Fermanagh and Omagh District Council receive funding for NI centenary events

The money comes through the Shared History Fund, which help mark the Centenary of Northern Ireland, and will go towards a project entitled 'Digital Remembering Initiative'.

The Shared History Fund, which The National Lottery Heritage Fund is distributing on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office, will support groups in marking the Centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021 in a thoughtful, inclusive and engaging way.

The projects are diverse and cover a wide range of subjects and key moments in Northern Ireland’s history - from discovering untold stories of Northern Ireland’s past, to examining the development of sport over the last 100 years, to the contribution of a range of communities to the Northern Ireland we know today.

In awarding grants, The National Lottery Heritage Fund prioritised those organisations which best demonstrated how they were inclusive of different audiences and interpretations of the past, in line with the Principles for Remembering.

These are a set of principles which The National Lottery Heritage Fund developed in partnership with the Community Relations Council in 2011, to help groups navigate difficult history and to ensure the stories told throughout the Decade of Centenaries were thoughtful and inclusive of a range of perspectives.

The Shared History Fund provides another opportunity for these principles to be used in practice, as groups mark the 2021 Centenary.

Commenting on the funding an FODC spokesperson said: "Digital Remembering focuses on the past, utilising contemporary tools of interpretation.

"The Digital Remembering Initiative will augment and enhance Fermanagh and Omagh District Council's NI2021 Event Programme, leading into 2022.

"The creative programme of activities will commemorate the centenary of Northern Ireland through a diverse and inclusive approach to engaging with local communities, underpinned by the Principles for Remembering.

"Digital Remembering sees the development of digital skills to contribute to the remodelling of future community engagement and heritage interpretation."

Digital content relating to the NI2021 Event Programme will be created for the Museum and Heritage Service as well as for participating local community groups and schools. Objects, photographs, oral histories, film and archival material relevant to the commemorative period will be documented and published online. Video and sound equipment will be purchased for the initiative and made available to participating groups alongside access to training and expertise.