arlier, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland Coordinator Darryl Petticrew described how he became involved in PeacePlayers International, and what the program means to him. Today, Darryl explains what he learned while getting certified to teach a course to the PPI – NI Leadership Development Team.

Over the past four months I have been participating in a course called Living with Diversity. It is an Open College Network (OCN) Level 3 course offered by YMCA Ireland. The objective of the course is to focus on issues around diversity and how to deliver community relations sessions while taking this into account. The participants ranged from youth workers and integrated school teachers to Police officers. I was by far the youngest person in the course, and surrounded by a wealth of experience in other participants.

I picked up new skills and increased awareness, but for me the most meaningful learning was the experience of the course. It hit some very hard issues and raised great points for discussion. As well as discussion, the course offered two panels for questioning and answering sessions. One panel consisted of political representatives from the major parties in Northern Ireland.  Before this session I had no interest in politics at all; however my eyes were opened to what seems like a lack of real leadership and representation of the population in the politics of this country. The voting percentage of the last election was under 50% – a reflection of the little faith we in Northern Ireland have in our politicians. This further reinforces the importance of the work organisations like PeacePlayers is doing.

The second panel gave us opportunities to speak with the Historical Enquiries Team, the WAVE Trauma Centre (which supports those who have lost loved ones due to political violence in Northern Ireland), and Pat Magee, an ex-paramilitary. This was an amazing opportunity to listen to people who have been directly affected by the troubles in Northern Ireland.

Living with Diversity has opened my eyes in many different ways and I have built some amazing relationships. A very significant thing for me was the opportunity to speak with Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers. The police in Northern Ireland are constantly under pressure and in many cases disliked. However, I was able to see the human side to the PSNI and look beyond the uniform and totally transform my perception.

The training has also provided me with the chance to deliver an OCN accredited course for PeacePlayers. For our up and coming Leadership Development Programme residential I will be delivering a level 2 Reconciliation and Peace Peer course over three weekends.arlier, PeacePlayers International – Northern Ireland Coordinator Darryl Petticrew described how he became involved in PeacePlayers International, and what the program means to him. Today, Darryl explains what he learned while getting certified to teach a course to the PPI – NI Leadership Development Team.