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Community Relations In Schools (CRIS) was established as a charity in 1984 at the height of the violent political conflict by community activists eager that education and schools play a role in positive conflict transformation in Northern Ireland.
CRIS is a multi-award-winning organisation achieving 3rd place in the prestigious international Intercultural Innovation Award (United Nations Alliance of Civilisations UNAOC & BMW Group), and the Sunday Life Spirit of Education Award in 2018.
Our mission is to 'inspire and equip whole school communities as powerful catalysts for peace and reconciliation'.
We believe that school communities hold enormous potential as places of transformation for young people, their families and communities.
Deep reflection on the learning over decades has led CRIS to the conclusion that individual change and systemic change require a holistic approach and school-based peacebuilding must involve pupils, their families, communities, schools and policy level social change.
In the last 15 years this understanding has led CRIS to adopt a 'whole school community' model of collaboration - Good Relations and Collaborative Education (GRACE).
Galvanised by our 40th Anniversary, we seek to widen and deepen the collective commitment to reconciliation at a local and societal level by:
- Influencing system-level change
- Nurturing trust across local educational cross-sector collaborations
- Normalising 'everyday peace' in interface communities
- Inspiring and training our next generation of peacebuilders
- Engaging with the business community to explore mutually beneficial partnerships that support commitments to the ethos and practice of equity, diversity and inclusion.
- Telling the good news stories of peace and reconciliation – building alternative narratives that inspire hope and celebrate our diversity and common humanity.
You can see learn more about CRIS and our impact in communities by visiting our website at www.crisni.org
Please view our latest short film, Small Steady Steps to witness the powerful role schools play in fostering peace, understanding and supporting children and young people to reach their full potential.