PeacePlayers 2023 Impact Report 5 18 (5) - Flipbook - Page 40
— GLOBAL SITES: NORTHERN IRELAND —
CATCHING UP WITH UNA AND ALEX
We sat down with PeacePlayers Northern Ireland coach Una Harkin
and Scaling Project Coordinator Alex Mosley, to hear in their words
what PeacePlayers Northern Ireland is all about, and what basketball
has to do with it.
What you’re
doing there is
not about basketball.
IT’S ABOUT
BRINGING
PEOPLE
TOGETHER
to allow for the
conversations to
open.
-Una
SO, TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELVES.
Una: I’m Una. I’m from Northern Ireland. I was a footballer, I was a Gaelic [football] player and then
I moved onto rugby when I moved abroad. I’ve been a PE teacher for about 15-16 years. I coach the
Leadership Development Program and the Bridging Divides Program. I really enjoy the Leadership
Development Program, because the students are really positive. They really want to be there and
they really want to make a change.
Alex: We’re big on Una in
The conflicts
PeacePlayers. She’s been a great
that exist are
addition to the team. So, I was
about people not
born in London and spent most
understanding how
of my life outside of England. I
to celebrate other
lived in Hong Kong and China for
people’s cultures.
a lot of my younger years. And
then I moved to Dublin when I
I THINK
THAT’S THE
REASON WHY
PEACEPLAYERS
EXISTS
IN MANY
PLACES.”
was 17, and I’ve been living on
the island of Ireland for nearly
25 years. I’ve worked mostly
in the youth and community
sector and played basketball at
university in Dublin. My love of
basketball actually came from
just playing pickup as a child, but
also my love for connecting with
-Alex
others and experiencing different
cultures.
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