A new billboard campaign has called on the Stormont Executive to “finish the job” of peacebuilding.
Organised by The Peace Summit, a collaboration between several groups, a group of organisations, the billboard message reads “From division to peace, are we there yet?”
With the hashtag of #FinishTheJob, it will feature outdoor advertising in Belfast and Derry to state that the journey towards lasting peace remains incomplete.
It follows a recent commitment from the Executive to peace in the Programme for Government and coincides with the public consultation period.
The effort was led by the John and Pat Hume Foundation and Community Dialogue, with input from Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconciliation, Holywell Trust, Integrated Education Fund, International Fund for Ireland, Northern Ireland Youth Forum, Ulster University and Youth Action.
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Tim Attwood from the John and Pat Hume Foundation commented: “We have come a long way since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Yet, 26 years later we are still striving for a truly peaceful society in Northern Ireland and the dividends that should have come with it.
“Despite progress, division remains, whether in our education system, housing, or communities.
“We welcome the inclusion of peace in the recently published Programme for Government and its commitment to ‘ensure that everyone feels the benefit of a growing economy, improved environment, and a fairer society.’”
Stating this needed to be “more than just words on a page,” he called on the Executive to publish an inclusive peace plan.
Dympna McGlade from Community Dialogue said the end of the current Stormont mandate would mark “30 years of supposed peace after a 30 year conflict.”
But the promise of 1998 has not delivered the prosperous and reconciled society that we imagined, and so many people have been left behind across society,” she said.
“Passive peace has failed to convert to the active peace we need, the sort of peace that seeks to deliver for today’s society, one which has much more texture than orange and green, and one which should prioritise bringing people together rather than keeping them apart which so many government policies do.
“Standing still isn’t an option, and if we are to want more for future generations we must act now and be deliberate about peace – an absence of violence is an achievement, but it isn’t the end destination and so we are calling on the Executive to step up to the challenge of delivering the final phase of the peace process because it is clear that we aren’t there yet.”
Next month, the Peace Summit Partners will host an event at Stormont on the Programme for Government.
