Peace by Piece

Our guest on this episode is a young peacemaker called Zach Hutchinson. Zach was born just after the Good Friday Agreement was signed so his lens on life is entirely post conflict and his passion for a peacemaking type of politics led him to the Centre of Democracy & Peacebuilding. Through its work he convenes leaders from all political hues, believing in the magic of encounter and relationship. He has much to say to a new generation about why peace matters and why we sh...

Ian Bothwell is not a household name but is someone who has been quiet peacemaking in south Armagh for almost half a century. At the height of the Troubles he felt a draw to defy some of the barriers and fears in his own context to move from his home in Amagh to Crossmaglen. Ian and his wife Pauline set up a charity that brought care to people through anti-poverty work, prisoner support, youth work and personal encounter, by setting up a market stall in the town. In this con...

Inioluwa Olasebikan is an incredible young Nigeria woman who now calls Belfast home. At 18 years old Ini has overcome many challenges to become an impassioned advocate for ethnic minority communities on integration and education rights for young people seeking asylum. In this conversation she speaks candidly about what it’s like to arrive here as a young person and to notice how our two community lens can prevail. Ini has felt both 'othered' and welcomed in Belfast. Sh...

Artist Carole Kane is a beautiful under the radar force for peace. Trained as a weaver, she has a hands-on, graceful approach when it comes to community peacemaking. As a young artist she felt moved by an appeal on the radio after the Omagh bombing, that was an ask for ideas on what to do with the carpet of flowers left in honour of the victims. In a spur of the moment move Carol made an offer that would change her life. In this conversation she shares from the heart a...

David Porter is someone whose passion for peace is a thread that runs throughout a career that has taken him right to the heart of church life. His own heart for reconciliation and his expression of that within various key roles gives him a lived vantage point from which to offer challenge and insight. He was Canon for Reconciliation at Coventy Cathedral which has always been a hub for peace, involved in some of the world’s most difficult areas of conflict. Later peace building wa...