What a year it has been!

With carefully laid Street Feast plans postponed once again, our team of four dived into the various opportunities and challenges that presented themselves this year. The strict lockdown at the start of the year meant we had to get creative with community building solutions.

The Community Activity Challenge took place in estates around Dublin throughout the summer. Teenagers and their older neighbours built new friendships with The Time Machine in 11 counties. And over 600 newly built households took part in our Home Together programme in Kildare and Wicklow.

It’s clear that residents have a new found appreciation for those that live within their 5km. As we approach 2022 I hope for renewed empathy, compassion and collaboration with those who we live beside.

In 2021 We’ve had the opportunity to develop some incredible community building projects, work with new partners and expand on what Neighbourhood Network is.

We thank those who served on our voluntary board of directors in 2021; Dave Dunn (Chairperson), Clodagh O’Reilly (Treasurer), Anne Talbot, Stephen O’Riordan & Craig Bishop.

We’d also like to thank you so much for your support this year! Whether it was getting involved in a project, connecting your neighbours or simply reading our newsletter.

It’s great to have you with us as Neighbourhood Network explores how we can build happier, healthier and more connected communities together.

Wishing you a very Happy holidays agus Athbhliain faoi Mhaise

From,
The Neighbourhood Network team.

Home Together came about as a way to connect neighbours in newly developed housing estates and neighbourhoods. Residents in these areas weren’t arriving into an established community so it seemed like a great opportunity to help encourage new connections and build community from the ground up.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Cairn on the Home Together Campaign. When we began the project in May we knew only one person in the communities we were working with. To see hundreds of smiling faces of neighbours laughing and making plans for their neighbourhoods at the Street Feast in September was really what our work at Neighbourhood Network is all about!” – Jessica Ryan, Project Development

This initiative was a first for the team, but it was such a lovely thing to be a part of, and we hope to work with more new communities in the future.

If you have been following our work this year you may be familiar with the Community Time Machine already. It is our cross-generational community building project, designed to bring young people and seniors together and create community connections.

“This year we’ve had the pleasure of running the time machine project in 11 different counties! We’ve been so lucky to see so many interviews come back between teenagers and seniors across the country. Every single one has put a smile on my face! The hard work that our community organisers put into this project is incredibly inspiring, and it really goes to show you the good that connecting with your community can do. A massive thank you to all our community organisers, teenage and senior participants and photographers! It’s been a joy to capture these incredible stories with you.” – Aoife O’Connor, Community Engagement