Following the success of the City of Festivals project which has been running from June 2010 to March 2011 and genuinely connected targeted outreach participants across Belfast to mainstream civic celebrations such as ArtsEkta’s Belfast Mela, Diwali & Samhain and Festival of Colours projects, ArtsEkta are facilitating a further programme which will enable the delivery of three different programmes to two youth groups and two women’s group. The aim of this outreach programme is to continue to create access to cultural and arts activity to people in multiply deprived areas that are explicitly linked to high levels of racism and sectarianism.  Through an adaptation of ArtsEkta’s multi-award winning ‘Cultural Coach’ outreach programme and inter-cultural training the project aims to build positive relations at a local level and promote reconciliation.
 
In addition, the project will work with the Muslim community in Belfast to complete a participative and innovative outreach programme that aims to build the capacity of Muslim women through facilitating shared dialogue and encouraging cultural exchange. This in turn will assist in confidence building, supporting their integration and civic participation in wider society. Some of these programmes will build on previous engagement over the year, and some will involve totally new engagements. ArtsEkta aims to adopt an innovative approach with a strong cultural, cross-community and inclusive focus centred on the ethos of a shared cultural space.  

Nisha Tandon, Director of ArtsEkta, commented, 'We are delighted to be able continue working with Belfast City Council Good Relations to deliver our cultural awareness and capacity building programmes over the next three months, building on our current relationships with communities and creating new ones. ArtsEkta's sensitive, artistic and informal approach is helping to create positive change across the city, in paritcular building connectivity between the local and minortiy ethnic communities.' 

Alongside this ArtsEkta will be developing a publication which will document the story of the project over the last year. 

For more information please contact ArtsEkta by emailing info@artsekta.org.uk or tel: 02890 231 381