Northern Ireland Program with Vanderbilt university

May 20 – 27, 2026

CIEL just completed another Northern Ireland Trip with a group of students from Vanderbilt University’s Dialogue Program. Over one week we moved through Belfast, Derry/Londonderry, and the border region, examining a conflict that officially ended over twenty-five years ago and whose consequences are still being worked out.

The program centered on the history of the Troubles, the architecture of the Good Friday Agreement, and the ongoing work of reconciliation and dealing with the past. Students met former combatants, victims’ advocates, politicians at Stormont, and civil society leaders working across the sectarian divide, including organizations in Derry and East Belfast still navigating what peace looks like on the ground.