Young writers take to the stage at Belfast Book Festival to celebrate global writing programme with Fighting Words NI
12th June, 2026
Fighting Words NI is a Northern Ireland-based youth charity, supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. It is dedicated to empowering children and young people, aged 6-18, through the transformative power of creative writing.
The organisation recently brought a group of young people together, at the Belfast Book Festival held at the Crescent Arts Centre, where they had the opportunity to read their own stories and poems aloud to an audience. They also launched their new publication with the International Alliance of Young Authors entitled, How Can We Make This World Worth Knowing?
The event was a chance to celebrate a number of Fighting Words NI projects that have been running throughout the year with children and young people from across Northern Ireland and across the world. This included Project Fusion Junction, an international collaboration, supported by the British Council, that connects teen writers from Belfast, Trinidad, and Jamaica through a digital workspace to fuse global voices and creative visions.
Watch the video below.
Following months of virtual workshops and intensive mentorship, these young creators co-authored an ambitious multimedia graphic novella. The event at the Belfast Book Festival celebrated their cross-continental achievement and marked the official launch of the story they built together across borders.
Hilary Copeland, Executive Director, Fighting Words NI, said, “Fighting Words NI was delighted to take part in this year’s Belfast Book Festival, at the Crescent Arts Centre, where we celebrated a number of projects that have been running throughout the year. We are an arts and education charity working with children and young people all across Northern Ireland and are here to help support young people in discovering their creativity and bring joy to their lives through writing.
We know that young people want to envision a better future for themselves, and to do that imaginatively through the arts is a really brilliant tool to help them articulate their ideas, to help them think critically, and to help them meet other people as well.”
Dr Damian Smyth, Head of Literature, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, added, “The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has been committed to supporting the writing and creativity of children and young people for many years. These are the readers and the writers of tomorrow, and I think the enjoyment of that is really at the top end of what we would regard as a priority.
Fighting Words NI carries out exemplary work and provides meaningful opportunities for children and young people to access and participate in high quality writing programmes. Of course, all this is supported with public funding and helps to ensure that more people from all backgrounds can enjoy arts experiences – a key outcome in the Arts Council’s 10-Year Strategic Plan.”
Since 2015, Fighting Words NI has reached more than 24,000 young people across Northern Ireland, providing them with opportunities to write their own stories and share their voices with the world. Their programmes are designed to be engaging, inspiring, and fun, fostering a love of writing and storytelling that will last a lifetime.
To learn more about Fighting Words NI visit www.fightingwords.co.uk