Boston to Belfast Youth Empowerment partnered with the Boston-Belfast Sister Cities, the Friendship Four NCAA collegiate hockey tournament, and the Belfast Giants professional hockey club, creating a unique opportunity for diverse Boston-area youth to travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland in November 2024. The program designed to promote cross-cultural awareness, education, leadership development, friendship, and respect between and among inner-city youth in Boston and Belfast. The highlight of the program is a week-long packed schedule of educational, cultural and athletic events held during the final week of November, with Thanksgiving dinner for participants and team members being held at the famous Belfast Castle and Estate.
Program Information
In 2017 a volunteer associated with the Boston-Belfast Sister City Initiative was asked to organize an exchange for a group of young hockey players from Boston to travel to Northern Ireland to skate with local youth during the Friendship Four Hockey Tournament. During the week of Thanksgiving, the team traveled to Northern Ireland, spending eight days in Greater Belfast, learning history, volunteering, and meeting with community members with a wide range of local experience.
The trip was impactful not only for our program attendees from greater Boston, but also for our partners from Northern Ireland. Workshops were designed and facilitated around identity, self-expression, and cultural awareness..