About InterAct

Members of the 2010 Youth Forum

InterAct Youth Arts Festival & Youth Forum, spearheaded by the Millennium Forum, is a project created by youth, for youth, encouraging 12-21 year olds of all capabilities and from all backgrounds in Derry/Londonderry to InterAct with the Arts and each other, through a week of multi-disciplinary workshops, film screenings, special guest events and live performances.

This collaboration and celebration of arts and culture, informed by a Youth Forum, nurtures synergies between arts organisations, youth, schools, arts practitioners and our local community.

The third InterAct Youth Arts Festival will take from Monday 25th ~ Sunday 31st July 2011, this 7-day 12-venue Festival will present free workshops, film screenings, special guest events, gigs and performances for 12~21 year olds.

InterAct Youth Arts Festival & Forum aims to encourage youth from all sections of the community, including disabled youth and those from ethnic minorities, to participate in the arts thereby:

• increasing inter-community mobility and social cohesion between youth;
• creating shared spaces for sharing education and the arts;
• promoting cross-community contact, cooperation and exchange;
• encouraging joint-delivery of programmes, sharing best practice and creating synergies on a collaborative basis;
• addressing issues of conflict and cultural difference;
• promoting cultural understanding and reconciliation;
• giving a voice to the youth of the city while simultaneously increasing their skills, confidence and self-esteem;
• developing, utilising and showcasing artistic talent on a collaborative Derry City stage.

This project is funded by the National Lottery Funds through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the Reconciliation Fund through the Department of Foreign Affairs.