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We believe working in partnership will contribute to a more positive and just society. The MAC established long-term partnerships with human rights and advocacy charities who work to make Northern Ireland a more tolerant and inclusive society.
Our partnerships are expanding but we have long term partnerships with the organisations highlighted below.
As well as collaborating and co-designing projects with the MAC, our partners also programme their own private and public events in the MAC.
Our partners are:
Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) is a small human rights NGO with a big vision: to turn international human rights standards into grassroots tools for economic, social and environmental change.
From a small pilot project founded by Inez McCormack in Belfast and Dublin in 2006, PPR now works with a growing network of communities across Ireland using human rights as tools for change. Each of these campaigns is supported by community and voluntary groups, politicians, activist networks and funders. We collaborate with partners in Scotland, South Africa, USA, England and elsewhere to exchange learning and expertise.
PPR promotes human rights by building power. We harness our organising, policy and communications expertise - and our growing activist network - to support communities who have been marginalised by laws, policies, public authorities or private interests.
PPR Campaigns
Lift the Ban - Build a Kind Economy
Lift The Ban is a community of people in the asylum system, refugees and supporters who are campaigning to create a hospitable environment and a kind economy.
Take Back the City
Take Back the City was formed in 2021 to develop sustainable solutions to Belfast’s housing crisis. We are families in housing need supported by experts in architecture, urban planning, housing policy, technology, communications, permaculture, human rights and equality. We believe we can build a better Belfast - a city that’s not divided by walls, where everyone has a home and the things that really matter are society’s priorities - family, community, environment, health and happiness.
New Script for Mental Health
The New Script campaign seeks to build a progressive and inclusive social movement, bringing together everyone in our society who believes we need a better approach to mental health. The purpose of this movement is to collectively develop a New Script for Mental Health, grounded in human rights and trauma-informed principles.
Since 1994, the Rainbow Project has been working for a better Northern Ireland for LGBTQIA+ people and their families. The Rainbow Project change lives through their service provision which mitigates the impact of discrimination, and they change society through training, campaigning and policy work, which seeks to eliminate the root causes of that discrimination and deliver full social and legal equality for LGBTQIA+ people.
Alliance for Choice (AfC) believes everyone who needs an abortion should have free, safe and legal access in their own country, without stigma. Set up in 1996, AfC campaign for barrier-free access to abortion; comprehensive, unbiased sex education for young people and an end to the harassment of people using reproductive health services.
Much of AfC’s work has been about giving voice to the tens of thousands of women and pregnant people from Northern Ireland who had abortions in Great Britain, or at home alone, with the threat of prosecution and without medical support.
Action Mental Health (AMH) actively promotes the mental health and well-being of people in Northern Ireland. Action Mental Health grew from humble beginnings in Downpatrick in 1963 when it was known as the Industrial Therapy Organisation. Back then it was tucked away out of sight, in tune with the stigmas of the day. Today however, AMH has emerged as the standard bearer within Northern Ireland’s Third Sector – helping to smash the stigma of mental illness for all sections of the community.
Action Mental Health is multi-faceted, offering myriad services. Integral to the organisation is its nine New Horizons services, dotted across Northern Ireland – north, south, east and west, where clients benefit from a variety of personal development, vocational skills and employability training options including accredited qualifications and work placements. A variety of resilience-building techniques are also pivotal to our range of services delivered to school children and young people in further and higher education. Services provided also include a full range of therapeutic counselling for children, young people, adults, families. The charity also offers a whole gamut of services for young and old alike, designed to promote mental well-being for those in work and currently unemployed; those affected by chronic pain or debilitating long-term illnesses and people living with eating disorders.
Mental illness in Northern Ireland
One in five adults in Northern Ireland will show signs of a mental illness (Northern Ireland Health Survey DHSSPS, 2015). When matched to 17 other countries, NI had the 2nd highest rates of mental ill-health (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/p...). Prevalence of mental illness in Northern Ireland is 25% higher than in England (DHSSPS (2014). Making Life Better: A whole system strategic framework for public health 2013-2023).
For almost 50 years in Northern Ireland and 21 years in the Republic of Ireland Extern has worked alongside our funding partners to provide solutions to some of the most difficult societal issues. Annually, we passionately support and speak out for over 15,000 children, individuals, and families. Our commitment lies in enabling them to triumph over their adversities, fostering positive change, and strengthening family bonds for a brighter future.
7387 people benefitted from Extern's support across ROI in 2022-23
6609 young people engaged through our Youth Gambling Awareness programme
10259 people benefitted from Extern's support across NI in 2022-23
6228 Individuals supported on their path to recovery from addiction
Anaka Women’s Collective
Anaka is a Belfast-based women's collective, led by women with direct experience of the asylum system. They use their collective skills to educate, advocate for and celebrate each other in the face of an oppressive immigration system.
Start 360 – Engage Women
Start 360 – Engage Women support women impacted by trauma, addiction, violence and community pressure who have interfaced with the Justice System.
The Engage Women’s service provides a range of support for women who have been in custody or had contact with the criminal justice system. The service supports women to address barriers to growth and development while reconnecting with their own lives and aspirations.
