Workers Educational Association and Strabane District Council
The programme between Workers Educational Association (WEA) and Strabane District Council was launched to encourage the community to get involved in the arts to help regenerate the area.
The project aimed to promote greater engagement in the arts, particularly through civic events, to build social capital and foundations for economic regeneration and create a pool of skilled technicians.
The WEA developed and delivered accredited courses to create a pool of technicians able to design sound and lighting for various types of performances. It produced 32 technicians and proved so successful that the council asked the WEA to take on more of the project and between September 2003 and June 2005, 343 people were involved in various courses.
Other courses included carnival drumming, carnival crafts, How to be an Entrepreneur, Performance Skills in a Community Setting, carnival props and mask making and Marketing & Business Techniques for Artists.
The programme showed major community benefit. The newly established pantomime group in St Patrick’s Hall now has the confidence to service all its own needs. Before the carnival floats for the annual Fair Day parade were bought in ready-made but now they have been constructed by the community groups trained by the project. In addition, a number of individuals have used the skills acquired to set up businesses or progress into further training.