Getting back to where we came from
Lagan Legacy hosts a group of young people from different ethnic backgrounds as they go for a journey around Lagan land to share their heritage.
Belfast Newsletter. 30th November 2006
A very lively group of young people went for a journey around Lagan land at the weekend. The focus of their visit wasn’t just to discover Belfast’s maritime heritage, and there’s plenty of that, but to find out more about themselves. They embarked on the Lagan aboard the MV Joyce Too and enjoyed her vividly historic river route. Their own roots were vividly multi-cultural. They were teenagers from a variety of backgrounds – Moslem, Chinese and Polish as well as from Belfast and district. They’re working together on a venture aimed at helping them discover and express who they are by involving historic and contemporary objects. The weekend event was part of an innovative project where Belfast’s teenagers lead the way in claiming their identity as something personal and individual rather than accepting what other people want them to be. The scheme’s title is “Getting Back to Where we Came From”; a tongue in cheek reference to a cheap insult commonly directed at people who are perceived to be different – “go back to where you come from!” With guidance from the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education, Public Achievement and the Ulster Museum, the group is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Young Roots organisation and supported by Belfast City Council. Saturday’s participants were drawn from Hazelwood and Knockbreda Schools, Generation Y and the Muslim Family Association. The ongoing project provides an environment where they can have great fun while learning about themselves and each other. These pursuits are very evidently not contradictory! Saturday’s schedule had its silent moments while they looked in awe at the Titanic’s slipway and the Thompson Dock but the timetable didn’t rule out the use of the commentator’s microphone for some karaoke! (The river’s seagulls flew for cover!) Their intriguing project organises the teenagers around a combination of objects and artefacts from the Ulster Museum as well as items which are important to them personally; the idea is to trigger associations and share views. From the museum - a slave’s leg irons, and a pair of tiny shoes once worn by Chinese women who’d had their feet bound; from their own bedrooms – a CD, a poster, an item of clothing, a photograph.Together they talk about these things, and share their differences, often discovering that perceived differences can include unexpected elements of similarity. Their work will ultimately result in an exhibition to encourage others to exchange rather than change their culture and raise awareness of what makes young people ‘tick’ in Belfast today. And on Saturday they all ticked together on the Lagan. Jessie Chen outlined the morning’s activities “We spent some time planning our exhibition and then took a trip down the river to Titanic Quarter. We couldn’t believe that the place where the Titanic was launched has been so neglected until now. If the city took more pride in its history, then maybe people here would be more confident in themselves.”Project Leader Dean Lee said,”at a time when suspicion and ignorance are big problems, these kids are demonstrating that what they have in common outweighs what separates them. That’s an important message for all of us. This group is also showing a great capacity for creativity and hard work”’ Robert Heslip, Heritage Officer for Belfast City Council added “We can all learn from these inspirational young people. If we can encourage more interest in diverse cultures, there’ll be a brighter future for Belfast. Young people like these will help to create a city which welcomes diversity, but which also knows and understands its history”. Even though the group consisted of teenagers whose parents came from all over the world the Lagan and its heritage belongs to them as much as it belongs to us. But there’s plenty of it to go round!
The “Getting Back to Where we Came From” project continues until the end of February 2007 and will conclude with an exhibition in Belfast City Hall.
Robert Heslip. Heritage Officer. Belfast City Council.
For more information, contact the Culture and Arts Unit T: 028 9027 0461 or Dean Lee at NICIE on 028 90246200