Foyle Women's Information Network

Projects

Waterside women working face to face:

This project was a community relations project funded by DCC support grant and facilitated by FWIN- the groups involved were Lincoln Courts women together and the Gorbals women’s group – it entailed eight weeks working together and ended with a two-day residential in Lusty Beg.

Women’s Health Forum:
This project enabled FWIN and local women’s groups to

Work in partnership and share experiences with other women’s networks and groups throughout the LHSCG areas of Derry/Londonderry, Strabane and Limavady.
Build relationships with a range of individuals and agencies involved in the planning and delivery of primary health care services.
Enabling women from various communities throughout the city to come together and actively engage with statutory agencies in the planning and decision making of local health services.
Enabled local women to work in partnership with local primary health care workers and develop their own local health events in their communities.
Enabled over 400 women per year to attend local health events
Afford local women and organisations, through the annual Women’s Health Question Time the opportunity for local women and organisations to network and share their experiences of primary care services and explore issues with professional health personnel.

“There needs to be an investment in capacity building within both the statutory and community/voluntary sectors, so as to encourage and support multi-disciplinary working.”

“Networking myself and with other groups gave me the opportunity to learn how the health service works and I was able to bring this information back to my community”

Interface women:

FWIN worked on a pilot programme with women who live on the interface – 14 women from a local interface worked closely for 10 weeks building up relationships and doing some negotiation skills training to build up the skills required to work safely and confidently on the interface – this project will hopefully be funded to be carried out in communities that request it. This project was funded by DCC community safety partnership.

The women came together to get to know each other to reduce the stereotyping and to begin to build up a trust in each other so they can communicate with each other when tensions are raised. It takes a good relationship to believe someone from the other side of the fence or field where an attack is coming from and what its origins are.

The women also worked through scenarios and situations and began to look at sectarianism, mediation and negotiation language useful to defusing tensions.
There is much to learn this was a first step for many and it could not be too learning focused. However it worked very well and the speakers we engaged with told honest stories of interface work and said it was a lonely place to be and spelled out the reality for people who try to bring it to a stop.
The women by the end o f the programme gave out each other’s phone numbers for contact with each other when incidents happen; this is a first step in the process of engagement on the interface.

This programme could be rolled out to other groups in communities however it will have to be tested over the marching season which seems to be the most difficult time for this particular community. There is a willingness to engage and the training and trust building has happened which will build the blocks to eliminating this type of behaviour.



					Increase the capacity, visibility and voice of women throughout the North West.

			Projects Waterside women working face to face: This project was a community relations project funded by DCC support grant and facilitated by FWIN- the groups involved were Lincoln Courts women together and the Gorbals women’s group – it entailed eight weeks working together and ended with a two-day residential in Lusty Beg. Women’s Health Forum: This project enabled FWIN and local women’s groups to Work in partnership and share experiences with other women’s networks and groups throughout the LHSCG areas of Derry/Londonderry, Strabane and Limavady. Build relationships with a range of individuals and agencies involved in the planning and delivery of primary health care services. Enabling women from various communities throughout the city to come together and actively engage with statutory agencies in the planning and decision making of local health services. Enabled local women to work in partnership with local primary health care workers and develop their own local health events in their communities. Enabled over 400 women per year to attend local health events Afford local women and organisations, through the annual Women’s Health Question Time the opportunity for local women and organisations to network and share their experiences of primary care services and explore issues with professional health personnel. “There needs to be an investment in capacity building within both the statutory and community/voluntary sectors, so as to encourage and support multi-disciplinary working.” “Networking myself and with other groups gave me the opportunity to learn how the health service works and I was able to bring this information back to my community” Interface women: FWIN worked on a pilot programme with women who live on the interface – 14 women from a local interface worked closely for 10 weeks building up relationships and doing some negotiation skills training to build up the skills required to work safely and confidently on the interface – this project will hopefully be funded to be carried out in communities that request it. This project was funded by DCC community safety partnership. The women came together to get to know each other to reduce the stereotyping and to begin to build up a trust in each other so they can communicate with each other when tensions are raised. It takes a good relationship to believe someone from the other side of the fence or field where an attack is coming from and what its origins are. The women also worked through scenarios and situations and began to look at sectarianism, mediation and negotiation language useful to defusing tensions. There is much to learn this was a first step for many and it could not be too learning focused. However it worked very well and the speakers we engaged with told honest stories of interface work and said it was a lonely place to be and spelled out the reality for people who try to bring it to a stop. The women by the end o f the programme gave out each other’s phone numbers for contact with each other when incidents happen; this is a first step in the process of engagement on the interface. This programme could be rolled out to other groups in communities however it will have to be tested over the marching season which seems to be the most difficult time for this particular community. There is a willingness to engage and the training and trust building has happened which will build the blocks to eliminating this type of behaviour.






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