The £4,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is being used to open up and share this little known heritage with the people of Belfast and beyond.

Members of the Basque and Catalan communities will record their memories and experiences of life in Northern Ireland and share their thoughts on their cultural heritage, while people from Northern Ireland will record their understanding of this heritage. A short film will be produced and shared online to raise awareness of the project and the experiences of the participants.

A number of events will help showcase Basque and Catalan culture in the form of cooking, language and music. A screening and discussion of the multi-award winning film Pa Negre (Black Bread), and a book launch and lecture by renowned Catalan journalist, Vicent Partal have already been held as part of the project. Upcoming events include a screening of the new Basque film Asier ea Biok, in conjunction with the Belfast Film Festival.

Head of HLF Northern Ireland, Paul Mullan, said: “It is fantastic to be able to help raise awareness and understanding of the diverse heritage that can be found right across our towns and cities. This project is bringing people together to experience a series of culinary, musical and linguistic events to experience and share the unique heritage of the Basque and Catalan regions, and we hope that everyone will enjoy learning more about this distinct cultural identity.

“Often it is smaller projects like this one that really inspire local communities to get involved with and learn more about their own or other people’s heritage. We have a range of grant programmes available and would encourage anyone interested in exploring their cultural heritage, celebrating their customs or raising awareness of their traditions to get in touch with us.”
 
Notes to Editors

Since 1994 the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £184m to over 1,000 projects across Northern Ireland.

Further information

Please contact Julie Halliday at HLF (NI) on 07733 100674, email: julieh@hlf.org.uk.