View, January 2012


VIEW ‘Ordinary man’


Pages 4, 5, 6 Jim Pierce tells of his pride after being named as Older Volunteer of the Year in an event hosted by Belfast City Council


CO3 conference


Page 8 Top Third Sector leaders from the USA will address CO3 – the Chief Officers Third Sec- tor organisation – at its conference in Derry.


Charity award CONTENTS


Page 2


Charities Act


Pages 10,11 Una Murphy examines the problems surrounding the Charities Act in Northern Ireland


‘Peace walls’


Pages 12,13 Jonny Byrne (left) talks to Brian Pelan about his research into the ‘peace walls’ in Northern Ireland.


Economy fears


Page 14 A new house- hold income survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions has re- vealed the extent of fears about income amongst its members.


White City


Page 9 The director of the Spirit of Enniskillen Trust tells of his delight after the charity won a top UK award


Editorial By Brian Pelan, editor W


beautiful friendship’. The idea for a monthly digital news magazine for


elcome to VIEW and to paraphrase Humphrey Bogart’s character Rick in Casablanca, ‘I hope it’s the start of a


the community and voluntary sector in Northern Ireland came from a friend who felt a journalism publication would interest the 27,000 staff and 88,000 volunteers who work there. And it’s free to subscribe – email: viewsubscribe@gmail.com The production of VIEW has been a year in the


making. Meetings with trade union officials, govern- ment Press officers, and leaders of community and voluntary organisations convinced my colleagues and I at Media Associates that an independent news approach to the Third Sector would be well re- ceived. Many community and voluntary organisations are


heavily involved in promoting their own causes and they rarely have time to take a step back and re-


port as journalists on what’s going on in the area as a whole. VIEW, with its emphasis on news and feature reporting, will attempt to bridge that gap every month. VIEW is written and produced by experienced journalists to provide an independent voice on the community and voluntary sector and to deliver a news service to organisations, who may feel at times that the mainstream media does not always cover their stories and campaigns. I have worked in journalism for more than 25


role to play in communicating and commenting on news events. VIEW will strive to be an independent voice and


when we fall down I hope that readers will voice their feelings by contacting me – email: view.edito- rial@gmail.com and on Twitter @viewforni. As we face into turbulent economic times with


years and have witnessed many changes. The best has to be the vibrancy of the internet and the chal- lenges it presents in a converged media environ- ment; the worse has been a steady decline in the wages and conditions of journalists, as employers strive to maximise profits rather than invest in quality journalism. As editor of VIEW I believe passionately in the integrity of journalism and that it still has a central


“This publication has received support from the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council which aims to promote a pluralist society characterised by equity, respect for diversity, and recognition of interdependence. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Council.”


many community and voluntary organisations threatened with funding cuts, I want VIEW to pro- vide a platform for voices in the Third Sector, es- pecially those in frontline services. I also hope to interview and write about the


many unsung heroes in our midst who daily deliver a service to help others. Finally, on a personal note, I would like to dedi-


cate the first issue of VIEW to my father, Joseph Pelan, who sadly passed away on Christmas Day. He was always proud of my efforts in journalism. I hope to try and make VIEW a publication that he would have enjoyed reading.


For a free subscription, send contact details to viewsubscribe@gmail.com. To send a story/picture – email details to view.editorial@gmail.com


Pages16, 17 Professor Marianne Elliott talks about her forthcoming book on the White City in north Belfast


Welcome to VIEW, the new online publication for the community/voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18