The Conference - Cohesion, Sharing and Inclusion: sharing the learning from Ballynafeigh - brought together local community representatives to participate in a number of workshops.
The workshops were designed to help learning in shared neighbourhood practice and assist more communities in their desire to live together.
The conference followed the Minister’s recent launch of the 'Shared Neighbourhood' Programme, a scheme which will see the development of 30 Shared Housing Schemes across Northern Ireland.
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Addressing delegates, Minister Ritchie said: "Today, in government and in communities across Northern Ireland we are working for a Shared Future.
"This Shared Future will not evolve on its own. It must be built and it must be built for our changing community. Parents are entitled to say ‘I want my children brought up in a mixed community environment’ – and where they do, Government must respond to that demand.
"I want to be very clear that a Shared Future is at the heart of all my work in the Department for Social Development, supporting good relations between people of different religious beliefs and political opinions."
The Minister continued: "We are building new shared spaces with bricks and mortar through the New Housing Agenda and through the regeneration of our towns and cities.
"We want our Neighbourhood Renewal programme and other support to the voluntary and community sector to complement this Shared Future agenda.
"Building a Shared Future in Northern Ireland will be a lengthy and challenging task, but not a thankless one. Organisations like Ballynafeigh Community Development Association work tirelessly to bring people together.
"But the reward will be great; for that new generation of children, children of the 21st century, a peaceful, fair, prosperous and shared Northern Ireland will not be an idea in a strategy document, it will be a reality," added Ms Ritchie.
(PR)
