What is the North South Way Peace Camino
- walk together
- connect with nature
- explore heritage
- build relationships across communities
Why it was Created
The Peace Camino has been developed in response to ongoing need within communities for:
- connection across communities
- safe, shared and inclusive spaces
- opportunities for healing and reflection
- community-led peacebuilding
- opportunities to bring people together as one for peace
Through REACT’s (Reconcilation, Education & Community Training) work with victims and survivors, cross-community groups and local communities, a consistent message has emerged:
People want opportunities to come together in ways that feel safe, natural and meaningful.
Walking provides that opportunity.
It removes barriers.
It creates space for conversation.
It allows people to connect without pressure.
The Peace Camino responds directly to this need.
A Community-led Initiative
The North South Way Peace Camino is designed, shaped and stewarded by local communities. This is not a top-down project. It is built from the grass roots up.
Communities:
- Co-Create the route experience
- Design creative elements and installations
- Contribute stories, heritage and identiy
- Act as long-term custodians of the route
This approach ensures the Peace Camino remains:
- inclusive
- locally owned
- sustainable
- meaningful to the people it serves
What Makes It Different
The North South Way Peace Camino is not just a walking route. It is a new model that brings together:
- peacebuilding
- wellbeing and health
- community development
- heritage and culture
- environmental connection
- community wealth building
- creative arts
It is:
- community-led rather than infrastructure-led
- trauma-informed in its approach
- rooted in lived experience
- designed to grow over time
It transforms an existing landscape into something new: a shared pathway where people can walk forward together.
The Vision
The long-term vision for the North South Way Peace Camino is to create a shared pathway that brings communities together, connects people as one for peace, and supports a more connected and inclusive future across the island.
It provides opportunities for people from all backgrounds to:
- come together in a shared space
- share a message of peace
- connect as one through a simple act of walking
Beyond connection, the Peace Camino is designed to support sustainable growth and opportunity.
It aims to:
- build economic opportunity that supports the community and voluntary sector, local businesses, social enterprises and entrepreneurs
- develop a shared North–South economic and active travel corridor
- strengthen local places through increased participation, tourism and community activity
The Peace Camino also creates a platform for innovation and learning. Through collaboration between communities and academics, it will:
- support new post-conflict peacebuilding research
- explore the role of landscape, movement and shared experience in healing and connection
- generate learning that can inform future projects, policy development and shared island initiatives
This is more than a walking route. It is a living model of how communities, sectors and systems can come together — to build peace, create opportunity, and shape a shared future.
