Photograph courtesy of Colm Lenaghan and the Irish News

Students from the school President Barack Obama’s attended in Hawaii as a teenager visited Alexandra Park in north Belfast on Wednesday (November 13) to see the legacy of peacebuilding recognised by the President when he addressed young people in Belfast 11 years ago.

The young people from Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, were in Belfast as part of an exchange programme hosted by peacebuilding charity Co-operation Ireland as part of their Future Leaders Programme along with the US based charity HawaiiKidsCan.

On his last official visit to Belfast, President Obama singled out the park – the only one in Europe divided by an interface wall – as a beacon of hope after cross community efforts saw the establishment of a gate that allowed the park to be linked for the first time since the 1970s.

At an event in the Waterfront Hall in June 2013 he praised community worker Sylvia Gordon for her role in getting the gate installed in what was a sealed interface.

“As someone who got my start as a Community Organizer, I was so impressed with what Sylvia has done, because a few years ago, Sylvia visited the United States to learn more about how Americans organise to improve their communities.  

“So, after she came home, Sylvia rolled up her sleeves here in Belfast and decided to do something about Alexandra Park.  Some of you may know this park.  For years, it was thought to be the only park in Europe still divided by a wall.  Think about that.  In all of Europe, that one park has got a wall in the middle of it. 

“Sylvia and her colleagues knew how hard it would be to do anything about a peace wall, but they reached out to the police, they reached out to the Department of Justice.  They brought together people from across the communities.  They knew it was going to be hard, but they tried anyway.  And together, they all decided to build a gate to open that wall.  And now, people can walk freely through the park and enjoy the sun — when it comes out just like people do every day in parks all around the world.”

Pamela Sakamoto from Punahou School said: “We were honoured to visit Belfast and see the peace walls and Alexandra Park. It’s especially resonant as President Barack Obama referenced this site a number of years ago as a beacon of hope. He is a 1979 graduate of Honolulu’s Punahou School.

“I am learning from our visit with Co-operation Ireland that peace is a process and reconciliation is hard, continuous, worthy work. There are so many lessons here about tending to peace and mitigating tensions that I will take home to Hawaii and share with our students, faculty and staff.”

David Sun-Miyashiro from HawaiiKidsCAN said, “HawaiiKidsCAN is incredibly grateful to partner with Co-operation Ireland to promote international youth leadership and civic engagement. In recognition of parallels with Hawaii as an island community facing the impact of climate change, complex historical tensions, and a need for greater educational and economic opportunities for youth, this is a dynamic partnership that has spanned time zones and virtual conversations between youth over several years, culminating in a delegation of students and educators from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to Hawaii in 2023. 

“We are thrilled to bring a cohort of student leaders from Hawaii to Dublin and Belfast this November, and we look forward to meeting with schools, youth-serving organisations, and elected officials through our hosts with Co-operation Ireland.”