Stormont Roadshow

On Wednesday 23rd November we had the pleasure of officially launching our brand new three year programme, Conversations on Conflict, at Stormont - Belfast.

Through direct contact with schools and communities, we are working with children and young people aged 9-18, living in non conflict affected communities and those living in areas of armed conflict. We are currently inviting these groups to respond creatively through poetry, art, speech and song to our key question for 2022-2023: what does war mean to you?

For this very special event we were joined by Mercy College Belfast who answered our 2022-23 question beautifully with the line “war means to be blind in another world.”

Hazelwood Integrated Primary School recited wonderful poetry that addressed varying forms of conflict. This line really stood out to the NSI team: ”my ears are open and my mouth is closed.”

The Beyond Borders Home Education choir then performed a wonderful song about hope and unity for all those in attendance.

Finally, we heard excellent recordings of poetry from the The Royal School Armagh!

We would like to thank Phillip Brett MLA and all the teachers, parents and guardians who made this event possible!

Phillip Brett MLA with Students from Hazelwood Integrated Primary on a tour of stormont

Conversations on Conflict Launch

Following the Centenary, we embarked on a three-year cycle, giving children and young people a voice on conflict, asking them to reflect on conflict more broadly. We were thrilled to see young people from over 120 countries participate in our international competitions. The themes were: The Impact of Conflict on Communities, Unheard Voices of Conflict and Life After Conflict. Young people shared incredibly powerful pieces of poetry, art, speech and song with us.

Over those three years our young people taught us so much! One of the most profound moments came during a Zoom celebration for winners when one young person from South America talked about a conflict in their country and another young person from the UK said, 'Oh, I didn’t know that happened in your country!' That moment inspired an idea in our team, which has become the basis for our next three year cycle, which kicks off today!

Conversations on Conflict invites young people to respond to key questions each year as part of our international competition. Keep scrolling and you'll see what this year's question is! As part of Conversations on Conflict, we'll also be working with schools around the world on collaborative projects, inviting young people to learn from their peers under the guidance of our industry professional practitioners.

Another part of the project that you will find on our website is a monthly question. At the start of each month, we'll post a new link where young people around the world can share their thoughts!

Our ultimate goal is for young people to have their voices heard by those with the power to make a difference. We are really excited to see what the next three years will bring and we hope you'll come along on the ride with us!

Never Such Innocence at the Ministry of Defence

Students from Larbert High School performing their brilliant song ‘life in colour’ - what talented musicians!

NSI were joined at the historic Ministry of Defence Main Building by pupils from across the UK. The nine schools represented were as follows: St Joseph's Primary School, Army Foundation College Harrogate, Birkdale School, Royal School Armagh, Ysgol Maes Garmon, St Mary Magdalen’s Catholic Primary School, Mulberry Academy, Larbert High School and St Vincent de Paul Primary School. Students from St Joseph’s and St Vincent de Paul were lucky enough to take part in songwriting and poetry workshops prior to the event, with our brilliant practitioners Bethzienna Williams and Clive Sanders!

Following time for lunch, rehearsals, and a tour of Henry VIII’s wine cellar, the young people and other esteemed guests were seated, ready for the NSI Roadshow to commence. After a welcome to the venue from Lt Col Elisabeth Roberts, Lady Lucy French OBE — Founder and CEO of Never Such Innocence — took to the stage. Lucy discussed the origins of Never Such Innocence, the development of our 2019/20 international competition, and informed all of the young people in attendance that they had become a part of the Never Such Innocence global movement! Lucy also shared some special messages. The first was a video from the Chief of the Defence Staff, Sir Nick Carter, who stressed the importance of young people understanding the ‘rhythm of history’. The second was a message from none other than the Prime Minister! 

Junior soldier Ben reads his speech, which won first place in our speech Competition in our ‘a fight for freedom’ bonus strand

As the event progressed, we heard a wonderful selection of poems, speeches and songs. We were also able to enjoy artwork from Junior Soldiers at AFC Harrogate, which was put on display. One of many highlights occurred when students from St Joseph’s were joined on stage by two students from Ysgol Maes Garmon, who played the guitar whilst the younger children sang an original song. Other memorable moments included powerful speeches read by students from Mulberry Academy and a fantastic song from students at Larbert High School titled ‘Life in Colour’. NSI Young Ambassadors Becki Pinkerton and Molly Meleady-Hanley were also kind enough to recite their competition-winning poems: ‘The Poppy’ and ‘Invictus is Me’. 

In addition to the many talented young people that shared their work, we were lucky enough to hear from Imam Asim Hafiz, The Chaplain-in-Chief RAF John Ellis and Max Dutton from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Max gave a wonderful talk about the work of the CWGC, and shared personal stories of those who the commission commemorates around the world. Closing remarks were delivered by Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch, who offered words of encouragement to the young people present.

The event was truly unique - the first of its kind to be hosted at the Ministry of Defence. Never Such Innocence would like to thank everyone that helped make the day such a big success.