Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, early years practitioners, parents and the Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan TD were among those gathered at the Great Northern Hotel in Bundoran on Monday 9th of February to welcome the launch of the Respecting Difference Programme. This hugely successful programme is aimed at helping young children in Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties learn to respect difference throughout their lives. The Programme, designed by Early Years – the organisation for young children and now supported by £1.1million funding from the International Fund for Ireland will now be rolled out to over 5,000 pre-school children and parents and 240 pre-school teachers over a three year period, across Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties. It will work with young children and parents to increase awareness of diversity and help them understand what it’s like to be excluded or discriminated against.The Respecting Difference Programme includes a cartoon and educational initiative aimed at pre-school children and followed up with an interactive programme to be rolled out at playgroups and nursery schools.The Programme follows research carried out by Queens University which showed that by the age of six, one in six children in Northern Ireland are making sectarian and racial remarks. It uses cartoons and interactive play materials to help young children understand and respect those who are different and encourage inclusion in a very simple child-friendly way.  The aim of the Programme is to build a more tolerant attitude among young children and cement that attitude through adult life.Speaking at the event, Denis Rooney CBE, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland said: “If we want to move forward in our society towards lasting peace and a shared future, we have to find ways to help our children embrace diversity and respect difference. The Respecting Difference Programme provides an innovative and proven way of helping young children to understand the need to be inclusive and respectful of others. We have eagerly followed the success of the Programme from its pilot and we are delighted to be able to support such an initiative that will be rolled out widely across Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties."Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive of Early Years said that projects such as this one represented a concrete outworking of the organisation’s philosophy;“Early Years as an organisation has the development of respect for difference amongst its key aims and objectives. Our future depends on learning the lessons of the past, and the development of respect for difference is crucially important as we move forward as a society. Early Years is proud of this programme as it helps very young children work out for themselves why discrimination is wrong, and why it should be challenged. We are pleased that the International Fund for Ireland has recognised the importance of this work, and has enabled us to deliver the programme to even more children on the island of Ireland.” In 2003, in partnership with PII (Peace Initiatives Institute, USA) Early Years developed the Respecting Difference Programme which included a series of one minute cartoons that are shown on national TV for three week slots three times a year; a new Respecting Difference Curriculum for pre-school and primary school children; resource packs for parents and pre-school workers; and support for the pre-school setting from experienced Early Years staff. Following a successful pilot, the IFI funding of £1.1m will allow Early Years to roll out the Respecting Difference Programme to over 5000 pre-school children and parents and 240 pre-school teachers over a three year period, across Northern Ireland and the Southern border counties.The Programme, backed by research and evaluation from Queen’s University Belfast, has been effectively tested and piloted to ensure it delivers an effective programme for young children. After just three weeks the pilot programme was found to increase children’s:1. Willingness to play with others, including some of those who are different to themselves2. Ability to understand how being excluded makes someone feel

3. Ability to recognise instances of exclusion without prompting.

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