Winners

Explore our past winners.

2027 Nominations

70 results

Highly Commended

Sport for Good Award ・ 2026

Jim Russell

Jim Russell and Canal Boxing Academy are the beating heart of genuine community change in Lisburn. For years, the club has worked hand-in-hand with Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council’s Good Relations Team, delivering projects under the Executive Office’s T:BUC strategy — most recently through the Stronger Together initiative, under the theme Our Safe Community. More recently, the club has benefited from PeacePlus investment, delivering sustained cross-community engagement with a transformative peace and reconciliation impact that directly addresses needs specific to the LCCC area. Jim and his volunteers have never fallen into the box-ticking trap. They simply do the real work — creating safe, shared spaces where people of every age, ability, and background come together as equals. The club continues to play a vital role in prevention, early intervention, and positive youth development — tackling division through shared passion and purpose. With a new purpose-built home now in development, Canal’s story is far from over. It stands as living proof that when communities are given trust and support, they build the kind of respect, inclusion, and unity that no policy alone can deliver.

1st Place Winner

Good Relations Youth Award (Under 25) ・ 2025

Emma Baptista

Emma is a 17 year old from Portadown, she comes from a Lithuanian and Portuguese background. Her family moved to NI to seek work. She became political active after Brexit and ultimately helped both her parents get their settled status. Emma has been involved in a cross border, cross community project funded by the International Fund for Ireland from 2023-24, during which time she exhibited exceptional leadership skills. Emma took a leading role within the project, encouraging her peers to come together to discuss issues of mutual concern. The young people on the project came from religious, cultural and politically diverse backgrounds, and Emma’s contributions ensured that all views were actively listened to and respected. Due to issues raised within the project, Emma was motivated to take active steps to improve youth participation within her local community. She successfully lobbied the Armagh Banbridge Craigavon Council and the Education Authority Youth Service to re-instate a local Youth Council so that young people’s voices from all backgrounds could be heard to produce change and amplify the voices and ideas of young people within the local community. Emma aims to go on to become the first member of her family to attend university.

1st Place Winner

Community Relations Council Exceptional Achievement Award (peacebuilding) ・ 2025

Kathy Wolff

Kathy is described as having worked in her community for longer than most can remember. She has been a vital and constant resource to community relations. She is currently Coordinator of the Community Relations Forum in Newtownabbey. She has also been Facilitator for the International School of Peace Studies, Fellow of Messiness, sits on CAN Peace Partnerships, South Antrim Rural Network, Grange Neighbourhood Renewal Partnership, Ballyclare and District Community and Policing Forum, Newtownabbey Good Relations Partnership and various other local community groups. All though the time Kathy has worked in her area she has been a shining light – seeking and supporting peace building, bravely changing and reimaging community.

1st Place Winner

Good Relations ‘Housing for All’ Award ・ 2025

Portstewart Community Association

Portstewart Community Association embodies the spirit of community and progress. Composed of dedicated individuals from diverse backgrounds, this group is driven by a shared commitment to creating positive change. Their hardworking nature ensures that every initiative, whether big or small, is meticulously planned and executed with unwavering determination. Forward-thinking in their approach, they embrace innovative ideas and sustainable solutions, always striving to anticipate future challenges and opportunities. What sets them apart is their warm, welcoming demeanour—they create an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute. Whether it is organizing the Red Sails Festival, attending local meetings, or gathering for littler picks their enthusiasm is infectious, inspiring others to join their cause.

Highly Commended

Good Relations ‘Housing for All’ Award ・ 2025

Doreen Murugi

Doreen Murugi has been volunteering with the Housing for All programme since May 2023. She has been instrumental in setting up and developing the newly formed African Caribbean Community Network, based in Derry-Londonderry. It is the only organisation in the North-West solely representing the African and Caribbean communities. Doreen works tirelessly to develop and deliver programmes and events to support people who have just arrived in NI and people who have lived here for some time. Under the ACCN structures, she has set up a Women’s Group, a Health Care Workers’ Group and a Young People’s Group, ensuring targeted approaches for different demographics. Doreen has promoted the African and Caribbean culture within the North-West and over the last eighteen months has delivered various programmes to thousands of people including World Africa Day, Easter and Christmas celebrations and she supports families on a daily basis to obtain help from local organisations. She is enthusiastic and driven and most importantly, Doreen is a truly kind person who deserves recognition for all of her hard work.

Highly Commended

Good Relations Connecting Communities Project of the Year Award ・ 2025

Culture on the Hill - Ryan Culture on the Hill - Curry

Culture on the Hill brought together 9 primary and post primary schools from the Dungannon area, the culmination of a programme celebrating the rich and diverse multicultural backgrounds of residents in the Hill of O’Neill and Ranfurly House on 23 October 2024. Over 500 young people and their families came together to celebrate and enjoy an unforgettable night of music, song, dance and storytelling. The event organised by Radius Housing Association in partnership with APEX and CHOICE was supported by the Department for Communities and the Northern Ireland Executive’s Housing for All Shared Housing Programme. It was truly inspiring to see how the young people from a range of different backgrounds, engaged with and enjoyed each other’s cultural traditions. There was a wonderful camaraderie between the young people and it was wonderful to see how they supported each other. There was a joy and vibrancy that was palpable on the evening. The positive feedback from parents, teachers and community leaders has been amazing. We hope to be able to replicate this programme of work in other Shared Housing areas going forward.

Highly Commended

Good Relations ‘Housing for All’ Award ・ 2025

Carrick Connect Carrick Connect

The CwtH project in Carrickfergus exemplifies a holistic approach to promoting good relations and combating homelessness stigma within a shared housing community. Delivered by Carrick Connect, funded through the DfC and the NIHE, and supported by Clanmil’s “Housing for All” initiative, the project underscores how hands-on volunteering and education can break down barriers and build empathy. Over a series of six seven-week programmes, 30 participants collaborated with Belfast Homeless Services, offering practical assistance such as meal preparation and emotional support. These direct encounters challenged stereotypes and transformed perceptions, helping participants realise the complexity of homelessness and the common humanity that underlies all communities. Beyond delivering immediate help to individuals in crisis, the project heightened local awareness of systemic issues like addiction, discrimination, and economic disparity, encouraging collective responsibility and ongoing dialogue. By creating a safe space for open conversations around sensitive topics, the Connect with the Homeless project has inspired a lasting legacy of mutual respect and cultural understanding. Ultimately, this initiative stands out for its capacity to foster genuine, enduring change—empowering the local Carrick community to work together, tackle shared challenges, and lay the groundwork for a more unified, sustainable future.

Highly Commended

Good Relations Volunteer of the Year Award ・ 2025

Adam McGibbon

Adam McGibbon is a determined, long-time advocate who has volunteered his time for more than a decade to promote the benefits of Integrated Education. He has been a key member of the ‘Integrated AlumNI’ group since its founding 12 years ago, an organisation of past students of Integrated Education which campaigns for further integration. His writing on integration has been published in major newspapers and magazines in the UK and USA. He has completed a TED talk that advocates for telling the stories of integration. He has represented AlumNI to government, to the Assembly, in the press, has hosted events to educate parents about the benefits of turning their school integrated, and last summer, he even climbed 15 of the Mourne Mountains in one day to raise money for integration. Outside of Integrated Education advocacy, Adam is an award-winning environmental campaigner and writer, having won the inaugural Spirit of Northern Ireland ‘Climate Hero’ Award and the 2021 ‘David vs Goliath’ Award for his successful efforts to change environmental policy in the UK and abroad. He has done his work advocating for Integrated Education with passion, and entirely as a volunteer, and is worthy of recognition for his tireless efforts.

Highly Commended

Community Relations Council Exceptional Achievement Award (peacebuilding) ・ 2025

Carole Kane

Carole Kane is an exemplary individual who has been employed by Shankill Parish Caring Association (SPCA) in the Jethro Centre, Lurgan as their Good Relations Project Officer since 17 May 2021. She is highly articulate and hardworking, routinely demonstrating her exceptional commitment and dedication to Good Relations. SPCA was originally established in 1996 to address Community need in the Greater Lurgan area, which includes offering tailored mentoring, help to influencers and leaders in the local area, through mediation, project planning, developmental support and conflict management. Building tolerance and understanding at ‘grass roots’ level delivered through programmes looking at historic, cultural and political issues of relevance. Carole has spent the majority of her working life, directly enabling Good Relations work. She has approached her role in the Jethro Centre with eagerness and enthusiasm. Her unrelenting professionalism sets the tone for SPCA, and her innovation is instrumental in a shift in approach that contributes directly to the overall Jethro Centre success. She is a strong educational leader with distinctive values which she brings to a range of challenging situations. Her drive and diligence have ensured that she continually makes a highly valued contribution to all that we deliver. A hugely inspirational figure.

Highly Commended

Good Relations Youth Award (Under 25) ・ 2025

Expert By Experience Youth Mentors

The Expert By Experience (EBE) Youth Mentors, a group of 7 young people, are tearing down barriers and building a sense of community and belonging for other care- experienced young people across Northern Ireland. The EBEs, based in Include Youth offices across NI, work tirelessly to create a positive and inclusive future, strive for equality and celebrate diversity through a range of engaging cultural activities. EBEs engage in discussions with young people, dispelling myths and stereotypes, and promoting a culture of mutual respect. They provide support to care-experienced young people with issues around housing, employment, education, mental health, and poverty. EBEs support young people who participate in Give and Take, a pre-employability programme which supports care-experienced young people and young asylum-seekers/refugees to move into employment, training and education. EBEs remove barriers for young people they support through a level of empathy and understanding that only someone with a similar lived experience can offer. This invaluable insight has made them incredible advocates for their peers, supporting them to feed into policy consultations to drive societal change.