About Us
The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation runs several projects and activities involving a range of partners and stakeholders that seek to strengthen cross-border relations and cooperation on a North-South and East-West basis.
The Centre is the lead partner in the S2@25 project, a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). The overall objective of this 2-year project is to record and reflect on the collective impacts of the implementation bodies established under Strand 2 of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, and to work with them in the development of a joint strategy. Also, working with the Atlantic Technological University as a project partner, the project will also develop a training programme for staff of the implementation bodies and officials within government departments in the two jurisdictions.
The Centre’s Strategic Partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Reconciliation Fund (2022-2025), the “Maintaining the Conditions for Cooperation and Cross-Border Lives” project has three core strands, which include the Ad-Hoc Group for North-South and East-West Cooperation, and the New Common Charter for Cooperation Within and Between these Islands.
Through the Ad-Hoc Group for North-South and East-West Cooperation, which the Centre convenes, the project supports civic society organisations from both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland involved in North-South cooperation to engage with those responsible for the implementation of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland and other relevant parties with responsibility for cross-border cooperation in order to arrive at a shared perspective of the conditions for North-South cooperation and the extent to which these are being maintained.
The New Common Charter for Cooperation Within and Between these Islands aims to empower civic society to drive cooperation, North-South and East-West. Developed by community organisations on the island of Ireland, with involvement of organisations from Great Britain, the Charter represents a set of key principles for civic society organisations participating in North-South and/or East-West cooperation.
The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation was set up in 1999 (as the Centre for Cross Border Studies) as an independent research and development centre to stimulate new thinking and action on North-South and cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland. Since that time, it has established a unique reputation as a source of high-quality research, information and training on cross-border and transnational cooperation issues.