Welcome to the  BIG IDEA Project!

We hope you enjoy your visit to the bigidea.ie site and use the opportunity to catch up with what’s happening in the communities of Irvinestown and Glaslough or step back in time through a visit to our gallery of historical images.

The BIG IDEA Project (The Between Irvinestown Glaslough – Identity Diversity Environmental Advancement Project).

The aim of this project is to build community relations, reconciliation and a cross-border ethos and relationship between the communities of the two project partners in Irvinestown and Glaslough through the development of an innovative storytelling and modern photography and e-gallery project building on the social, economic and environmental commonalities between both areas.
The project has involved cross border, cross community, family and intergenerational co-operation and will involve the wider community and school children as the end users of this e-gallery.

It aims to promote the capacity of both local communities to share ideas and experiences for promoting and improving the social, economic and environmental development of both areas - building on elements which they both have in common.

This is a new and emerging relationship between both communities in what will become a very unique project of mutual benefit to both organisations and areas. The aim is to ultimately develop a long term relationship and achieve long term goals for the mutual benefit of both communities.

The project seeks to study and reflect on each area’s past and recent history through the medium of storytelling, photography, the use and building of an e-gallery on this new web site owned by both groups and in future will include innovative community relations interventions in education and environmental programmes.

This project is funded by the International Fund for Ireland and is managed by the Northern Ireland Rural Development Council (RDC) under the Integrating Communities Programme
Background

ITEC is a non-profit taking company limited by guarantee, incorporated in 1992. The company has an excellent track record in delivering capital projects including CRISP, UUP, BEP and EUSSPPR Projects. ITEC aims to increase economic development and employment opportunities in the town of Irvinestown and surrounding hinterland by active community participation in job creation and the promotion and creation of further job opportunities; to work in partnership with other agencies to target and address social need and improve the conditions of community life. ITEC has a pool of “voluntary expertise” and this human resource capital is used to design, implement and evaluate economic development.

ITEC has since its inception in 1992, developed a series of community led regeneration initiatives which to date have created over 50,000 sq. ft of fully occupied workspace and generated in excess of 200 jobs across 25 businesses varying from manufacturing, retail and service. Amongst the businesses operating from ITEC are; a niche market textile industry, a timber frame construction company, a rural transport project and a human milk bank. ITEC has been named as the Northern Ireland Winner of Enterprising Britain 2007 and highly commended nationally in recognition of their efforts promoting economic and social development in North Fermanagh. ITEC was named as all Ireland Pride of Place category 1 winner 2005. ITEC directly reinvests profits into social development through a memorandum of understanding with the ARC Healthy Living Centre.