This page gives further details about An Munia Tober, an organisation funded under the Partnership Grants Scheme.
An Munia Tober means The Good Road in Cant, the Traveller language. They work with Irish travellers in and around Belfast including work on health, education and citizenship.
- visit An Munia Tober's website www.anmuniatober.org
Traveller Participation project
The project delivered 12 week training courses for 1 day per week. The courses aimed to increase confidence and understanding of the electoral process and ways to participate. The course was repeated three times a year and delivered on two levels; the first for disengaged 16-18 year olds, and the second for people over 18 years. In years two and three, the courses were rolled out from Belfast to six other Traveller organisations working across Northern Ireland.
In addition, beneficiaries cascaded their learning to other members of their families and people on their sites. Beneficiaries also had the opportunity to visit Council offices and Stormont and to meet elected representatives and a guide to voting was produced. Our grant funded staffing and childcare costs, visit and travel expenses, tutors, recruitment, venue hire, material production and evaluation.
Project outcomes
- increase in number of Irish Travellers registered to vote and increase the likelihood that they will do so
- to develop awareness amongst Irish Travellers of electoral systems and how they operate in local regional and European contexts
- to encourage participation of Irish Travellers in the electoral system and wider civic participation
- to establish and complete regular meetings with elected officials
- to develop a user friendly guide to the electoral system in Northern Ireland
Outcomes achieved
The An Munia Tober ‘Traveller Participation Project’ successfully delivered its programme through a range of training courses which were individually tailored to suit the needs of the beneficiaries. More than 125 people had their awareness of democracy increased and many liaised with political decision makers such as MLAs and councillors. The project also disseminated more than 820 voter registration forms to traveller communities throughout Northern Ireland, exceeding the project’s outcome targets.
Case study
Brigid was brought up in Dungannon and moved to Belfast in the early 90s. She became interested in the Traveller Participation project after attending a An Munia Tober information morning.
Because of the prejudices Brigid and her family had experienced in the past she was enthusiastic to learn about democratic processes, how to deal with discrimination and inequalities and how best to utilize this information within the Traveller community.
Prior to the project Brigid was unaware of her rights, did not know how to vote and was unfamiliar with MLAs and various organisations such as the Equality Commission.
Over the 12 weeks of the project, Brigid participated in all aspects with enthusiasm and confidence and said ‘I thought the course was very beneficial, I picked up a lot of knowledge. I had never registered to vote before and now I have as well as some of my family. We will be voting in the next election’.
