PEACE IV Programme

What is the PEACE IV Programme? 

The PEACE IV Programme is a unique initiative of the European Union which has been designed to support peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland. 

The PEACE IV Programme will provide support to projects that contribute towards the promotion of greater levels of peace and reconciliation. The Programme will also place a strong emphasis on promoting cross-community relations and understanding in order to create a more cohesive society.

The programme is support by the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.

Ards and North Down PEACE IV Programme

Ards and North Down Borough Council has been awarded £3.3M from the European Union’s PEACE IV Programme to deliver the PEACE IV Action Plan. 

A total of 19 projects that aim to support peace and reconciliation will be rolled out across the Borough. The focus will be on three main themes:

• Children and Young People
• Building Positive Relations 
• Shared Spaces and Services

To help inform the PEACE IV Plan, Ards and North Down Borough Council undertook consultation with the community in 2016 to identify local issues and barriers to building peace and reconciliation. The consultation highlighted the need for:

• increased support for young people to participate in peace building activities and address underachievement and unemployment through accessing training and skills programmes;
• effective programmes to encourage understanding and appreciation of different cultures locally and to increase the acceptance of difference; 
• local initiatives that facilitate sustained shared usage of public spaces and buildings to create cohesive and united communities.

PEACE IV Partnership
The delivery of the Ards and North Down PEACE IV Action Plan will be managed by a local PEACE IV Partnership.  Find out more here.  

Children and Young People 

This theme aims to enhance the capacity of children and young people to form positive and effective relationships with others of a different background and make a positive contribution to building a cohesive society. 

Learn more about the Children and Young People projects here 

Building Positive Relations 

The focus of this theme is to promote positive relations characterised by respect, and where cultural diversity is celebrated and people can live, learn and socialise together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance.

​Learn more about the Building Positive Relations projects here 

Shared Spaces and Services 

The programme has focused on 4 towns and villages in the Ards and North Down Borough: Portaferry, Comber, Holywood and Portavogie. The plans included the development of informal recreation and leisure facilities. 

The spaces have been transformed through dialogue, connecting workshops around horticulture, biodiversity, leisure and sports with communities across the area’s leading to the creation of consensual spaces and a more cohesive and connected society.  

Programmes of participative activities have accompanied then project to ensure connections between people through common interest and the environment. 

Learn more about the Shared Spaces and Services projects here

Get involved

We want as many people as possible to take part in PEACE IV projects across Ards and North Down.

If you are interested in participating in one of the PEACE IV programmes, you can get in touch with the projects directly or through the PEACE IV team. For opportunities to deliver specific projects within your area of expertise, please visit etendersni.gov.uk 

To join the PEACE IV register and to receive email updates, please send the following details to peaceiv@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk

• Name
• Organisation
• Email address
• Telephone number

For more information, contact the PEACE IV Programme Team: peaceiv@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk | 0300 0133 333