view issue 25 new

Social Affairs magazine for community/voluntary sectorWebsite: viewdigital.org Issue 25, 2014

VIEW

BELFAST SAYSNO TO RACISM

COVERAGE INSIDE FROM PAGE FOUR TO PAGE EIGHT

VIEW, issue 25, 2014 Website: viewdigital.org

VIEW

EditorialVIEW, the online publicationfor the community/voluntarysector in Northern Ireland.

CONTENTSCONTENTSRise in racism

Page 8 Eva Grosman, co-founder of Unite AgainstHate campaign, talksabout the rise of racismin Northern Ireland

Talk on assets

Page 10 An upcomingconference in Belfast isto look at the use ofpublic assets by the community/voluntarysector

Digital training

Page 12VIEW co-founder Una Murphy,above, tells why it is important to use media professionals to get yourmessage across

Photographer Kevincooper has more

than 25 years experience in Press

and Prphotography. Kevin

works to a widerange of clients in

community andvoluntary sector

organisations as wellas the trade union

movement.

Kevin cooper

PHoToLinE

For quoTaTions

conTacT

E: [email protected]: 028 90777299

M: 07712044751

The alarming statistic thatthree racist attacks arebeing reported every

day in Northern Ireland shouldbe a cause of deep concern to all those who reject racialprejudice.

Last year, there was a total of 750 racist incidentsand 470 hate crimes reportedto the PSNI – an increasewhen compared to the2011/12 period, as documented by the 2013Northern Ireland Peace andMonitoring Report.

In a recent assessment ofracial violence in NorthernIreland from the Institute ofRace Relations, it was notedthat the vast majority of theracist attacks which have be-come headline news havetaken place in the middle of

the night at the homes of foreign nationals, usually fromAfrica or Eastern Europe.

In a recent attack in eastBelfast, the words ‘Locals Only’were daubed on the homes ofPolish families.

The mentality of ‘ourselves alone’ has to be

opposed if we want to live in amulti-cultural society. The daysof ‘white-only’ faces in Northern Ireland should be consigned to the distant past.

The weekend protests inBelfast, which were organisedat short notice, have to be welcomed.

Thousands of people, including representatives ofcivic society, attended theevent at Belfast City Hall.

VIEW covered this eventto show our support to anti-racism mobilisations. We willalso cover next week’s marchin Belfast (on Saturday, June 7)organised by Amnesty International, the NorthernIreland Committee of the IrishCongress of Trade Unions andthe Northern Ireland Councilfor Ethnic Minorities.

VIEW editorBrian Pelan

Sight loss help

Page 13 The RNIB haslaunched a new counselling service forolder people sufferingfrom sight loss

Time to dance

Pages 14-15 Harry Reidfinds out how dancersfrom DU Dance, left, inBelfast are bringingrhythm into the community

A touch of art

Page 17 US artist BorisBally, above, will be inDerry in August to showlocal people how theycan turn scap into worksof art

Website: viewdigital.orgVIEW, issue 25, 2014

Mayes Ownallah, left, with Aya Haja and Aya Muhammed who all recently took part in a Barnardo’s NI Language isFun! programme run in partnership with the University of Ulster Linguistics Department with student volunteers tohelp children from ethnic minority backgrounds with their English skills. For more information visit:barnardos.org.uk/northernireland

Derry mayorMartin Reilly, left, at the launch of the 2014 WatersideHalf Marathon,which takes placein the city on September 14


Thousands attend anti-racism

Thousands attened rally outside Belfast City on Saturday, May 31, to voice their opposition to racism


m rally in Belfast

Pole in Belfast@poleinbelfast

Thirty-two-year old Paulfrom Warsaw in Poland whohas lived in Belfast since 2010has set up a Twitter accountin response to the recent upsurge in racist attacks.

“I became appalled at howethic minorities living herewere being treated. In response to people asking me,I decided to call for a march inBelfast on my Twitter account as a way of voicingmy opposition to racist attacks.

“I will be supporting nextweek's march in Belfast (Saturday, June 7) which hasbeen organised by AmnestyInternational, the NorthernIreland Committee of theIrish Congress of TradeUnions and the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities.

“The demonization of awhole group by Pastor JamesMcConnell as “evil” was horrible. I also believe that ifany politician in Britain hadmade the remarks made bythe First Minister PeterRobinson, who issued a statement in support of Pastor McConnell, they wouldhave had to resign.

“I read Mr Robinson's subsequent 'apology' and didn't see anything in it thatconstituted a real apology.

“I feel threatened livinghere; I have friends who feelthreatened. I'm sure thatmany Muslim people feelthreatened because of the recent remarks about theirreligion.

“I also felt very upset at seeing how distressed AllianceMLA Anna Lo became whenshe talked to the Press aboutthe rise of racism here.”

Image: Brian Pelan


A number of organisations, including Amnesty International and WARN (West Against Racism Network) joined anti-racism protests in Belfast last Saturday, May 31 Images: Brian Pelan


Eva Grosman, co-founder of Unite against Hatecampaign and CEO of the Centre for Democracyand Peace Building, says it’s time to take personalresponsibility on how we communicate with others

Comment

The last few months have witnessedan increase in the number of hatecrimes and hate incidents inNorthern Ireland, but in recent

days bigotry has raised its head with particular viciousness.

All across Europe there is a rising tideof racism, prejudice and xenophobia.

Europe is slowly awaking after theeconomic crisis with a big hangover. Globalisation, ever changing social and fam-ily structures, value systems, youth unemployment, the drastically increasinggap between the rich and the poor –everything is shifting and not everyone cankeep up.

There is a sense of confusion, uncertainty and fear.

And, it's not a coincidence that whenwe talk about bigotry, we often talk interms of fear. Fear that blinds us. Fear thatproduces fundamentalism and manipulatesthe most vulnerable in our society. Fearthat tells us that our differences are toomuch to overcome.

So, is the problem of prejudice and

hate crime exclusive to Northern Ireland?Certainly not. What’s exclusive is thelegacy of the Troubles – the legacy of thepast, which crystallises into the reality ofthe present.

It seems that every issue here turnsso easily into ugly political arguments.

Victims and communities affected arequickly forgotten in the nasty exchanges,point scoring, tit-for-tat politics and hypedup media programmes like the NolanShow.

Emotions are running high, myths andstereotypes are constantly re-endorsed,communities are polarised further, not tomention the damage to the reputation ofNorthern Ireland and the harm to the wellbeing of its citizens.

People are disheartened and disillusioned by the lack of leadership.

Time after time we witness the “playground politics” in action, far removedfrom the Northern Ireland Executive Programme for Government goal of a“shared and better future for all, built uponthe values of equality and fairness and the

ethics of inclusion and good relations”. It will take time for our politics to

mature. Therefore, where do we start? How can we galvanise change? Per-

haps, we can all start by taking personal responsibility: focusing on the way wecommunicate – especially when faced withissues we feel very strongly about.

A Sufi saying comes to mind here: “Before you speak ask yourself: Is it kind, isit necessary, it is true, does it improveupon the silence?”

There are many difficult conversationsthat need to take place – conversationsabout immigration, individual and communal identities, dealing with the pastand the way forward.

Those conversations must be well informed and free from aggression, bigotryand hatred.

So before we speak, can we dare tosee the world through the eyes of another?

Can we dare to respect the difference? Can we dare to honour thedignity of the other?

Conversations must be well-informed and free from aggression, bigotry and hatred‘ ’

Racist graffitiwhich wasdaubed onthe homes ofPolish peopleliving in eastbelfast in arecent hatecrime attack

Edwards & Co. solicitors advises charities and the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland

on a wide range of legal issues including charity creation, charitable status and

constitutional matters, trading and commercial arrangements, employment law,

finance, fundraising and property law, as well as dealing with the Charity Commission

for Northern Ireland.

Our team offers a full range of legal services including mediation, wills,criminal law,

clinical negligence and personal injury claims, as well as family/matrimonial work.

Practical advice and a sensitivepersonal approach. We prideourselves on our unrivalledcommitment to clients’ needs.

Contact Jenny and Teresa: Edwards & Co. Solicitors, 28 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA.

Tel: (028) 9032 1863 Email: [email protected]

Web: edwardsandcompany.co.uk


By Una Murphy

ACONFERENCE to considerhow communities and voluntary organisation in

Northern Ireland could use publicassets is set to take place inBelfast.

Community Asset Transferwill be considered at the ‘The NIConversation 14: Making LocalWork’ conference and

participants’ opinions could helpshape government policy.

The Northern Ireland Executive has approved the transfer of surplus public sector assets to community and voluntary sector organisations.

Debates at the conference, organised by Development TrustsNI, will centre on what the policymeans for community and

voluntary sector organisations;which bodies will finance community enterprise, fund localservices, community planning and dealing with dereliction andregeneration.

It takes place at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, on June18 and 19.

• For more information, send anemail to [email protected]

Looking at assets transfer to

community/voluntary sector


NEWS IN BRIEF

Share your digitalstory with BBC

Co-operative call

Trafficking move

NEARLY a quarter of adults in NorthernIreland lack the basic online skills neededto send and receive email, use a search en-gine, browse the internet and completeonline forms.

The finding in the IPSOS MORI BBC Digital Capabilities Update has sparked amajor campaign to help people in North-ern Ireland improve their computer skills.

The BBC is the key media partner inGo On UK, is a cross-sector charity established by Baroness Lane Fox to make the UK the world’s most digitallyskilled nation.

BBC Journalist Letitia Fitzpatrick is currently looking for interesting, inspiringand newsworthy stories, showing how different life can be when digital opportunities are embraced.

“Our aim is to reach audiences acrossall of our output and platforms with quirky and challenging stories”, she said.

Email: [email protected]

THE DEADLINE for the ‘CommunityShares: Get Ready!” support programme run by Co-operative Alternatives is looming.

It is designed for communities, organisations and campaigners interestedin launching a community shares offeramong their supporters.

Community shares provide long termrisk capital and can leverage other funding.The shares are not speculative and arebased on the “one member, one vote”principle.

“Community Owned: CommunityShared” workshops will take place fromSeptember to March to show how community shares can be used to benefitcommunity projects

Download an application fromhttp://www.coopalternatives.coop/commu-nity-shares and return it [email protected] by June 16,2014.

A HUMAN Trafficking and Exploitation Ac-tion Plan for 2014-15 is to be publishedsoon, Justice Minister David Ford has said.

The Minister said his department hasalso been working to strengthen humantrafficking legislation. and been “workingconstructively” on amendments to theHuman Trafficking and Exploitation Bill.The bill is expected to be debated in theNorthern Ireland Assembly in September.

Mr Ford said the Criminal Justice Act2013 had brought Northern Ireland’s criminal law into line with the EU Directiveon human trafficking. The first annualhuman trafficking action plan was publishedin May last year.

Hot on the heels of the Pan CelticFestival, Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin re-cently hosted in Derry their

third annual Irish and Scottish step dancing festival

The festival comprised a variety ofworkshops, masterclasses and evening concerts with old-style step dancing

taking centre stage.Amongst the visitors to the festival

were Kerry singer and box player SeamusBegley, and original Chieftains memberMichael Tubridy, as well as Scottish step-dancing troupe Dannsa and Oireachtas dance champion Gerard Devane.

Above:

Two of the

many step

dancers at

the festival

in Derry

and left,

singer

Seamus

Begley

Stepping out in Derry


VIEWdigital Community InterestCompany at CRI (Cromac Regeneration Initiative) in Belfast

provides media training and consultancy tohelp improve the way community and voluntary sector organisations tell theirstories.

From digital publishing, broadcast andprint media communications, video production and social media we will workwith you to design a tailored package tomeet you and your organisation’s needs.

We ensure our media training givesyour organisation’s staff and volunteers theskills and confidence to face the media and

get your message heard. We also show your staff and

volunteers how to use inexpensive mediatools to make your own media contentand reach a wide audience.

VIEWdigital’s training associates areprofessional practitioners from the mediaand communications industry and have anunderstanding of the challenges faced bythe community and voluntary sector.

A range of learning techniques including seminars, hands on workshopsand one-to-one consultancy help to develop participants’ skills and motivatethem to put learning into action.

We evaluate our media training to ensure your organisation’s objectives andproposed outcomes are met.

VIEWdigital offers media training indigital publishing; ezine and magazine production and delivery; Broadcastmedia – getting your story across on TVand radio; video production for the weband communications strategy, including social media, press releases and pitching tojournalists.

For more information contact: UnaMurphy at www.viewdigital.org or email:[email protected] – mobile:07761486585

Use the professionals toget your story across . . .

VIEWdigital co-founder Una Murphy at 21st birthday event for VIEW Image: Kevin Cooper


NEWS IN BRIEF

Opportunity towin Orwell Prize

Digital conference

Help for homeless

SATELLITES and social affairs – the link iscloser than you think, according to Marie-Laure Germain from the Paris-based European Space Agency, Eurisy.

“When the Haiyan typhoon hit thePhilippines last year maps produced by aDutch gaming platform Cerberus wereused to support relief efforts.

“The start-up company had developeda game which involved players identifyinggeographic features on satellite images, shesaid.

Ms Germain added that satellite technologies were useful tools in the development of education and e-learningprojects.

She has helped to organise a ‘DigitalSociety and Satellite applications’ conference at the Ulster Museum, Belfast,on June 12 which will feature business involved in digital content and servicesthat change the way knowledge is sharedand experienced.

Find out more about the conferenceat www.eurisy.org/event-belfast2014/about

THE Orwell Prize for Exposing Britian’sSocial Evils has been launched to supportand encourage original, insightful and impactful reporting on social issues in theUK.

The new prize is a collaboration be-tween Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF)and The Orwell Prize, the UK’s most prestigious prize for political writing.

Claire Ainsley, JRF Director of Com-munications and External Affairs, said:“Journalism has always played a role in uncovering inconvenient truths.

“And today, with poverty predicted torise to one in four families by 2020 therehas never been a more important time forjournalists to unearth the very real prob-lems facing our country.

The prize will be open to journalistsfor work produced in 2014. More information is at available at http://theor-wellprize.co.uk/ in September.

A BELFAST-based charity has staged anovernight sleep-out to raise funds andawareness about homelessness.

100 Help the Homeless held the eventoutside Belfast City Hall on Sunday, June 1.

The charity was formed in early 2014by four people who had worked collectively within the homeless sector forabout 10 years.

One of the organisers, Kyle Heffernansaid: “We wanted to raise awareness andto advocate on behalf of the homeless. Wewant to set up an advocacy for the guyswho 'slip through the cracks’.”

Anew counselling service forolder people recently diag-nosed or living with sight

loss was launched recently by the Royal NationalInstitute of Blind People inNorthern Ireland (RNIB NI) atthe Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen.

The project has been fundedby a grant of £499,509 from theBig Lottery Fund’s Reaching Out:Connecting Older People pro-gramme which supports olderpeople affected by issues such as bereavement, disability or longterm illness or who live in resi-dential care or sheltered housing.

Looking Forward aims to pro-vide practical and emotional sup-port to blind or partially sightedpeople (aged 60 plus) at greatestrisk of isolation or exclusion.

The programme is free to ac-cess and will offer a programmeof a minimum of six face to face

counselling sessions and ongoingpeer support to help a personcome to terms with losing their vision.

Speaking at the launch of theproject RNIB NI Regional Man-ager, David Barnes, said: “This isan exciting and much needed newservice which will help prevent alot of the isolation, lonelinessand depression which often comes as a result of deteriorating sight.”

Joanne McDowell, the BigLottery Fund’s NI Director, said:“We are already seeing the reallypositive impact that the Connecting Older People programme is having on the livesof our most vulnerable olderpeople in Northern Ireland.

“The programme is supporting a range of projectsthat are transforming the lives ofolder people in our communitieswho are at risk of isolation.”

New service launched for older people with sight loss

RNIB NI Regional Manager, David Barnes, centre, at the launch of thenew sight loss project

VIEW, issue 25, 2014 Website: viewdigital.org Page 14Website: viewdigital.orgVIEW, issue 24, 2014

Mags Byrne pulses industrial quantities of energy and passionas she talks about her heartfeltconviction that dance can truly

be life-changing for anyone. When we meet to discuss the many

facets of activity that combine to give DUDance it’s unique personality, Mags isbuzzing from some welcome news.

She’d just heard that Merge Cru, oneof the youth dance groups from acrossNorthern Ireland, that she and her teamare involved in supporting and mentoring,has been selected to perform at the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival taking place in Glasgow in July.

“It’s fantastic. The young people inMerge will get the chance to be one of 36youth dance groups from across the worldtaking part in the festival. They’ll be

performing alongside contemporaries fromcountries as diverse as Namibia, India,Malta and New Zealand, so as well as the

confidence boost in being selected forsuch a showcase, they’ll be able to learnfrom and share with peers participating inthe stunning line-up of this internationalcelebration of youth dance.”

Yet as Mags goes on to explain, thisdevelopment, while an exciting one, represents only one end of a broad spectrum of DU Dance’s activities and theaspirations these rest on.

“Essentially our mission is to assistpeople from any and all backgrounds toembrace contemporary dance - in whatever form – from ballroom to hiphop – and take their involvement with it asfar as they want to.

“For many, this will mean being introduced to choreographed dance forthe first time. For some, this will involveparticipation in one short six-week

Mags Byrne, Artistic Director of DU Dance, tells Harry Reidhow the dance company she leads has both its feet firmlyplanted in community action

Passionate: Mags Byrne

Putting the rhythminto community

Some of the dancers, above and right, who take part in a range of community events in Northern Ireland

VIEW, issue 25, 2014 Website: viewdigital.orgVIEW, issue 24, 2014 Page 15Website: viewdigital.org

community-based project; others will takethings further by taking part in one of ourlonger programmes, while a small minoritywill seek to pursue dance as a career. Ourcommitment is the same to all no matterhow long their engagement with us.

“DU Dance is fundamentally aboutthe potential of dance to act as a transformative vehicle for both communities and the individuals withinthem. We exist to engage with all sorts ofpeople in all sorts of communities, bothgeographically-based communities andcommunities of interest’.

A brief look at just a selection of examples from the range of projects andprogrammes DU Dance is involved indemonstrates not only how eclectic theactivity they are engaged in is, but revealsthe underlying unity all of it shares interms of the company’s underlying

philosophy. “Highlighting specific examplesof our work shows our focus on youngpeople but also demonstrates other characteristics of the people who we areinvolved with,” says Mags.

“For instance we run a project inDungannon called Sutemos, which meanstwilight in Lithuanian. This involves peoplefrom Eastern Europe recently arrived towork in Northern Ireland. Then there is Alternative Energies in Ballymoney whichis an intergenerational project showing ageis no barrier to creative movement.

“Everyone can be involved in a DUDance project because the medium of expression is the body and everybody hasone. We harness fundamental movementslike turning, jumping, running, stretchingand through a process of bringing peopletogether, gaining their trust and exploringwhat these fundamental movements can

become and turn these into choreographed performances’.

“All of this involves DU Dance working with community-based partnerorganisations to facilitate processes of unlocking and releasing. We work withpeople to unlock their potential and release the repressed feelings that everyone carries which makes it an emotional experience for those involved.

“Many young people, young men inparticular, start off being self conscious andresistant to the possibilities of dance.While many experience phases of doubtabout what they’ve gotten themselves into,the performance in their community is almost always hugely affirming.”

• DU Dance is located at 35 Donegall Street, Belfast. Email:[email protected]


US Consul General Gregory Burton with resident Bertha Lyttle at the launch of the mural at PalmerstonResidential Home in east Belfast

By Una Murphy

AMURAL which will bringcolour to the lives of people living with

dementia has been unveiled inBelfast.

Palmerston Residential Homecommissioned the ‘Day and Night’mural from American professorChuck Hoffman and his studentshelped to design and paint themural.

Professor Hoffman from theUniversity of Kansas said he waslooking forward to gauging the response from the residents.

He said: “It is well

documented that art and colourcan have a dramatic impact on anindividual’s mood – the differentemotional reaction that theyprompt.

“Art and creativity still reacha person even when cognitiveskills have diminished.

“The task was the perfectchallenge for my students. To re-search dementia, to consider find-ings around how the brain stillprocesses stimuli and then to create a piece of art which hadreference points, that the majority of residents could relate too.”

Geraldine Gilpin, chief

executive of Abbeyfield and Wesley Housing Associationwhich owns and manages Palmerston Residential Homesaid: “Chuck Hoffman has a long standing relationship withBelfast, having visited the city numerous times and worked on various communityprojects.

“This project evolved out of adiscussion that started in May lastyear between Sally Campton,Abbeyfield and Wesley’s Volunteer and Activities coordi-nator, and Chuck who was inBelfast completing another muralproject in east Belfast.”

Bringing colour into lives ofpeople living with dementia


Artist towork hismagic onlocal scrap

US artist and self-pro-fessed urban alchemist Boris Bally

will be taking up residencein Derry throughout themonth of August, workingwith local artists to trans-form discarded street signs into some pieces ofurban art.

Bally will be leading aproject titled Reclaim theStreets, engaging withartists and craft makers ofall levels, from colleges tocommunity organizations, aspart of Derry City Council’sCultureCraft legacy pro-gramme.

Mr Bally has created agenre of work known as Hu-manufactured, which mergesart, design and craft to cre-ate functional and funkypieces of urban furniture, aswell as a wide range ofsmaller bespoke pieces,from coasters to jewellery.By using discarded roadsigns, usually dumped asscrap metal, Bally managesto recreate and recycle,while incorporating the eye-catching graphics of the sig-nage as part of his subjectmatter.

He said he was lookingforward to sharing his ex-pertise with local artists.

Artist Boris Bally inhis workshop inRhode Island, USA


Recently, the issue of Third Sectorchief executives’ pay came underthe media spotlight. The ‘revelations’ over some chief

executives’ salaries have led to negative responses from political and media commentators, indeed some were of theopinion that charities should be run by volunteers.

Whilst there are some excellent organisations which are run exclusively byvolunteers who do great work, as a gener-alisation this viewpoint displays a degree ofignorance as to how modern day charitieswork and what they are there to achieve.

The media interest in chief executivepay has raised uncomfortable questions forthose of us who work within the sector.

However, the uncomfortable questions are not linked to pay scales andsalaries. This information is already withinthe public domain, but there is a lack ofunderstanding amongst the public aboutthe wider questions of what is a modernday charity and an understanding of thecomplexities involved in running such anorganisation.

The landscape of the Third Sector haschanged significantly. It is a important partof the local economy and a major driver ofeconomic growth. It is a leading employer,employing just under 30,000 people inNorthern Ireland, more than either localgovernment or the agricultural sector. Theestimated total turnover accruing from theThird Sector is £1.2bn The total GrossValue Added (GVA) is £572m, equivalentto around three percent of the totalGVA of the region’s business sector. In factit has a higher GVA than our agriculturalsector which sits at £433 million.

The Third Sector in Northern Irelandis large, diverse and includes a wide rangeof organisations from small community andfaith-based charities to highly successfulsocial enterprises with annual turnovers ofmultiple millions of pounds. Many top management consultants have concludedthat running a charity is more difficult thanmanaging a public sector or private organisation.

Unlike other sectors charities have acommitment to improving their ‘triple bottom line’ that is maximising social outcomes, reducing negative environmental impact and maintaining financial sustainability.

Accountability and transparency arevery important to charities which needpublic support, public money and publicconfidence.

That is why we have argued for threedecades for regulation through an independent Charity Commission to support us in our pursuit of transparencyand accountability.

This transparency and accountabilityalso applies to remuneration levels.

The question of what level of pay is‘justified’ is one which each and everycharity trustee board has to decide forthemselves.

It is important to note that chief officer remuneration is set independentlyby trustees, who are normally all volunteers. The question of what level ofpay is ‘justified’, is one which each andevery charity trustee board has to decidefor themselves.

The public perception over the remuneration levels of senior staff is some-thing which all charities will have due re-gard to. The Institute of Fundraising states

that ‘when making the decision of thesalary amount by trustees, they have to remain focussed on delivering who theyneed to attract to that position to achievemaximum impact on their charitable objectives’.

If the trustees’ experience leads themto decide that this can best be achievedthrough paying a particular salary then thisis a decision which the trustees, after following an appropriate process, need tohave confidence in.

The work that charities do in homesand communities across our region is fartoo important to be side tracked by the‘salary issue’. We should be proud of thefact that charities are carrying out incredible work on a daily basis.

Those of us, who work in the sector,are driven by a desire to help make achange for the better that is what getseach of us out of bed in the morning.

Nora Smith, chief executive of Chief OfficersThird Sector (CO3) in Northern Ireland, arguesthat there is a lack of understanding about whatis involved in running a modern day charity

Comment

The landscape of the Third Sector has changed significantly. It is a important part of the local economy and a major driver of economic growth


The charity sector enjoysenormous public trustand is held in great affection.

The sector loses the confi-dence of the public at its peril. Charity boards, professional bodies and regulators need todemonstrate high standards ofgovernance, educate the publicand protect the reputation of thesector.

The revelations about the payof Chief Executives of NorthernIreland charities in the press recently pose a risk to the reputation of the sector.

This follows up similar revelations in the Republic of Ireland. Some public reaction hasbeen very hostile to the notion of‘fat cats’ and there is concern thatthis reaction will affect the abilityof charities to attract funding fortheir work.

Some months ago the BBC’sPanorama programme raisedquestions about Comic Relief whowere allegedly investing in armscompanies and some other campaigning charities allegedly‘softening’ their campaigns underpressure from corporate funders.

In the recent past public confidence in the press, parlia-ment, banks and business hasbeen rocked –charities are not exempt to this type of scrutiny.

The reaction to the pay ofcharity chief executives reveals amisunderstanding about whatcharities are in the UK and Ireland at present.

The public likes charitable activity –the support to individuals in distress, volunteerscoming together to selflessly create a community service or aperson who while in extremishimself or herself shows a concernfor others.

The outstanding example ofStephen Sutton who raised over£3 ½ million for the Teenage Can-cer Trust before he succumbed tothe disease is the essence of whatcharity appears to be.

The other version of charity isof a business world where organisations receive high levelsof government income and havean industrial approach to

fundraising. The public is not so keen on

this and often reacts badly tochuggers and telephone fundraisers.

This ‘industrial’ fundraisingreflects the reality of multi-million pound organisationswho employ professional staff asmanagers, finance professionalswho look after investments andother qualified staff (such as social care staff).

A whole salary structure exists in these organisations manyof which employ hundreds of staffsome of whom are on salaries atleast equivalent to what theywould receive if they worked inthe state sector.

Many charities in NorthernIreland are providing social careservices through contracts withHealth and Social Care Trusts.Similar services are run by theTrusts themselves or contracted out to the private sector.

These big service providingorganisations typically have incomes in the millions of pounds;hundreds of staff and are responsible for the safety and

welfare of staff and vulnerablepeople such as the elderly or disabled. It would be irresponsibleif they did not have professionalstaff receiving appropriate levelsof remuneration to lead thesecharities.

There are added dimensionsto this debate, when you considerwider remuneration issues, suchas pensions, bonuses, cars, privatehealth and other ‘perks’.

Whether these charities arepaying too much to their ChiefExecutives or if the salary detailsshould be kept hidden are seriousquestions.

Charity boards will comeunder increasing scrutiny to ex-plain their actions and so theyshould.

It is essential that the boardof a charity debates these issues,has a separate and transparentprocess for considering remunera-tion; and explains its approach tothe public and supporters.

• For further details about StrictlyBoardroom go to www.strictlyboardroom.com orfollow the organisation on Twitter at @StrictlyBoardRm

Alan Hanna, Strictly Boardroom associate, arguesthat recent revelations about the pay of chiefexecutives poses a risk to reputation of the sector

Comment

The outstanding example of Stephen Sutton who raised over £3 ½ million for the Teenage Cancer Trust before he succumbed to the disease is the essence of what charity appears to be


Lisa Green, Eimear Campbell, Paula McGlone and

Jenny Ebbage, from Edwards and Company solicitors

at a recent midnight fund-raising event in Belfast in

support of the Northern Ireland Hospice.

If you would like your community/

voluntary organisation to be selected for The Big

Picture in the next issue of VIEW, send images,

marked ‘Big Picture entry’ to

[email protected]

The Big Picture


This year Meningitis Re-search Foundation com-memorates its 25th

anniversary and as part of thismilestone year we are looking forat least 25 people to take part in aspecial skydive.

This really will be the experi-ence of a lifetime as you freefallfrom 13,000ft reaching speeds ofapproximately 120mph before theparachute is deployed and you flysafely to the ground in aboutseven minutes.

The event will take place inNorthern Ireland on September27 and September 28.

If it’s your first time jumpingout of a plane, don’t worry, youwon’t be on your own.

After being briefed on theequipment, exiting the aircraft,freefall and landing safely you will be harnessed to an in-structor as you take your tandem leap.

What better way to mark our25th anniversary year? There is a

£40 commitment fee and then weask you raise £370 in sponsorshipwhich we can help you to raise.

The Foundation relies onyour voluntary donations to fundits work in research, awarenessand support for people affectedby the diseases.

Your participation in thisevent could help save a life.

• For more information call02890321283 or

email [email protected]

Chance of a lifetime to take a giant charity leap

view issue 25 new

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northern ireland shouldbe

page eightview

showlocal people

thousands of people

belfast isto

view cofounder una murphy

belfast city hall

weeks marchin belfast