By:

At the 6th International Conference on Diversity in 2006, participants from Northern Ireland and Canada had the opportunity to meet and learn more about the diversity of their respective countries. During the course of the event it became apparant that there are some interesting parallels between Irish Travellers in Northern Ireland and First nations people in Canada. Since then, First Nations community development workers from Canada have travelled to Northern Ireland to speak and conduct workshops with a range of Irish Traveller organisations and Irish Travellers themselves. During this colloquium 4 presenters representing organisations working directly with Irish Travellers and First Nations people, Northern Ireland's Racial Equality Unit and the University of Ulster will present a joint paper. This paper will explore: - The value and potential of this type of exchange between indigenous groups -particularly in relation to sharing promising practices around community development; - Some of the shared challenges - past and present- facing Irish Travellers and First Nations people;- How the cultural uniqueness of Irish Traveller and First Nations people can be articulated and contribute to larger society in both Northern Ireland and Candada;- The scope for and limits of integration of these indigenous minorities;- The commonalitites and differences between approaches to change regarding Irish Travellers and First nations people - especially in relation to rights-based approaches, the integration of indigenous knowledge and experience, and community-led development.- The policy frameworks/contexts for provision of support to Irish Travellers in Northern Ireland and First Nations people in Canada, as well as the policy implications of different approaches to change.

Stream: First Nations, Indigenous Peoples

Paper: Sharing the Story

Helen Lewis is Policy/Practice Co-ordinator at INCORE. She leads a range of projects and programmes aimed at making INCORE's research more accessible to policymakers and practitioners, and improving peacebuilding policies and practices on the ground in Northern Ireland and internationally. Helen previously managed INCORE's Local International Learning Project and the Diversity and Conflict Management strand of the Northern Ireland Centre for European Co-operation. Before coming to INCORE, Helen worked in conflict resolution at Search for Common Ground in Washington DC and in international development based in Sub-Saharan Africa. She spent a year in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar completing her MA in International Relations at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. Helen also has an MA in History from the University of Edinburgh

Derek Hanaway is the Director of An Munia Tober, the new Traveller support organisation for Belfast. An Munia Tober is taken from the Cant (Traveller language) phrase meaning "The Good Road". The organisation has created a number of projects, in close consultation with the Traveller community in the BElfast area, in order to provide a holistic, integrated service in areas such as education, childcare and community health. An Munia Tober will also seek to fulfil an important role as a voice for the Traveller community in BElfast. It will represent Traveller issues, seek to achieve positive change for Travellers, and hold firm to its vision- a day when Travellers and their culture are embraced and protected and where their positive contribution to society is recognised and built upon.

Andrea Williams has 22 years experience in working with Aboriginal communities in Canada and 12 years experience with research, assessment and evaluation with Aboriginal organizations and programs in the Aboriginal community. She has graduated with a Master’s Degree in Native Studies and amassed extensive knowledge of Aboriginal culture, communications, language, history and issues. A member of Sandy Lake First Nation, Ms. Williams established a network of contacts in Aboriginal Provincial Territorial Organizations for on-reserve and off-reserve interests, with strengths in identifying, developing and nurturing critical stakeholder relationships to encourage integration and coordination of research, performance measures and impact analysis.

Ken Fraser heads up the Racial Equality Unit within the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister. The Unit has responsibility for promoting racial equality and good race relations in Northern Ireland. The unit had central policy responsibility for drafting the Racial Equality Strategy, and will have responsibility for overseeing its implementation. Ken has held the post since September 2002. Prior to coming to Northern Ireland, he worked for the Department of Trade and Industry in London. He had responsibility for drawing up the DTI's Northern Ireland Equality Scheme under the Northern Ireland Act, 1998, and its Race Equality Scheme under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.