You can help us by voting for CAP's PICAS Project at the Aviva Community Fund You can trust your voting choice to make a real difference. Help us to help others. Your votes count. So do the arts!!

Belfast has been called the Race Hate Capital of Europe (April 2014) because of the upturn in racist incidents. Unlike most other places in Europe the number of attacks is increasing weekly. CAP’s PICAS is unique & needed at this time to counter this negativity & create positive, action based work.

Programme for Inter-Cultural Arts Support (PICAS) has been running as a successful CAP Programme for 2 years & it encourages & fosters initiatives to promote ideas, processes & practice in the intercultural arts arena.

It is through participation in the arts that we give cultural expression to our values, practices & customs. For practitioners the development of art acts as a means through which we tell our stories & assert our place within a particular culture or community. Participation in the arts allows for cultural exchange & exploration of collective values. It is an inalienable human right to participate in the cultural life of a community (Art 27.UNDHR). Supporting access & dialogue across ethnicity & community is core to questions around inequality & equality, social inclusion & human rights in society. NI's Racial Equality Strategy is out for consultation now so this work is timely.

You can help us by voting for CAP's PICAS Project at the Aviva Community Fund

Please go to community-fund.aviva.co.uk to register and vote. You can give up to 10 votes.

Thank you,

The CAP team x