On Friday 14th February 2020 Resurgam Trust launched their book, “Conflict to Peace – Our Community Transformation” at the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum. The main aim of our book is to document the 22-year journey travelled by our community and to acknowledge and recognise the contribution and sacrifice made by many who have helped make this journey such a huge success. We accept that several challenges within our community remain unsolved and things are by no means perfect, but we feel that the contents of our book will clearly demonstrate that we have made a positive contribution to community regeneration and moved a long way in the course of the last twenty odd years.
Through hard work and dedication, the working-class Loyalist estates in Lisburn have witnessed significant and positive change. For example, the Old Warren Estate which was once described by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive as the “second most unpopular social housing community in Northern Ireland” is now listed as one of the most desirable communities to live. This success cannot be attributed to any one person or in fact any one organisation as it has clearly been achieved through a sustained effort by a huge number of people over a very long period of time. At times It has been a difficult journey, but it has also been extremely rewarding and it has demonstrated what can be achieved when a dedicated group of people come together with a common bond.
“Many people have asked what this long journey has really been about, and the answer is simple. We aim to develop a strong empowered, safe and stable community that is a place where everyone is proud and happy to live. We want the next generation to inherit a legacy that has a sustainable economy, is peaceful, and has a well-maintained community infrastructure. Our book will demonstrate that we have achieved a lot but there is much more work to be done as things are not perfect.”
Adrian Bird, Resurgam Trust Director
We would like to thank all our volunteers, staff, family and friends for their loyalty, dedication and hard work during the last twenty years. We would also like to acknowledge the support that we have received from the Voluntary, Community, Business and Statutory sectors. Special mention should be given to the Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, the Public Health Agency, the Department for Communities Voluntary and Community Unit, the Executive Office, the Special European Union Programmes Body, the PSNI and the NIHE. It is also important that we acknowledge the support from our locally elected Political representatives who we have worked with in partnership for the betterment of our entire community.
We would like to thank Colette and her team at the Irish Linen Centre & Lisburn Museum for all her assistance in giving our event such a special venue to use for such a momentous occasion. A final thank you must go to the Highway Inn Bar & Kitchen for providing the delicious food and refreshments for the event.
To view more pictures from the event please click here
For further coverage of the book launch please click and view the following videos on our You Tube channel: