WINNING THE WAR: RHETORIC OR REALITY FOR YOUTH IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND SOUTH AFRICA?

The foci of this paper are the similarities and differences of youthwork between South Africa and Northern Ireland, within the framework of understanding social capital in a post-conflict sense. Youthwork, in order to make a profound impact on the youth, needs to understand influences at a macro-, mezzo-, and micro-level. This includes the legacy of violence that has been structurally perpetuated and often casts a veil over youthwork practice. Youthwork policy in a post-conflict situation is influenced by the pre-conflict and conflict stages. This results in policy and practice that reinforces the norms of inequality which are often the precipitating factors for the violence in the first place. Youthwork policy and practice fails to recognize the nature of inequalities in a post-modern society. The divided societies of N.I. and S.A. appear to be further apart in terms of integration and the distribution of resources.