The Northern Ireland Office’s (NIO) Connect Fund has awarded over £80,000 to nine community projects, bringing the total funding to nearly £500,000 across 21 organisations in the UK. These grants support initiatives that strengthen connections between Northern Ireland and other regions of the UK, fostering collaboration, cultural exchange, and community development. Projects include partnerships between young Northern Ireland performers and Welsh National Youth Opera alumni to stage new operas, as well as collaborations between local charities and the Eden Project in Cornwall.
Northern Ireland-based groups such as The Ulster Touring Orchestra from Belfast and Holywell Trust in Derry-Londonderry are among the latest recipients. The Connect Fund, with a total pot of up to £1 million, is designed to help community and voluntary groups tackle shared challenges while building lasting relationships with partners across Great Britain. The funding supports initiatives in arts, youth leadership, veterans’ support, and civic engagement.
YouthAction, an early recipient of the Fund, will use its grant to host a Youth Leader Summit in Belfast for young leaders aged 18–35 and a CEO Leadership Summit in England to strengthen partnerships across the UK. NIO Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Matthew Patrick highlighted the diverse approaches of the funded projects, noting their role in enriching local communities and boosting East-West collaboration.
The Ulster Touring Opera (UTO) will use the Connect Fund to bring 50 young Northern Ireland performers together with alumni of the Welsh National Youth Opera for three new mini-operas at the 2026 Belfast Children’s Festival, inspired by Aesop’s Fables. This project aims to nurture inter-regional friendships, boost confidence, and create lasting cultural connections.
Meanwhile, Holywell Trust will collaborate with the Eden Project to address regional regeneration, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion. The partnership also aims to develop leadership skills and establish a long-term East-West Leadership Collective to support future joint initiatives in the North West of Northern Ireland.
Overall, the first round of the Connect Fund has supported 21 projects that strengthen East-West connections, develop cultural and civic links, build leadership capacity, and encourage constructive dialogue on shared challenges across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England.
