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| 2003
International Healthy Cities Conference Belfast 19-22 October 2003 |
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Site
Visits All site visits will start at 14.30 on Tuesday 21 October from the Waterfront Hall. It is estimated the tours will return to the Waterfront Hall by approximately 16.30. Below
is a list of the site visits on offer, with a brief description
of each visit. At the bottom of the page you can find an e-mail
facility for booking a place on your preferred site visit. Please
note places on the visits are limited, so we would ask you to list
a second and third choice, in case your first choice is already
fully booked. Sustainable Development 1. ECOS Centre The
Ecos Visitor Centre is a local authority led environmental education
initiative, with community interaction and outreach programmes.
It is a demonstration of how global warming can be slowed by reducing
the net production of carbon dioxide through the use of alternative
technologies to produce up to 60% of its energy requirements using
renewable resources such as wind, solar power and willow beds. The
building has been designed using sustainable principles. Operationally,
Ecos also strives to use sustainable principles throughout, using
organic or local food in the café and reusing wastewater
to fertilise willow coppice through reed bed treatment. The Centre
includes indoor and outdoor features, including windmills, water
recycling, woodland ground, reed bed, a gift shop and café,
as well as a variety of picturesque walks with plenty of wildlife
to be discovered. 2. Mossley Mill Revitalisation
of old mill to modern office and other space for local authority,
community and other use. Situated next to a built lake. The revitalization
was designed to be very energy efficient and environmentally friendly,
and has an environmental management system in place. The building
generates all the energy it needs from wind-power. Looms from the
old mill are currently being restored, and a brief history of linen-making
in Northern Ireland will be given. Includes museum, café
and giftshop. Environment 3. Wastewater Treatment Works/Incinerator The
tertiary treatment works serves a population of around 300,000 people
and is the largest treatment works in Northern Ireland. Constructed
in three phases, commencing in 1992, the works provides for full
biological treatment and sludge disposal. A significant feature
on the works are the six inlet screw pumps, each 3.5m in diameter
and the largest in Ireland. 4.
Air Quality Monitoring Station 5. Waste Management A tour of various waste management facilities, including a landfill site which will be developed into a site for leisure activities, a recycling facility which works in partnership with the community sector, and a Community garden which was inspired by landfill tax, and uses all secondary materials. This site visit will culminate in Belfast City Hall, where what delegates have seen will be set into the context of local waste management policy, and refreshments will be given. Regeneration 6. Laganside Boat Trip
This
tour includes a 1 hour boat trip along the Lagan with a guide, followed
by a presentation at the Laganside Corporation offices in Clarendon
Dock, where tea and coffee will be served and there will be an opportunity
to ask questions.
Delegates
will begin their tour at the Craft Shop, where refreshments 8 Titanic Quarter The shipbuilding business of Harland and Wolff in Belfast enjoyed decades of success as one of the world's most successful and prolific heavy engineering companies. With advances in technology and foreign competition, the shipyard reduced its workforce and vacated land no longer required for heavy industry. This has paved the way for what will be at over 185 acres one of Europe's largest regeneration waterfrontage developments promoted by a private/public partnership between the development company Titanic Quarter Limited and the Port of Belfast with a jobs target of 20,000. This tour includes a history of the area and highlights plans to develop it into a high quality, mixed-use development with employment, housing, leisure, heritage and cultural arts within a traditional urban form. The tour will take in the listed building in which the White Star Liners including RMS Titanic were designed and the slipways on which both Titanic and Olympic were built. Also
included in the tour to Titanic Quarter will be a visit to the Northern
Ireland Science Park, which aims to create some 3000 R&D jobs
in the R&D sector over the next 10 years, and within which lies
the dry-dock in which the Titanic was docked prior to going on sea
trials. Mental Health and Wellbeing 9. Tannaghmore Gardens Action
Mental Health's involvement in Tannaghmore Gardens represents an
innovatory service that successfully provides training and employment
opportunities to people with mental ill health through their involvement
in the development and enhancement of the park in ground maintenance
and the walled garden.
The Belfast City Hospital is a leading university teaching hospital and originated as a Workhouse in 1841 following the introduction of the Irish Poor Relief Act. Most of the old buildings have been replaced by the distinctive Tower, which dominates the Belfast skyline. The Tower was opened in 1986. Located on a 32 acre campus in the lively university area of South Belfast, the Hospital's strategic focus is upon the development of regional cancer and renal services. Of the 5+ longest surviving Kidney transplant patients in the World, 15 (more than 25%) were transplanted at the Belfast City Hospital. There are several other important regional specialties on the campus including the Centre for Respiratory Disease, Mental Health Services, Regional Haematology, Cardiology, Urology and Vascular Services. The Hospital is also designated to become the Regional Centre for Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery and Adult Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery. A comprehensive cancer research programme, directed by Professor Patrick Johnston, has led to the establishment of a unique transatlantic partnership between the National Cancer Institute of the United States and both parts of Ireland. The Hospital is internationally known for its research, not only in cancer, but also in other fields including medical genetics, nephrology, microbiology and cystic fibrosis. Over 1,500 delegates attended a recent international conference hosted by the Hospital's CF Team. This visit will provide an opportunity to hear about the new facilities and services for cancer patients (the current capital investment programme is in excess of £70m) and some of the Hospital's research programmes. There will also be opportunities to see the new haematology laboratory and regional genetics centre. 11. Royal Victoria Hospital The
Royal Victoria Hospital is one of Northern Ireland's key hospitals,
opening in 1797 as the Belfast Dispensary and Fever Hospital, and
developing through momentous years of development and expansion
as it has responded to the need of a growing and turbulent population.
The hospital is famous for its pioneering work in the treatment
of conflict-related injuries and for the development of emergency
cardiac care. This tour would look at both old and new aspects of
the hospital, including cleaning systems and old air conditioning
systems (which were the first in their day) and present day features.
New developments include the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children
which is the premier paediatric teaching hospital for Northern Ireland,
and is notable for infant surgery, intensive care, paediatric cardiology,
and the treatment of childhood leukaemia. There will be an opportunity
to learn more about the services the Royal Victoria Hospital Trust
provides and how some of the problems encountered are tackled. Afternoon
tea will be served. Local History 12. History of University Life in Belfast: The Queen's University of Belfast Queen's
University was founded by Queen Victoria in 1845 and received university
status in 1908 and is now one of the biggest universities in the
UK and Ireland; it is also one on Northern Ireland's major employers
and contributes immensely to the local economy as well as leading
the way in the fields of research and development. Its 1908 Charter
was notable ahead of its time, making provision for a student on
the governing body, and making women eligible equally with men to
hold any office or enjoy any advantages of the university. The current
Chancellor of Queens is former US Senator George Mitchell, who has
played an active role in the Northern Ireland peace process; his
installation as Chancellor has been seen throughout the wider community
as a sign of the University's commitment to being a role model for
a new and inclusive Northern Ireland. This tour takes in the historic
buildings as well as new ones, and includes the main building, the
picturesque quadrangle, the library, art gallery and Great Hall.
The tour, given by a local historian, will cover the establishment
and development of Queens from 1845 to the present day, and will
culminate with tea and coffee served in the historic Great Hall. Housing 13. Belfast Housing Tour
Community Development 14. Shankill Tour The Tudor Residents Association was formed by local people as a response to housing redevelopment which was being planned in the Shankill, which they felt was insensitive to the needs of the community. The subsequent work of the Residents Association, and their partnership with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, enabled significant changes to be made in the types of housing being built in the area. This walking tour of the local housing, both old and new, provides a chance to meet local residents and hear about the problems local resident face and how they have tackled these. The visit will culminate at the Spectrum Centre, where there will be an opportunity to meet with local community representatives, including FASA, a local project which engages with young people to discuss issues around drugs, and offers them the chance to develop their own information resources for other young people. Refreshments will be served. 15. Interface Tour An interface, or `peace-wall', is a physical barrier erected to separate Catholic and Protestant territory. This site visit includes a bus tour along the longest interface in Northern Ireland. The history of the interface, and how the communities are working together to improve the situation, will be given. The visit will include the opportunity to see the famous Cupar Way peace wall, where visitors from across the world have travelled to write messages of peace, and will culminate in a trip to Culturlann, a café and arts centre on the historic Falls Road, where refreshments will be served, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions and to purchase gifts. 16. Highway to Health This
tour will look at health issues of local people, and how these are
being tackled at a community level. It will include a bus tour of
a Protestant community and a Catholic community, followed by a walking
tour of a mixed community, and finishing with a tour of Ballynafeigh
Community House, which was established in 1984 as an inclusive centre
for a large number of community activities, and which includes a
3rd floor `community garden'. Refreshments will be served and there
will be an opportunity to meet local people and ask questions about
any aspect of the site visit.
Children and Parents 18. Surestart Tour Sure
Start projects work holistically with families with young children
to improve health. The projects are led by a partnership of statutory,
voluntary and community organisations. The tour will include a visit
to a Sure Start base and a tour around the local area. There will
be opportunities to meet Sure Start workers and local people, and
gain an insight into the benefits Sure Start has brought to the
community. This site visit will include a walking tour of the immediate area, followed by a tour of the Centre, focusing on the Stress Reduction & Management Centre, Droichead An Dóchais (The Bridge), and the training centre. The Bridge came about as a direct result of a gun attack by loyalists on the Ashton Centre on 20th July 2001. This gun attack brought to the surface problems, which, for many, had been suppressed within this community for many years. The resulting trauma on staff and local residents revealed the need for such a facility, where clients suffering from stress related illnesses, such as PTSD, could be treated in a non-intrusive manner, using complementary therapies. The therapy has enabled the victims involved to come to terms with the effects that the conflict has had on them and their behavioural patterns. The training centre is an accredited training centre for the complementary therapies, and provides a range of training, including diploma courses in Indian head massage and reflexology. There will be an opportunity to meet local people and ask questions about the Ashton Centre. `Top
of the Rock' Healthy Living Centre This site visits will focus on 2 of the community facilities: Ballymurphy Women's Centre, which includes a Stress Centre, which provides a range of alternative therapies including reflexology, Reiki, aromatherapy massage and stress management, and also runs the YAHOO project, which is a Youth and Health Outreach project providing informal training for young people on sexual health and drugs. YAHOO was the first project in Northern Ireland to use `virtual babies' to help educate young people about the realities of parenthood. Ardmonagh
Family Centre, which provide an integrated and co-ordinated response
to the needs of families in the Upper Springfield area and works
closely with Social Services to provide services for families from
outside the area also. It also has an eye-catching `community garden'
where local people are trained in horticulture and provide locally
grown food to the community.
If you do not receive a confirmation within four days, please try again or contact conference organisers Happening by phone on +44 (0)28 9060 4420. |
This
visit will include a visit to an air quality monitoring station
with a brief explanation to visitors of the equipment and its purpose,
followed by a visit to the Air and Environmental Equality Unit of
the Environment and Heritage Service, where delegates will be given
a presentation on air quality monitoring in Northern Ireland, EU,
National and local air quality policy; and an update on progress
through the local air quality management process towards meeting
EU and National air quality health based objectives.
Conway
Mill is a landmark building who's white tile frontage can be seen
from many parts of the city. Built in 1842, the Old Mill Block was
the first mill erected in West Belfast, xx the epicentre of linen-making
in Belfast. The Mill now hosts a community
East
Belfast Partnership is one of five area based Partnerships in Belfast
focussed on regenerating the most disadvantaged areas in the city.
East Belfast previously was the site for one of the largest shipbuilding
industries in the world, where the world famous Titanic also was
built. Over recent decades this industry has declined and finally
closed just last year. Against this background, the Partnership
and locally based community and voluntary organisations have attempted
to reverse the decline in employment and promote community based
economic development. The tour will be facilitated by Partnership
staff and will visit several social economy initiatives in East
Belfast involving both the Partnership and the Orchardville Society,
a group supporting the inclusion of people with a learning disability.