THE JUNCTION: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND PEACE BUILDING COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES. ANNUAL REPORT {INCORPORATING THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 The Iwstees, who are also the directors for the purposes ol company law, presenl their report and the unaudiled financial stalemenls ol the charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. Releren¢e and administrative details Registered char5ty name The Junction-. Community Relalions and Peace Building Chaflty reglstrallon number 101602 Company registraiion number N1632475 Principal off ice and registered 10-12 Bishop Street off ice Londonderry BT48 6PW Northern Ireland The Irustees Ms C Moffett Mr J O'Neill Ms R MeLaughlin Ms A Nicholl Mr B Dougherty Ms A Murray Cavanagh Ms C Jones Independenl examiner Mr K Mccauley Claremount Chartered Accountanls 43 Clarendon Street Derry BT48 7ER Struclure. governance and management The Junctlon.. Community Relations and Peace Building is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 1510712015.
THE JUNCTION: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND PEACE BUILDING COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT (INCORPORATING THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (conlinued) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Obhectlvos and acllvlll•s The Junction was founded in March 2000 by a group of community relations and peace building activists in partnership wilh Derry City Council, to support community relations and peace building. The organisation was named The Junction because of its ambition to be a comprehensive service provider for peace building work. Formerly a Peace Building Centre with a Resource Library, The Junction created a safe and mulually respecting space for groups and organisations to discuss highly sensitive and conlenlious issues. The Junction continues to build upon its sound foundational work and rack record in peace building and community cohesion, with an outreach across Ireland, North and South and further alield. Our Strateglc Alms The Junction has five core slralegic aims, which are informed by an integrative peace-building model. To provide accessible and inclusive community relations education and training with high quality resources and Iraining materials for wide dissemination. 2. To promote and support civic engagement and dialogue around Ihe themes of peace building through local, nalional and internalional outreach. 3. To share critical analysis pertaining to community relations and peace building with policy and decision makers. 4. To develop and deliver community relalions and peace building 'producls' that generate unrestricted income. 5. To build a strong, relevant, and sustainable organisation. Achlevements and Perfornmnce The financial year 2023-2024 has been a year of consolidation for The Junclion, as recently appointed core staff members, Kerona McDowell as Financial Administrator and Ruth Gonsalves Moore as CEO settled into their new roles. The small staff team has brought all reporting up io dale and are actively leading Out on programme delivery and forward planning. The Junction continues to contract and engage a number of Associate Consultants and Affiliate Facilitators for programme delivery. both as part of our core activities and additional contractual lender opportunilies.
THE JUNCTION: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND PEACE BUILDING COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES. ANNUAL REPORT (INCORPORATING THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (contlnued) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Achlevemeni$ and pertorman¢• (¢onllnu•d? A cornerstone ol The Junction's work is building the knowledge and skills base ol key stakeholders in civic society Ihrough the development and delivery ol a wide range of training programmes, workshops, and seminars. The Junction continued to work hard to respond to the good relations and peace-building needs ol the community and across the community and public sector Ihrough 202312024, Through the year we reached out to community groups across Northern Ireland, engaging almost 1000 individuals through our core peace building education and learning work, events and research supported by Strategic Partner lunding from DFA, Core and Project funding from CRC and Projecls lunded and contracled by The Ideas Fund. CCGBC including a wider reach Ihrough a number ol Shared Learning forums and networks. Informed by our inclusive and ethical slorylelling approaches, and with awaren8ss ol the far-reaching impact ol person-centred peer approaches, The Junction commenced a dedicated peer enquiry project, supported by The Ideas Fund, around mental well-being support needs in a post conflict society. The Junction contributed lo support stalutory policy development through a contract awarded by Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council to develop their Good Relations Strategy for 2023-2026. The Junctlon continues to engage associate consullanls, trainers and educalois, and as a result Ihere continues to be an ongoing demand lor our highly inlormative, Community EducationlLearning programmes, and in particular learning around 'partition', and 'lmperialism' and 'Palriarchy' as intersecting themes underlying conlemporary peace needs. It remains important lo The Junction that every individual who engages with The Junction is valued, whether embarking on a personal lourney ol sell.discovery and learning. delivering, or receiving training, or indeed wishing io challenge us in any aspect of our work. Communlty Relatlons and Tralning Our Community LearningraIning "Re-lmagining Relationship" programme continues lo be a key focus ol OLJr work, and the community learning work has been 'coupled' with a peer-support approach to Facililalive leaders. As a resull, we commenced a new 'Train the Trainers, course informed by Ihe 'Liberalion from Patriarchy for Gender Justice. resource (developed Ihrough Peace IVI, and this initial Training programme was delivered lo 14 Facililative Leaders drawn Irorn across Derry ancl Slrabane, Causeway Coasl and Glens and Co. Donegal. 11 was an important opportunity lo engage a number of 'next generalion, facilitators and it is informing our work around engagement methodologies and approaches, 11 also has aff orded us lime to explore and share peace-building eihi¢s underpinning The Junction Training programmes. Facilitator feedback has affirmed the value ol an approach which recognises the role of Facililative Leaders and enabled peer learning and support, which can go some way to address Ihe ongoing need lor updaling Training materials as policy and societal context evolves. Facililalor feedback also highlighls new learning needs around intersectionaliiy and the need lo engage all genders in Ihis work, and especially more men in Ihe conversalions around gender justice, and therefore ongoing needs lo work collaboratively and cross-sectorally, In the year 2023 to 2024 three six week courses on Living with Imperial Legacies were delivered in Limavady, Slrabane, and DerrylLondonderry. A further three courses on gender justice and patriarchy were delivered under the title "Re-lmagining Human Relationships" in Coleraine, rural North Antrim and DerrylLondonderry. We will be permanently grateful for Ihe research and development carried out by Dr Johnston Mcmaster on Living with Imperial Legacies and Dr Cathy Higgins on palriarchy and Gender Justice which has informed our training and learning programme. The Junction made a number of strategic conneclions through the delivery of this work. connecting with a number of Local Growlh Partnerships, and key CIV sector organisations including Droichead project Icullurlann Ui Chanainl, Wesl Bann Development Associalion, Radius Housing, Aontas Lifestart and Council-based GROS
THE JUNCTION: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND PEACE BUILDING COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT (INCORPORATING THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (Continued) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 Civic engagementldialoguelposilive encounter work around Peace-building Informed by principles core to The Junction's programmes such as Ethical and Shared Remembering and with an understanding of the value of 'slorytelling' In alleviating the medium and longer-term impacts on mental well-being ol individuals and communities emerging from conflict,. the Junction spearheaded a projecl entitled Changing The Story I tell Myself. This work was carried out in parlnership with Ulster University and supported by The Ideas Fund. The programme commenced with a series of residenlials and Ihematic workshops leading on to the design of community-led research and enquiry informing the developmenl ol a resource for mental well-being. The project engaged a core cohort 0114 individuals and professionals priorilising mental well-b8ing and led to the publication and the in-year launch ol the new Toolkit Changing the Slory i fell Mysell and Creative Film resource (Éimear Mccartney's First Day Out in Months, by Damian Gorman) lowards the end of 2023. Pollcy Development for Peace Building on previous policy development work The Junction submitted and were awarded a contract to undertake the Good Relations Strategy 2023-2026, supporting the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Councill in lullilling their statutory remit. This programrne of work involved an intense period ol consultation using a variety of methods (focus groups, one to one interviews, an online survey and a literature review of the policy conlexll, the results of which were analysed and formed a sel of recommendations for existing and new projects addressing good relallons across the CCGBC Olstricl. Flnanclal revlew The nel outgoing resources for the year were £39,899 (2023 £1701. The company reserves al the year end were £72,605 (2023 £112,504) of which £67,242 relates to unreslricted funds and £5.363 relates to reslricled funds. The trustees aim lo have a reserve covering at least three months expenditure at any given time. Plans for luluro perlod8 The Junction is in ils twenty-third year and its work on Ethical and Shared Remembering has been widely regarded as making a significant impact on shaping peace work in Northern Ireland and the border counlies. Recent publications addressing perlinent Ihemes will continue to be central to The Junction's work next year and into the future, as we seek to broaden and deepen our engagement, developing the curriculum and the methodologies through which we engage individuals and groups, as well as developing our associale and affiliate facililalor team. The Junction continues to be cognisant of evolving needs in Northern Ireland and the intersecting issues of sectarianism sexism and racism, as well as inlersecting equalily and human righls issues. We will continue our focus on Ethical and Shared Remembering as we seek lo find inclusive ways to remember the Troubles, both here and in other conflicled socielies, and equip and support civic sociely lo build inclusive and sustainable peace for future generations. The Junclion is looking forward to working through existing and new partnerships at local and regional levels, in the development of tailored learning programmes around integrative peace-themes {enabling cultural diversity, addressing the recovery of wornen's voices) through new opportunities including new opportunities afforded by European Peace Plus funding.
THE JUNCTION: COMMUNITY RELATIONS AND PEACE BUILDING COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES. ANNUAL REPORT (INCORPORATING THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT) (contlnued) YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024 We look forward to the dissemination of our new loolkil addressing mental well-being and exploring ils roll out across communiiy and educational spaces for Ihe betterment of mental well.b8ing on a posi conflict society and to an extension of the Changing the Slory I tell Myself project. The Board has formally recognised the work of Maureen Hetheringion for her many years of dedication to The Junclion and support in shaping our exisling and planned programmes and we are fortunate to be able to continue lo engage Maureen Hetherington as an Associate Consultant through 2023-2024 and inlo the luture- alongside other Associale Consultants and Aff iliate Facilitators whose significant knowledge and insights have enriched our impacl. Going forward we hope lo develop our AssociatelAffiliale Facilitator relationship and team, so that il also includes 'nexl generation, Facilitators. The Board is delighted to have a new team at the helm ol The Junclion who are actively continuing to build upon and add to previous work and Ihemes, and we look forward lo new initiatives and new opportunities Ihey are currenlly developing, The Junction is gralelul for the ongoing strategic support ol our experienced and committed Board members, as we continue to deliver challenging and important work in a professional and elhical manner locally, nationally and internalionally. Small company provisions This report has been prepared in accordance wlth the provisions applicable lo companies enlitled lo the small companles exemptlon. The trustees, annual report was approved on l Oth December 2024 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by: Roisin McLaughlln Trustee Carolyn Anne Moffett Trustee