The programme aims to unpack the different community understandings of the past and the futility of war, through visits to the Somme, Messines, Glasnevin Cemetery and Vinegar Hill, Wexford.

The North Belfast Conflict Transformation aims to develop cross-community understanding and build the capacity of individuals and organisations address issues of conflict at interfaces and the wider divisions in our community.

Members of the Forum include: the North Belfast Interface Network, LINC Resource Centre, Intercomm, Teach na Failte, Intercomm, Concerned Residents of Upper Ardoyne and the North Belfast Developing Leadership CEP.

Explaining the background to the programme John Loughran said, "Jim Potts put the idea on the table as a way of building the capacity of the group while introducing a key event that we need to unpack. It is clear that both the Nationalist and Unionist communities have different understandings of the World War and the human sacrifices that were made.

"This programme was designed to acknowledge the human impact of the conflict and why it is central to remember the human loss. It is clear from our visit that lessons are not learned. The same mistakes are being made on a global scale today. By building the capacity of the Forum we are attempting in a small way to ensure that the mistakes of our communities in the past will not be repeated.

On the community relations element to the programme, Loughran continued, "To create the opportunity to bring community representatives from all over North Belfast is clear evidence that communities are working together. It should give everyone heart that people are attempting to deal with difficult issues. That is not to say that more cannot be done. It can. But learning opportunities like this create the positive context that all our communities are moving forward."

Commenting on the visit to the Messines Peace Park that was opened jointly by the Irish President Mary McAleese and the Queen of England, Loughran stated, "To see men from all over this island, the 36th Ulster Division and the 10th and 16th Irish Division buried side by side was a very sobering experience. This should stand as a clear reminder that in death our families and communities suffer equally. The loss as part of the Easter Uprising and the Irish Civil War will also present difficult questions that the group will seek to address through visits in the New Year to Glasnevin Cemetery and Vinegar Hill, Wexford."

Reflecting on his experience of the visit Conor Maskey, Intercomm's Peace Building Programme Co-Ordinator said he'd learned a lot and is excited about how the group can progress from here.

"I would have been quite apprehensive about how I was going to feel in France before we left. However, I had also reflected on the fact that, with this type of work, we are all in the business of consistently challenging ourselves and others and, in that vain, I would approach the visit with an open mind.

"I was struck immediately by the closeness of the conflict when on a guided tour of Thiepval Wood. Tens of thousands of men faced and engaged each other, no more than a street away from one and other, in order to protect or advance strategic positions. It must have been like hell for all involved.

"The period of 1914 - 1918 in terms of Irish history is still very relevant for everybody living here now so I feel it is imperative that we grasp how this time affects us all, from whatever angle we look at it. I am looking forward to the trip to Dublin at the beginning of next year in terms of rounding off the idea and seeing this vital period of our history from another perspective.

"I feel overall this was a good trip for the group and I'm very excited about the future of the North Belfast Conflict Transformation Forum."

Sean Brennan, Development Officer for the Edward DeBono Foundation NI, made the following comments: "I thought the cross-community element of the trip helped people develop a shared experience that they could build on when they got back to North Belfast. No one was expecting Republicans to come back wearing poppies or Unionists wearing Easter Lilies. But I do think everyone got a something out of the trip and it will help us all develop the relationships needed to build the peace within and across interface communities.

"Overall I felt the trip was a very positive, if sad, experience. I think good working relationships were developed and hope we can build on these to make a better life for interface communities.

"I also think the trip helped people understand why the past is so important. So I hope that others get a chance to visit the Somme and Messines. It will not change your life but it will certainly make you think, and that's about as much as we can hope for in a world too ready to use war as a means of managing people."

The organisers would like to acknowledge the financial support through the EU Urban II Community Initiative, administered by the North Belfast Partnership Board as part of the European Regional Development Funds and the ongoing support of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.