The project, hosted by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s, trains student volunteers to work together with the children in workshops, helping them express their creativity through story making. This is the first time the Fighting Words workshops have been held on the University campus, giving school groups a memorable experience to inspire more stories in the future.   

Funding to support these on campus workshops came from money raised at the SHC Presents… HOPE event which was part of Queen’s University’s Agreement 25 conference.

Speaking about the collaboration, Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre and patron of Fighting Words NI, Professor Glenn Patterson said: 

"Partnering with Fighting Words NI has allowed us to bring some of their expertise to our students in the university and, in turn, to children in our neighbourhood. It is wonderful that newly-trained volunteer mentors from the university will be helping to deliver workshops on campus. This new stage of our collaboration with Fighting Words NI sets the ground for a lasting partnership that will give a space for children for in local primary schools to explore their voices and stories in a new and exciting environment on the university campus."

"When we visited the new Fighting Words NI premises in November of last year, we were fortunate enough to see a story-making workshop with a primary school class in progress. It was immediately clear that this was something quite special not only for the children involved, but also for the volunteers who were helping to guide the children's ideas into the first chapter of a new story.”

Director of Fighting Words NI, Hilary Copeland, added: “To flourish as individuals, young people need access to safe, creative learning spaces and activities where they can escape from their responsibilities for a few hours, have fun, dive into their imaginations and meet like-minded peers.”

“At Fighting Words NI, we are committed to providing all children with the support and resources they need to develop their writing skills, to advocate for themselves, and share their stories with the world. We believe that writing can be a powerful tool for self-expression, communication, and social change. Thanks to support from volunteer mentors at the Seamus Heaney Centre, we’ll be able to offer hundreds of children and young people more creative writing opportunities in the coming year.”

Queen’s Masters student Ida Boardman, who volunteers with the scheme said: "Volunteering with Fighting Words NI has been a brilliant experience. It has been so rewarding seeing how much the kids enjoy the workshops. It's really heartening to see them gain confidence in themselves and their writing."

With a focus on schools in our neighbourhood, a Fighting Words NI workshop with a class from Botanic Primary School will feature in the events to mark the opening of the new Seamus Heaney Centre building in June.

Find out more about the Seamus Heaney Centre here.

Find out more about Fighting Words NI here.