Rural Community Network

📚RCN invites you to join an informal book club exploring John Paul Lederach’s classic peacebuilding text, The Moral Imagination.

Our first monthly meeting is scheduled for Friday, 9th September at 12pm via Zoom, where we will cover the first two chapters.

The book club will provide a space to share reflections, discuss key insights and explore what resonates from the reading.

A PDF copy of the book is available for anyone who would like to take part.

If you wish to attend or would like more information, please email [email protected]

We are delighted to be awarded our Bronze Work Well Live Well accreditation as part of Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke's Work Well Live Well scheme! When you spend a lot of your day at work, it's important that staff feel their health and wellbeing is prioritised to ensure a positive work culture and how best to support staff at work.

Congratulations to Yvonne and Kelly, who will be our Health Champions at RCN.

To find out more about Work Well Live Well and how your workplace can get accredited for free, visit www.nichs.org.uk

Last day to apply!

Diploma in Community Development Practice – 2026 - 2027

This is a one-year (part time) course accredited by the University of Galway for the year 2026 – 2027.
The Diploma in Community Development Practice has been designed to enable Community Activists (volunteers and paid staff in the community / voluntary sector) to develop the knowledge, understanding and essential practical skills and experience required to provide leadership within this field.

One off cost of £150 per person. If you are unwaged then we can talk to you about how we can support you to meet this payment.

Places are limited to 25 students.
Location: Coleraine
Participants are particularly welcome from rural communities in the Coleraine/Causeway Coast and Glens area.

Closing date for applications: Tuesday 19th August 2026 @ 12 noon. Please apply through the form here: https://forms.gle/gW1cSy7v5e2mEtya7

If you would like an application form please email [email protected] for further information.

Rural Community Network had a productive visit with Black Diamond Initiatives NI in Antrim in recent times where they agreed to contribute to the Intercultural Cross-border Inclusion Programme and our work on building an Anti-racism toolkit that will be developed with the insight and experiences of migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and local community leaders.

This toolkit will be used by community and voluntary sector workers throughout the island, and we are very enthused about the potential it holds for all in this sector.

We are also looking forward to pursuing this initiative with those groups who have agreed to work alongside us and were inspired by the amazing women of Black Diamond Initiatives who are passionate about supporting each other and helping us as a collective community take on the challenge of racism as a structure of exploitation and oppression.

Please keep an eye for more on this initiative and reach out if you think that you can add to it in any form.

This event was part of our Intercultural Cross-border Inclusion Programme, supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body - SEUPB.

Warm Healthy Homes Fund Consultation

Rural Community Network (RCN) is pleased to endorse the Fuel Poverty Coalition Northern Ireland’s response to the Department for Communities’ Warm Healthy Homes Fund consultation.

The Coalition’s response highlights the need to:
🔹 Ensure support reaches households experiencing fuel poverty, including those who may be missed by traditional eligibility criteria.
🔹 Take account of the links between energy costs, poor housing, health and wider financial hardship.
🔹 Ensure the Fund is accessible, fair and properly targeted, with strong monitoring to understand who is benefiting from the investment.

As a member of the Fuel Poverty Coalition, RCN has also highlighted a number of rural-specific issues which we believe need particular attention.

Our own briefing highlights the hidden nature of rural fuel poverty, the importance of trusted community organisations in reaching households, the challenges presented by rural housing and off-grid heating, seasonal and fluctuating incomes, the rural private rented sector, digital exclusion and the need to ensure sufficient contractor capacity across rural Northern Ireland.

We have also raised concerns about the continued use of Universal Credit as a passporting benefit, particularly given existing evidence about the barriers faced by rural and self-employed households in accessing Universal Credit.

Read RCN’s full rural briefing and response on our website 👇
https://www.ruralcommunitynetwork.org/publication-categories/consultation-responses/

🚨Rural Community Network (RCN), funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), is carrying out research to understand how rural communities prepare for, respond to and recover from major emergencies.

We want to hear from people involved in rural communities about your experiences, the strengths that already exist locally and what support would help communities become even more resilient.

If your community group is in a rural area (a settlement of 5,000 people or less, or open countryside), or you support a rural area, we would really value your input.

The survey takes 15 minutes and your views will help shape recommendations for improving rural emergency planning and support.

As a thank you, you can enter a draw for a £100 One4all gift card.

You can fill out the survey here 👇
https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/RCNCivilContingencies/

Have your say and help ensure rural voices are heard!

The Adventure for Impact grant is for people taking on incredible adventures to raise money for charity. It provides funding to help cover physical costs like kit, travel, food or entry fees, leaving the fundraiser free to focus on the challenge itself.

The grant is open to individuals planning a significant adventure or challenge to raise money for charity.

Applications close on 31 August 2026, and all applicants will be notified of the outcome by 14 September 2026.

Find out more here 👇
https://info.givestar.io/grants

RNIB Northern Ireland want to know how people with vision impairment here are impacted by the rising cost of living.

It could be higher energy bills, the rising cost of food and essentials, or the extra costs that can come with being blind or partially sighted.

Your lived experiences will greatly assist our policy and campaigns work to influence for effective change here in NI and UK wide.

Share your experiences: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XRZH36C

Closing Date-14th August 2026

🧠 Trauma Informed Approach Training

Module One: Adversity, trauma and resilience awareness training
This introductory course aims to raise awareness of the potential impact of adversity and trauma upon individuals, families, and communities and how relationships matter in promoting resilience and recovery.

Course Duration: 3 hours

Dates & Times:
Course 1: Thursday 17th September 2026 10am - 1pm
Course 2: Thursday 22nd October 2026 1pm - 4pm
Light refreshments provided.

Venue: RCN Office, Cookstown. Refreshments will be provided.

If you would like to attend, please complete the booking form to reserve a spot here 👇
https://ow.ly/FW8r50ZuiYz

Spaces are limited so reserve your spot now!

Money Guiders Programme colleagues have organised a training session - 'Changing Energy Related Behaviour: Household Energy Guidance' - which could perhaps be useful for your Cost of Living work.

We want to have a pro-active conversation about households and their energy usage ahead of the winter months. This interactive session is relevant for anyone supporting customers or service users who may be resistant, hesitant, disengaged, or finding it difficult to make changes

While the focus is on household energy guidance, the insights and techniques shared are applicable across a wide range of money guidance conversations. The session will explore how to effectively engage people in behaviour change, build trust, overcome barriers, and support individuals to move from receiving advice to actually implementing it.

Attendees will gain practical understanding of:
▪️Why people can be resistant to change, even when the benefits are clear.
▪️Techniques for encouraging engagement and increasing motivation.
▪️How to have more effective conversations with customers who may seem difficult, frustrated, or reluctant to take action.

Approaches for supporting people on a journey towards positive behavioural change.

You can reserve a spot here 👇
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/changing-energy-related-behaviour-household-energy-guidance-in-person-tickets-1994143561072?aff=ebdsoporgprofile