The success of the LID Programme can be summarised in the following ways:

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 - utilises the opportunities afforded by the EU’s Youth in Action/Erasmus+ Programmes in order to make a sustained contribution to good relations in Northern Ireland

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- utilises or has utilised Youth in Action/Erasmus+ funding to support individual participation in LID activities negating the need to source funding from scarce local resources

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- engages with a wide range of well established international partners proficient in Youth in Action/Erasmus+ to provide a wide range of opportunities on an annual basis

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- focuses on and promotes a positive approach to interculturalism and diversity which are viewed as essential to peace-building in Northern Ireland

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- provides a diverse range of theme-based programmes ensuring opportunities are accessible to as wide an audience as possible

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- creates networks that support practice and leads to the development of post-LID activities ensuring further investment in youth work provision in Northern Ireland

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- motivates participants ensuring greater productivity in and commitment to service delivery

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- offers the potential for long-lasting impact to individuals at both a personal and professional level and leads to an increase in new and innovative methodologies that can be used by 'sponsoring' organisations to enhance practice

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The LID Programme has been independently evaluated by an external consultant.    

Findings from the evaluation can be summarised as follows:

 

• 100% of participants felt the programme/s were “time well spent,” citing a range of reasons;

• 100% of participants felt they had enhanced confidence and knowledge to assist in bringing about positive change at local level;

• 93% of participants felt more able to challenge stereotypes of their own and others’ communities;

• LID is a significant contributing factor to enhanced cultural diversity, Interculturalism and good relations and is a good model for improving ‘good relations’ within local/home communities on 4 levels: personal, interpersonal, as well as role models, and as community leaders

• The most common key learning related to Diversity, at 41% of all key learning identified;

• 38+ soft and hard skills were acquired or developed;

• The two foremost strengths of the programme identified were ‘Enhanced Interculturalism’ (29% of all responses) and ‘Bringing People Together’ (26%);

• All participants felt that LID was either fully, or to some extent, a good model for improving good relations in their own communities;

• In some regards, LID participants show enhanced good relations compared to the national average.

 

Findings from the evaluation were then further tested at a two-day conference with almost 50 practitioners from a wide and diverse audience.  The conference was facilitated by a team of four international facilitators (from Germany, Italy, Poland and Portugal) and the report prepared by an independent consultant.The report concluded that:

 

1. International experience can build confidence in individuals to communicate and collaborate broadly without (or with less) fear of difference;

2. People who have participated in international experiences reflect that they are more open, more engaging, more actively seeking to work with others, embracing the value of diversity;

3. International experience brings a new, often fresh, perspective on issues that can reach an impasse when persistently viewed from the same standpoint/s. In the context of peace in Northern Ireland this is particularly pertinent and has the potential to offer new solutions;

4. When community leaders, decision-makers and ‘Gatekeepers’ participate in international experience, their capacity to actively implement learning upon their return surpasses the impact that individuals who are not in positions of influence can have;

5. Individuals who have participated in international experiences would benefit from greater opportunities for shared learning, project development and peer-to-peer support upon return to their home communities, be that through physical or virtual means.

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Below are links to both reports: 

 

- The LID Programme Evaluation 

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- The LID Conference: Using International Practice to Build Peace in Northern               Ireland 

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