‘ eHoops’ Achieving meaningful youth engagement in Northern Ireland

1. ‘eHoops’ Achieving meaningful youth engagement in Northern Ireland Patrick O’Neill, Deirdre Brennan and David Hassan MPhil in Sport Related Studies University of Ulster, Jordanstown oneill-p24@email.ulster.ac.uk poneill23@gmail.com

2. NEETS

3. “What has come to be called ‘recreational rioting’ is also a feature of many of these areas, especially those on an interface where young people, mostly male, engage in rioting for kicks.” (Smyth 1998; 78)

4. Assessing Sport for Development Programmes

5. SDP in Northern Ireland

9. The structure of the programme is:

10. Victory Scholars

11. Community Workers • Community workers untrained and unqualified • Work in a voluntary capacity • SCL sees the development of community leaders as a crucial aspect of the programme

12. Police Service of Northern Ireland • ‘informal social contact’ on the bus trips • a change in young people’s attitudes towards each other • a willingness to engage with their peers • an enthusiasm in getting involved in community projects

13. Initial Findings • violent crimes against the person having fallen by 13% • burglaries reduced by 75% • criminal damage by 29% • anti social behaviour has seen a 14% decrease (78% for sectarian ASB),

14. Final Word

15. References • A Shared Future – policy document (2005) http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/asharedfuturepolicy2005.pdf • Coakley, J. (1998) ‘Sport in Society: Issues and Controversies, 6th edition, Boston, MA: McGraw Hill • Coalter, F. (2007) A wider social role for sport: who's keeping the score?. London: Routledge • Coalter, F. (2013) Sport for Development; What game are we playing?. London: Routledge • Communication on Sport - Developing the European Dimension in Sport (2011) http://ec.europa.eu/sport/communication/communication-on-sport_en.htm) • Full Circle. (2013) Summary impact of sport changes life; eHoops programme • Hansson, U. (2005) Troubled Youth? Young People, Violence and Disorder in Northern Ireland. Belfast: Institute for Conflict Research. • Harland, K. (2011) Violent Youth Culture in Northern Ireland: Young Men, Violence, and the Challenges of Peace Building. Sage Publications. • Hartmann, D. (2003). ‘Theorising sport as social intervention’: A view from the grassroots, Quest, 55; 118-1140 • Lloyd, T. (2006) Young Men and Violence: Summary of Evaluation Report. Belfast: YouthAction Northern Ireland • Nichols, G. (2007) Sport and crime reduction: The role of sports in tackling youth crime. London: Routledge • Police Service of Northern Ireland (2013) Crime statistics for Glengormley 2012 • Smyth, M. (1998) Half the Battle: Understanding the effects of the Troubles on children and young people in Northern Ireland. Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland: INCORE (University of Ulster and the United Nations University). • The Northern Ireland Strategy for Sport & Physical Recreation 2009 – 2019 - policy document (2009) http://www.dcalni.gov.uk/sport_matters.pdf • Youth Action Northern Ireland. (2009) YouthAction Northern Ireland Annual Report2009. Belfast: YouthAction Northern Ireland.