within 7 days). However, deployed incorrectly by the wrong people, and they can do more harm than good as the crowd fails to gather, goals aren't achieved, community splits appear and it puts people off getting involved again in future.

The key to long term social and economic change is surely finding and empowering the right people, as proven in N.Belfast. Showcasing and celebrating their successes, no matter how small. In N.Ireland, I feel, that we don't showcase and celebrate our most hard working, innovative and creative people enough. The focus is too often on the shiny building that the politicians open or back-slapping for a tick box well ticked! It may be the constant negative politics here, where it's all about finding the negatives, willing good things to go wrong for point scoring - maybe that spreads into our every day lives? Who knows.

What I do know is that in a one square mile area of North Belfast, great things are being achieved, mainly as a result of a few people who are doing phenomenal things because they have the right set up, the right model, the right tools, a simple vision, a can-do attitude ... and they are empowering others to dare to be different, to disrupt, to not give up and to leave no one behind. I can see this spreading through BT13, BT14 and BT15. It's great, I love it and I applaud it. Most importantly, I applaud the people.

You might not have time to watch the programme above, but if you want to see how folks from North Belfast are combining global ideas with local knowledge and achieving great things - it's worth a watch.

"If this can work here ... "

Links:

https://www.ashtoncentre.com/

https://www.newlodgearts.com/

https://www.north-city.co.uk/