STAND Changemakers Academy

The STAND Changemakers Academy is an immersive three-month programme in global social justice, and this year's theme is Peace and Reconciliation. At a time when conflict dominates the news and meaningful dialogue can feel increasingly difficult, the programme brings together young people from different communities and countries to reflect on conflict, learn from both global and local histories, and explore what it takes for societies to live together after division.

The programme includes a four-day residential in the Glencree Valley, Co. Wicklow, a four-week online Global Issues course focused on peace, and a cross-border residential weekend in Derry in partnership with Theatre of Witness Network, hearing directly from people whose lives were shaped by the conflict in Northern Ireland and who are now involved in reconciliation work.

Applications for the STAND Changemakers Academy 2026 are now closed.

Find out more: 

• Why this programme now
• What does it involve?
• Objectives
• How will you do this? (programme stages)

GENE Award Winner 

We are thrilled that the STAND Changemakers Academy received a Global Education Network of Europe (GENE) Award at a celebration in Budapest in November. The purpose of the award is to recognise youth-led Global Education initiatives that facilitate transformative learning. 41 initiatives from across Europe were nominated for the Award with five Global Education initiatives awarded the top prize following an external peer review.  

Why This Programme Now? 

Wars dominate the news cycle. Images of violence are so casually- and constantly- shared online, that feelings of overwhelm have led to feelings of disassociation and apathy. Political and social debates feel increasingly polarised, and people can feel pressure to take a side quickly.  Meaningful, nuanced conversation across differing perspectives can feel harder to engage in or sustain, and it can sometimes seem as though black and white positions are crowding out the grey. 

At the same time, for millions of people around the world, conflict is not something encountered through headlines or social media. It is a daily reality. Communities are living through the devastation of war, violence, and displacement. 

Peace, meanwhile, is often spoken about as an abstract idea. It can become over-sentimentalised, rather than understood as something difficult, ongoing and fragile. Peace does not simply appear after conflict. It requires effort, compromise, and a willingness to keep engaging with people who see the world differently. 

In Northern Ireland, the Troubles continues to leave deep marks on communities and families. While a form of peaceful coexistence has been achieved, the work of reconciliation continues. For many people in the Republic of Ireland the conflict was visible but distant. For others in the north, its legacy still shapes community memory today. 

This year, the Changemakers Academy programme begins with an idea and a question. The idea- that peace is difficult but possible. And the question- how can peace be practised/how can we practise peace? 

The programme  brings together young people from different communities and countries to reflect on conflict, learn from both global and local histories, and listen to experiences of violence and reconciliation. Participants are encouraged to step into challenging conversations, recognize the grey areas that are often lost in polarised debates, and think seriously about what it takes for societies to live together after conflict. 

What does it involve? 

• 1 week residential (Knockree, Co. Wicklow – 24 – 28 August)
• 4 x Global Issues Input sessions (1 evening a week online - September 2026)
• 1 weekend field trip to Derry (St. Columb’s Park House – 2-4 October)
• A reflection day in Dublin (16 October)
   

Objectives 

• You’ll deepen your understanding of conflict, peace, and reconciliation as social, political, and relational processes.
• You’ll strengthen your self-awareness, emotional capacity, and ethical responsibility in responding to conflict and injustice.
• You’ll build practical skills in dialogue, reconciliation, and non-violent engagement across difference.
• You’ll learn to take informed, responsible action through cross-community, cross-border, and international relationships. 

How will you do this? 

The first stage of the journey 

Knockree Hostel - 24-28 August 2026 

The programme begins with a 4-day residential in Knockree Hostel set in the beautiful Glencree Valley. In County Wicklow, surrrounded by nature and rolling hills, the Glencree Valley is also home to the Glencree Peace Centre, an organisation famous for its involvement in peace.  

Over the four days, you will explore global examples of conflict and peacebuilding, looking at how societies rebuild trust after violence and division. Through workshops and discussions, the programme also examines how polarisation develops today and how we respond to it. 

There is also a strong focus on personal reflection. You will be invited to think about your own values and how you engage with differences and disagreement in your own life. 

Guest speakers working in peacebuilding will join the programme, sharing practical insights from their work with communities affected by conflict. 

By the end of the residential, you will have a stronger understanding of conflict, a deeper awareness of your own perspectives, and a clearer sense of how to engage with challenging conversations going forward before going on to the next two stages of the programme: the bespoke Global Issues course and the excursion to Derry. 

The second stage of the journey 

• 5-week Global Issues course focused on Peace
• Online (31 August & 7, 14, 21, 28 September 2 hours per evening)
• More information to come  

The third stage of the journey 

Cross-border residential in Derry city 

You will then take part in a residential weekend in Derry, hosted at St Columb’s House. 

Derry is a city deeply shaped by the history of conflict, and at the same time, boasts a strong sense of culture, creativity and community. It is a place where the past echoes but where everyday life continues with vibrancy.  

This part of the programme focuses on lived experience. You will hear directly from people whose lives were shaped by the conflict in Northern Ireland and who are now involved in peacebuilding and reconciliation work. 

Through sessions delivered in partnership with Theatre of Witness Network, you will listen to personal testimonies that bring you closer to the human realities behind conflict. These sessions create space for people to see one another as human, beyond labels or sides, and to begin building bridges across difference. Theatre of Witness Network will also take you on a tour of Derry – seeing through different people’s eyes the places in which pivotal recent historical events occurred.  

There is time and space to reflect on what you hear. Through small-group conversations and facilitated discussions, you will explore different perspectives and consider what reconciliation looks like in practice. You will also reflect on how the history of conflict in Northern Ireland connects to wider global issues, including polarization, identity and division today. 

By the end of the weekend, you will have a deeper understanding of how conflict is experienced, how peace is built, and what it means to engage with difference in a real and grounded way.