Latest news

Please find the final Northern Ireland National report (corrected link) and links to our three other national reports with UK-wide CCQOL project findings in Reading, Cardiff, and Edinburgh. Lessons combine with recommendations for improving community engagement across the built environment.

CCQOL_Northern Ireland National Report-compressed.pdf

For access to all the reports and more see:

https://www.qolf.org/what-we-do/community-consultation-for-quality-of-life-national-reports/

We are proud to bring our project to close on 31st December 2023, after great support and partners we have worked with since2021. Please find the final Northern Ireland National report and links to our three other national reports with UK-wide CCQOL project findings in Reading, Cardiff, and Edinburgh.

Lessons from our four urban rooms combine with in-depth reviews of policy and practice for consultation in each UK region. Each local team along with our advisors reflect on the state of play in community participation. Each report draws out the findings from the successive urban room held during 2023, and the findings from surveys and interviews (in person contributions and online through this site) underpin our recommendations for improving community engagement across the built environment.

Belfast Urban Room Report-20230615-Final-compress.pdf

Hello everyone! With the CCQOL project wrapping up at the end of this year we are pleased to share another video of our work during our 2Royal Avenue residency in 2022. This video showcases a workshop with Ulster University, The Quality of Life Foundation, members of the public, and people from NI businesses, community groups, the PSNI, and local government to discus the terms & values associated with quality of life and consultation for Belfast.

Visual map-based activities with the six QOLFoundation based themes (Control, Health, Nature, Wonder, Movement and Belonging) were used to focus the workshop on how Ulster University (in its new Belfast city centre campus) might apply CCQOL lessons toward improving qualities of life in surrounding neighbourhoods, across Belfast, and beyond. The video can also be viewed directly on Vimeo using the link: https://vimeo.com/893275869

Lessons were picked up in our June 2023 Local Report, available on our YourCityYourVoiceBelfast site, and we will soon share further recommendations and a review of consultation in Northern Ireland more generally through our National Report in mid-December 2023.

Thank you for your help and support of work, with lessons and engagement set to continue beyond the official project closure on 31Dec2023.

We are pleased to share the Your City Your Voice Belfast(YCYVB) Local Urban Room Report, available for download from the link below...

Our Belfast Reportis one of four, describing Urban Room pilots held during 2022 for the UK-wide Community Consultation for Quality of Life (CCQOL) projectin Reading, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, and then Belfast. We've gathered illustrated studies and data with reflections and recommendations that aim to capture both the spirit and lessons of our public residency at 2 Royal Avenue (in partnership with Belfast City Council and MayWe Ltd). We include initial findings from our physical and digital spaces, including in-person contributions to our Quality-of-Life-Framework Meaning Mapsat 2 Royal Avenue and digitalcontributions to our web-basedquality-of-life maps about Belfast and survey about consultation and engagement more generally.

See what the YCYVB and CCQOL team been up to over the seven months since we closed the Room at 2RA...

We have continued to learn from several arts-based and neighbourhood/community-focused workshops and interactive events (in-person and online) that are also in the report. We are grateful to everyone who continues to support our "post-Room" analysis and feedback about the many factors, collaborations and networking beyond Belfast City Centre that helped us deliver our room in Belfast, and gather digital survey/mapping responses.

And we're not done yet!

Over the summer and into the Autumn we will be finalising another filmabout our work with the Quality-of-Life Foundation andUlster University, and publishing a Northern Ireland focused national reportthat deep-dives into consultation & planning policy and practice models for Northern Ireland with interviews, case-studies and further Urban Room lessons that dovetail with our Co-Investigators as joint CCQOL lessons and recommendations.

Thank you again and please feel free to share this report, as well as any additional feedback you have to our project email: ccqol-belfast@ulster.ac.uk

Belfast Urban Room Report-20230615-Final-compress.pdf

Please help us take a few moments of email/news time to thank Dr Anna Skoura, who officially finished in her Community Partnership Specialist role in November 2022! In the busy period after our urban room closed at the end of September, we remained focused on bringing together the many experiences and lessons from our amazing range of partnerships that developed from the summer onward – and which continue to develop.

In Anna's key role over 6 months, helping bring everything together - including managing our day-to-day activities and ambassadors, keeping on top of the changing layouts, rotas, diverse and engaging exhibits and activities that were central to the success of our time at 2 Royal Avenue, her dedication and enthusiasm was essential! You can see that enthusiasm and hear her thoughts first-hand in our short film, available on our website, News and Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com//786597725.

And it also a pleasure to share news that Anna has not left Ulster University but readily translated her community engagement and research management skills to a new AHRC funded project, CHOICE: Challenging Health Outcomes, Integrating Care Environments, where she is now the Project Officer within our School of Psychology and Bamford Centre for Mental Health & Wellbeing. Watch for more posts and outcomes with community engagement and wellbeing at their heart!

What happens now for CCQOL, Your City Your Voice Belfast in 2023?

Our project continues into its next phase, bringing together the many visit lessons and analysing the visits and events - in person and online. We will keep the website and surveys open throughout January to allow further Quality of Life “pins” and survey responses to be gathered about consultation practices. Over the coming weeks we will complete first an overview report about the Belfast urban room and - later in 2023 - will publish an in-depth report about consultation in Belfast/Northern Ireland with further lessons and reflections.

For now, please continue to look for our updates and get in touch via @YourCityYourVoiceBelfast or https://yourcityyourvoicebelfast.commonplace.is/

Our email, ccqol-belfast@ulster.ac.ukalso remains open for direct contact through Ulster University.

We are pleased to continue sharing our experiences and learning from Your City Your Voice Belfast with a short 4-minute film focused on events from our third week of activities in September 2022. See the film below or via the link: https://vimeo.com/786597725

The film, created in collaboration with Ulster University's Creative Services Team, includes reflections from our YCYVB Project Team and Ambassadors on the urban room and working with so many diverse partners, without whom the project could not have been - or continue to be - developed!

Activities in the film include:

Architecture undergraduate and graduate students from the Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment, learning through interactive games about planning processes with charity Community Places, and

Our workshop on the Quality of Life Framework and future of Belfast City Centre with Matthew Morgan, Director of The Quality of Life Foundation, and Duncan Morrow, Professor of Politics and Director of Community Engagement at Ulster University facilitating discussions with Belfast-based local authority, community voluntary groups and businesses joining members of the Police Service Northern Ireland

We remain open online for public mapping and survey contributions through January 2023

Please share @YourCityYourVoiceBelfast and our website (https://yourcityyourvoicebelfast.commonplace.is/) through your websites and social media. Our QR code is also included below:

Continued additions to existing mapping responses are welcome if you have previously taken part. New contributions will only take ten minutes and all views shared are valued; the more mapping and survey responses we collect across all areas and demographics, the better our results and lessons.

After 23 days Your City Your Voice Belfast Urban Room closed on Tuesday the 27th of September. We bid farewell to the beautiful 2 Royal Avenue and the lovely people from MayWe and Yallaa that supported us all the way. We would also like to thank you for being part of our project.

While the Belfast Urban Room closed, the CCQOL project is by no means finished. As all four of the urban rooms have now been completed, the research team can start processing all the data collected. The website will be live and we will keep you updated as the project progresses.

Finally, here are some highlights from our last week:

On Monday we hosted one more of the Shaping Community Places Workshops, this time with MArch students from Queen's University and Planning Students from Ulster University.

On Tuesday, Community Places launched their Participatory Budgeting Charter in a very well attended and lively event.

With three weeks of Your City Your Voice Belfast Urban Room  over and less than a week to go, we have lots to share!

We were visited by RTPI's president Timothy Crawshaw on Tuesday the 20th, presented our project and had a chance to talk about consultations and the future of planning with planning students from both Ulster and Queen's University.

We hosted a great discussion about alleyways and mapping on Tuesday afternoon with 9ft in common, launching their exhibition in our urban room.

We held a very lively and productive workshop on Wednesday about quality of life in Belfast City Centre and the role of Ulster University. The workshop was hosted by Matthew Morgan, Director of the Quality of Life Foundation and Duncan Morrow, Professor of Politics and Director of Community Engagement at Ulster University.

On Thursday our urban room filled with first year Architecture Students from Ulster University, playing planning games facilitated by Community Places.

Kultural Arts Friday was led by Nuala's Belfast Entries Tours and Belfast Bred, both through Kabosh Theatre co, as well as Engaging Installations by White Ink Architects.

On Saturday morning we hosted a workshop facilitated by Studio idir and supported by Belfast City Council's Age Friendly Belfast. We had the opportunity to talk about how Belfast can support people growing older. 

If you have not yet visited our Urban Room, you still have two days to to do so! If you have not yet filled in our survey, head over to our website and please do so! It will only take ten minutes of your time and your views are very valuable to us!

A second week is coming to a close and our urban room is getting busier.

Here is a list of upcoming events:

Saturday 17.09, 11.00-13.00: The Walking Studio: the Art of Discovery. A walk that discovers what we may take for granted—the everyday throughfares and artistry of Belfast. Facilitated by art psychotherapy staff and students of Ulster University. Please bring along a fully charged phone or camera and wear comfortable shoes. Free event. No booking required.

Tuesday 20.09, 16.00-17.00: Deconstructing the Belfast Alley Map. This is a conversational event about mapping Belfast’s alleyways and the practice of recording and communicating through mapping. A range of speakers will briefly reflect on the Map: as community action, as information dissemination, as resistance and as art. An informal discussion will follow. The event is scheduled as part of The Urban Room at 2RA, where you can also catch an exhibition by 9ft in Common until 30th September. The exhibition includes the Belfast Alley Map alongside a special commission of a limited-edition cyanotype and screenprint, inspired by the Belfast Alley Map, by artist Jonathan Brennan. A range of 9ft in Common prints, posters and postcards are for sale as part of the exhibition. All welcome, no booking required.

Wednesday 21.09, 14.30-17.00: Urban Universities as Catalysts for Quality of Life: A Belfast Perspective. An interactive workshop presented jointly by Your City Your Voice Belfast, Ulster University and UK-charity, The Quality of Life Foundation will examine the terms and definitions associated with quality of life and consultation, and discuss the role/responsibility of Ulster University (with it's new Belfast campus open from September 2022) to contribute to quality of life in the city centre, surrounding neighbourhoods, and beyond. Join guests from government, business, charitable, and local community organisations from across Belfast to share your views. No booking required.

Thursday 22.09, 14.00-16.00: Shaping Community Places Workshop. Have you ever found yourself at a loss as to how the planning system works? Join us for a specially designed Snakes and Ladders game that will make everything clear! Facilitated by Community Places, this interactive workshop breaks down a complex planning scenario into bite size chunks of information. Free event. No booking required.

Friday 23.09, 14.00-15.00 & 15.30-16.30 Kultural Arts Friday: Belfast Entries Tours: Belfast Entries Tours are two 1-hour Kabosh Theatre Co guided tours of Belfast’s “labyrinth of legends” led by​ Nuala (without her hula) on special reprieve from her Laganside plinth; leaving from/returning to 2 Royal Avenue. Enjoy and learn about Belfast, stopping at Winecellar, Crown , Wilson's Court, and Pottinger's Entries while "Nuala's storytelling provides historical, social, and contemporary commentary" with site specific facts, poetry, prose, and quick quips!! Written by Charis McRoberts; Performed by Debra Hill. Free but booking required through MayWe Events.

Friday 23.09, Kultural Arts Friday: Belfast Bred. Belfast Bred is Kabosh Theatre's one-off one-manhistorical performance inside-outside 2 Royal Avenue, 6-8pm​. Discover the fascinating history of Belfast from Barney, a "cheeky chef from RMS Titanic, who has just defrosted after 110 years frozen in an iceberg!" Written by Seth Linder; performed by Christopher Grant. Free event. No booking required.

Saturday 24.09, 10.30-12.30: Reimagining Ageing in the City: What is an Age-Friendly City? How does the city’s built environment impact the quality of life of older people? How can we rethink the city and the home, to make them better for ageing (and therefore better for everyone)?Tell us what works for you and what needs to change, to create an intergenerational city. This workshop is facilitated by architecture practice Studio idir as part of Self-Organised Architecture’s Reimagining Elderhood project (funded by the Irish Arts Council). It is supported by Belfast City Council's Age Friendly Belfast and, in particular, invites the participation of senior residents. However no one is too young to start thinking about and planning for an age-friendly city, so all are welcome. No booking required.

Saturday 24.09, 10.30-11.30 & 12.30-13.30: Kultural Arts Friday: Belfast Entries Tours: Belfast Entries Tours are two 1-hour Kabosh Theatre Co guided tours of Belfast’s “labyrinth of legends” led by​ Nuala (without her hula) on special reprieve from her Laganside plinth; leaving from/returning to 2 Royal Avenue. Enjoy and learn about Belfast, stopping at Winecellar, Crown , Wilson's Court, and Pottinger's Entries while "Nuala's storytelling provides historical, social, and contemporary commentary" with site specific facts, poetry, prose, and quick quips!! Written by Charis McRoberts; Performed by Debra Hill. Free but booking required through MayWe Events.

Monday 26.09, 11.00-13.00: Shaping Community Places Workshop. Have you ever found yourself at a loss as to how the planning system works? Join us for a specially designed Snakes and Ladders game that will make everything clear! Facilitated by Community Places, this interactive workshop breaks down a complex planning scenario into bite size chunks of information. Free event. No booking required.

Tuesday 27.09, 10.00-12.00: Quality PB! Launch of the Participatory Budgeting Charter. Join us for an in-room celebration to: launch the PB Charter explore the features of the Charternetwork and share your PB experiences and learning consider how we continue to shape and grow quality PBjoin the PB Works Network. Free event. Booking required here.

We hope to see you in our urban room!

Our first week in 2 Royal Avenue is finished and what a week it has been!

Our team was assembled, ready to welcome you. Our Your City Your Voice Belfast exhibition is up as well as two guest exhibitions: Modelcitizen's amazing models of Belfast's architecture and the inspiring work of  Streetspace MArch Studio in Queen's University Belfast, run by Dr. Agustina Martire.

We hosted (and played) a very exciting Snakes and Ladders game with Community Places learning a lot about the Planning System. We are hosting two more sessions on the 22nd and 26th of September, so don't miss your chance to play too! On Friday the Farewell Elmer exhibition invaded 2 Royal Avenue and the space became even more colourful! Click here for a sneak peak of our Friday! Most importantly, we had the opportunity to talk to many of you and, hear about what you value in Belfast and how you would like to engage in community consultations.

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth, we are following guidance from Belfast City Council and our programme of events is slightly amended. However all of our scheduled events for next week are going ahead. If you have not yet visited our Urban Room, come by this week to join one of our events and visit our exhibition. If you have not yet filled in our survey, head over to our website and please do so! It will only take ten minutes of your time and your views are very valuable to us!

Your City Your Voice Urban Room has opened in 2 Royal Avenue and our first event is coming up this Thursday (08.09.2022). Join us for a series of exciting workshops:

Have you ever found yourself at a loss as to how the plannign system works? Join us for a specially designed Snakes and Ladders game that will make everythign clear! Facilitated by Community Places, this interactive workshop breaks down a complex planning scenario into bite size chunks of information. Come join us this Thursday, September 8th between 11.00-13.00.

We are very excited to share with you some of the events we are hosting in Your City Your Voice Belfast Urban Room in 2 Royal Avenue. Including workshops, discussions and cultural events, there is something for everyone. And don't forget, are 2 Royal Avenue is a shared space, there is plenty more happening. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates!