Winners

Explore our past winners.

2027 Nominations

70 results

Highly Commended

Community Relations Council Exceptional Achievement Award (peacebuilding) ・ 2026

Calvin McCullough

Calvin McCullough is a dedicated youth worker transforming lives across Northern Ireland through his unwavering commitment to good relations and community reconciliation. Using boxing, youth work and sport as powerful vehicles for breaking down sectarian barriers. Over seven years, Calvin has engaged more than 150+ young people, creating safe spaces where former adversaries become teammates and friends. Through strategic partnerships with boxing and youth clubs from both sides of the divide, he facilitates meaningful cross-community connections that extend far beyond the gym. His groundbreaking international exchange to the USA exemplifies his vision of young people united rather than divided. A retired boxer himself, Calvin understands the discipline, respect, and resilience that boxing instills. He’s creating the next generation of champions not just in the ring, but as peacebuilders, leaders, and ambassadors for a shared, peaceful Northern Ireland.

1st Place Winner

Sport for Good Award ・ 2026

Tackling Awareness Of Mental Health Ireland TAMHI

Through the Central Good Relations Fund (CGRF) TAMHI has delivered a Shared Space Football Programme which has impacted 600+ young people on an annual basis. The project has promoted Girdwood Community Hub as a safe, shared space, and fostered positive relationships between PUL, CNR, and emerging communities. TAMHI is also an advocate for mental health awareness. The project has proven to champion positive relationships and deter from anti-community/sectarian violence on an interface. TAMHI charity was set up in 2011 by Joe Donnelly and Stephen McLaughlin in memory of Thomas “Tammy Tucker” McLaughlin who took his own life in 2009. TAMHI stands for Tackling Awareness of Mental Health Issues and the charity is set up to work with sports groups willing to use the power of sport to promote Positive Mental Fitness.

Highly Commended

Good Relations Connecting Communities Project of the Year Award ・ 2026

4 Corners Festival 4 Corners Festival

The 4 Corners Festival seeks to inspire people from across Belfast to transform it for the peace and well-being of all. It features innovative events designed to entice people out of their own ‘corners’ of the city and into new places where they will encounter new perspectives, new ideas and hopefully new friends.

1st Place Winner

Good Relations Youth Award (Under 25) ・ 2026

Jordan Doran

Jordan Doran, aged 24, is an outstanding young community development worker whose leadership has delivered transformational good relations impact in North Belfast. Working with Westland Community Group, Jordan has brought together people from all backgrounds in a community historically affected by division, deprivation and a lack of local services. Jordan has led inclusive cross-community programmes, residentials and large-scale community events that promote mutual respect, understanding and shared cultural expression. His work has created safe, welcoming spaces where difference is embraced and positive relationships are built. Most significantly, Jordan played a key role in securing £1.1 million through the Urban Villages programme for a new shared community facility in Westland, laying the foundations for long-term peacebuilding and inclusive community development. Jordan’s work demonstrates how young leadership can drive meaningful change in divided communities. Through vision, commitment and action, he has helped transform attitudes, create shared spaces and build lasting foundations for peace, inclusion and mutual respect. His impact will be felt for generations to come. Through his commitment, leadership and impact at a young age, Jordan exemplifies the values of the Good Relations Youth Award and represents the future of community-led peacebuilding in Northern Ireland.

1st Place Winner

Community Relations Council Exceptional Achievement Award (peacebuilding) ・ 2026

Brian Dougherty

Brian Dougherty MBE is a leading community development and peacebuilding figure in Northern Ireland and CEO of the North West Cultural Partnership. With over 25 years’ experience, he has focused on strengthening Unionist and Loyalist communities through cultural expression, dialogue, and practical problem solving. A former High Sheriff of Londonderry and 2007 MBE recipient, he has held senior roles across public, civic, and sporting bodies, including the Northern Ireland Policing Board, St Columb’s Park House, Foyle Port, and Cricket Ireland. After Manchester University, Brian returned to Northern Ireland during the early Peace Process, building a reputation for innovation and persistence in challenging areas like Tullyalley. At St Columb’s Park House he secured major investment and helped establish transformative initiatives including the Londonderry Bands Forum and the North West Cultural Partnership. Under his leadership, NWCP gained recognition from both the UK and Irish governments for pioneering cross community cultural programmes. Brian has championed equity, diversity, and interdependence by empowering minority voices, promoting cultural understanding through initiatives like the New Gate Fringe, and shaping strategic policy work, including contributions to the OICE cultural commissioners. Widely trusted across communities, he remains an influential advocate for reconciliation and shared progress, and a worthy nomination.

Highly Commended

Good Relations ‘Housing for All’ Award ・ 2026

Respect Project Newry

The Respect Project in Newry provides long term support for young people using sport as a mechanism. They have three main programmes: Champions League: Youth diversionary project using sport as a starting point but bringing in issue-based workshops. Ignite Project: Young Women’s Project to get them into sport but also support positive behaviours Future-Proof Programme: Older teens programme to support Peer Leadership and skills for life. These programmes are volunteer led and the project supports young people to move into leadership roles within their community, with the project or with other youth providers they link in with. The Project has been supported by Arbour and Radius Housing, who nominate them for this award. Their involvement in the Advisory Group has demonstrated an attitude of attitudinal change towards Good Relations principles and community response.

Highly Commended

Good Relations Connecting Communities Project of the Year Award ・ 2026

Breen Centre

The Breen Centre has been involved in peacebuilding and community empowerment in Newtownabbey since 1983. With a proud legacy rooted in fostering good relations, Breen has connected thousands of people locally, nationally and internationally through innovative cross-community, cross-border and conflict transformation initiatives, empowering women, men, youth, and marginalised groups. Recent programmes such as Time for Change, Developing Women in the Community and Women Crossing Borders have provided participants with vital skills and experiences to navigate the complexities of actually connecting communities, by building leadership skills, self-confidence, and providing platforms for civic engagement, particularly within communities facing marginalisation or division. Responding to rising hate incidents and community tensions, the Breen Centre has been instrumental in uniting diverse groups across religious, cultural, and social divides, focusing on challenging prejudice, promoting honest dialogue, building relationships and nurturing new leaders through these projects. Feedback from participants consistently highlights lasting benefits such as civic engagement opportunities, a stronger sense of belonging, an increased commitment to good relations and diversity and shaping a future founded on mutual respect and understanding. The Breen Centre’s sustained, grassroots approach has been instrumental in building bridges and promoting a community strengthened by diversity, mutual respect, and shared aspirations for peace

Highly Commended

Community Relations Council Exceptional Achievement Award (peacebuilding) ・ 2026

Liza Wilkinson

Liza Wilkinson is a dedicated peacebuilder whose work is defined by empathy, patience, humour and a genuine commitment to fostering understanding between people and communities. Since joining TIDES in 2005, and as CEO since 2016, she has combined deep expertise in conflict resolution, restorative practice, and mediation with warmth and approachability that helps people feel safe to engage with difficult issues. Her impact spans local, national, and international contexts, from working alongside grassroots divided communities in NI to supporting peace initiatives with the UN, UNHCR and OSCE across Europe, Africa, and North America. Liza’s leadership is rooted in collaboration, respect, and listening, empowering others to resolve conflict, celebrate diversity, and build trust. Above all, she sees peacebuilding as relational, practical, and transformative, shaping both policies and everyday interactions to foster more inclusive, resilient, and harmonious communities.

1st Place Winner

Good Relations Community Champion Award ・ 2026

Marianne Doherty

Dr Marianne Doherty is a leading practitioner in prison-based education, with over a decade of experience creating inclusive learning communities across deeply divided settings. She brings people together across prison walls, challenging stigma and promoting mutual respect, empathy, and personal development through education. Marianne is co-founder of the Ulster University Prison Project in partnership with HMP Magilligan, where ‘insiders’ (people-in-custody) and ‘outsiders’ (university students) collaboratively learn, problem-solve, and engage as equal participants. Her learning model values lived experience, actively embraces diversity, fosters inclusion, creating a shared experience that strengthens mutual understanding and peacebuilding. The project challenges entrenched assumptions about crime and punishment, and demonstrates how education contributes meaningfully to local reconciliation. As a Course Director in the School of Law at Ulster University, Marianne has embedded principles of mutual respect, inclusion, and dignity into curriculum design and delivery. Her expertise is underpinned by her PhD research on the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Programme, which examined how learning across prison walls can challenge stigma, redistribute voice, and support reintegration. Marianne’s long-standing commitment is principled, practical, and relational, combining academic rigour with care, consistency, and respect for all involved, making her a powerful champion for good relations and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.

1st Place Winner

Good Relations Volunteer of the Year Award ・ 2026

Jesus Castaneda

Jesus Castaneda is the positive vibe of the Filipino Community in the North-West, always wearing a big smile no matter how hard or how stressful a situation is. In 2014 he helped in founding the first Filipino Community ‘Kabalikat’ (‘solidarity’ ‘You will never walk alone’) and became Press Relations Officer. Father of two, he has worked tirelessly, and entirely voluntarily, for over a decade to unite the Filipino Community, tackling isolation and instilling a proud cultural identity across generations, and outreaching wider to promote awareness, tackle racism and lead from the front as a community activist. Influencing strategically for Diversity, Equality and Good Relations, he is serving as a board member for Kabalikat for 11 years and for BIMAAK NI for 3 years. Known as ‘Kuya Jess’ to many Filipinos, he is a bundle of positivity and inspiration for Good Relations and always serving with a smile. Jess is always there ready to lend a hand to those who need it most. His fond of traditional music brings people together regardless of backgrounds, ethnicity, religious beliefs, culture, gender and nationality.