On 22^nd October 2008, The Pathways Project were delighted to host the first ever visit to Northern Ireland of Jan Figel, a Member of the European Commission responsible for Education, Training and Culture.

Pathways were asked to host this visit by YESIP (Youth Education Social Inclusion Partnership), who are an Intermediary Funding Body as part of the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation,  and the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), which is a North/South Body sponsored by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland and the Department of Finance in Ireland.  This body was established in 1999, under the Agreement between the Government of the UK and NI and the Government of Ireland establishing implementing bodies.

Pathways has been a recipient of Peace II funding under measure 2.2 Developing Children & Young People since 2002,  with this funding coming to an end in June 2008.  This support from YESIP has enabled Pathways to develop a cultural awareness and cross community programme as a core part of the curriculum on offer, ensuring that the staff directly address community conflict and proactively build on community relations.

On 22^nd October, EU Commissioner Jan Figel had a busy schedule for the day, which included a visit to Hazelwood Integrated College and meetings with Minister for Employment & Learning Sir Reg Empey and senior officials, followed by a meeting with Junior Minister Gerry Kelly MLA at the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.

The EU Commissioner arrived at Pathways shortly after 4pm and was accompanied by Maurice Maxwell, the Head of Office of The European Commission in Northern Ireland as well as representatives from SEUPB and Nicola Mitchell from YESIP.

The entourage were welcomed by EXTERN staff Liz Cuddy, CEO; Joan Broder Director of Children's Services and Gemma Donnelly, Programme Manager, Children's Services, who were joined by members of Pathways staff and two young people from the programme -:

Ciaran Stewart originally came from Hazelwood College and resides in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast.  He attended Pathways in the 2006/2007 academic year.  Ciaran had a successful year with the project, gaining qualifications in Essential Skills and GCSE Learning For Life and Work and was the joint winner of the 'Chris McKenna' award in June 2007.  Ciaran is currently completing his NVQ Level 2 in Construction.

Michaela Darragh, who resides in the 'White City' area on the Whitewell Road,  is still attending the programme after being referred from Castle High School through Education Welfare Services as a Year 11 pupil early in 2008 due to non-attendance.  Michaela successfully completed Year 11 at Pathways, with an attendance rate of 99%.  She is currently finishing Year 12 with Pathways and working towards a range of qualifications.

Following a warm welcome by Bill Shaw, Director of The 174 Trust, Ceri O'Reilly (Deputy Manager – Pathways) gave a 10 minute presentation on EXTERN and The Pathways Programme. After a break for refreshments, Project Manager Caroline Foster spoke of the relationship the project had developed with YESIP over the years and the importance of peace and reconciliation work as a core part of the curriculum.  A question and answer session followed, with some lively discussion and sharing of experiences before Liz Cuddy (CEO – Extern) closed the proceedings shortly after 5pm.

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