THANKS to the help of a dedicated team of volunteers from across the world, the Clinton Centre in Enniskillen is slowly coming back to life after lying dormant for many years.
UISCE – a not-for-profit organisation, the name of which stands for "Understanding Ireland Socially, Culturally, Economically" – took over the lease of the Clinton Centre in January, 2020, and since then has been slowly refurbishing the building, with hopes of reopening it to the public in autumn.
Officially opened by Bill Clinton in 2002, the building – which is located by the site of the 1987 Enniskillen Remembrance Day Bomb – was named after the former US president in recognition of the role he played in helping to being peace to Northern Ireland.
Billed as an “ideal business centre” for conferences and meetings, the facility was at one stage home to a youth hostel, cafe and a Council-run art gallery.
More recently, it also housed a one-stop Social Enterprise hub.
However, the cafe closed in 2012, Hostelling International Northern Ireland pulled out in December 2012, and the leases for the Social Enterprise hub and the Higher Bridges Art Gallery were terminated in 2017.
Now, undergoing refurbishment by the hands of UISCE volunteers, there is hope once again for The Clinton Centre.
Speaking to this newspaper, UISCE director Keith McNair outlined the plans for the centre, and the neighbouring Intec Centre, which the organisation has also leased.
"We are developing two campuses, one here in Enniskillen, and the other in Manorhamilton.
"[They'll be] two separate organisations, but two sister campuses, and the primary focus is developing and understanding the peace process and the challenges to do with peace-building, because we need to build [peace], we need to co-create where we are going.
"There's lots of issues to be addressed. There's also a great need to develop an understanding and an empathy across the board," he said, adding that the campus will be cross-Border and cross-community in focus, with "nobody excluded".
He continued: "We want to participate in developing a new brand of leadership that will engage across the spectrum."
Saying that the refurbishment of The Clinton Centre is still a "work in progress", Keith gave The Impartial Reporter a guided tour of the building this week, highlighting the work that has been done so far and what they hope to do, subject to funding.
Walking through the main door, Keith said that the foyer area, which once played host to the Higher Bridges Art Gallery, will be opened up to the general public as a lounge area with sofas, coffee provision and an exhibition space.
He noted that they are also "tentatively exploring" the possibility of having a café/restaurant on the ground floor.
Moving upstairs, Keith pointed out the bedrooms of the former hostel which are currently being revamped with a fresh lick of paint and the addition of hand-painted murals, showcasing the artistic skills of one talented volunteer.
"The accommodation will be primarily for the volunteers who are coming here to get on with the work and programmes we have been developing, but it will also be used by groups that come on-site for either peace studies, or for educational programmes, and tour programmes as well," he said, adding: "I don't see us opening it as a hostel as it was before."
When the building is up and running, UISCE plans to run a variety of programmes at The Clinton Centre.
Talking about these, Keith said: "What we are working towards offering – hopefully kicking off in September, if funding permits – are four UISCE leadership programmes.
"Primarily, the UISCE leadership programme will be aimed at people aged 18-30, but anybody can come," he said, noting that during the first programme, participants will critique a paper entitled 'New Ireland', and take a look at the proposed Enniskillen-Sligo Greenway, which he heralded as a "fantastic project".
He said: "We're going to look at the Greenway as an on-the-ground example of the dynamics at work in a local cross-Border community."
As well as running their own leadership programme, UISCE are hoping to work with local people and organisations who provide programmes that have either a cross-community function or cross-community potential.
"We're also looking at running a programme of monthly talks and an autumn school that will engage with the challenges local people see within the progression of peace-building," said Keith.
When it reopens, the centre is to be entirely volunteer run, and currently around a dozen volunteers from countries including France, Germany, Moldova, Estonia, Tanzania, Israel, England and the Republic of Ireland, are using their skills to restore the centre.
"Accommodation and food is provided [for volunteers], they work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and they've got Friday, Saturday and Sunday off, and we usually go somewhere at the weekends.
"We will need local volunteers as we begin to get more organised and begin to get up and running," Keith told this newspaper.
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