A Citizens’ Assembly
A Citizens’
Assembly
Making room for dialogue through music, across political and religious differences.
Belfast · 1996Making room for dialogue through music, across political and religious differences.
Tommy organised a Citizens’ Assembly in Belfast in 1996, bringing creative artists together with representatives of political parties and religious groups. At a time when progress towards peace remained uncertain, the gathering looked for ways to open meaningful negotiations.
The Music of Healing
The song Tommy wrote with Pete Seeger became the gathering’s theme. Recorded on The Heart’s a Wonder, it offered a musical expression of the hope behind the assembly: that people divided by conflict could still find something to share.
A meeting beyond the concert stage
The assembly gave Tommy’s peace work a practical setting: inviting people into conversation through a shared musical gathering.