The Yūjō Taiko – Drumming Together programme 2025 was a ten-week cross-community initiative funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Reconciliation Fund and delivered by Foyle Obon, a community arts organisation based in Derry. Designed to bring children together from two distinct communities—Gaelscoil Éadain Mhóir and Fountain Primary School—the programme used the dynamic art form of Japanese Taiko drumming as a vehicle for cultural exchange, personal development, and cross-community connection.
Led by Artistic Director Fiona Umetsu, alongside Cultural Director Katsutoshi Umetsu and Foyle Obon intern Forton, each session wove together rhythm, story, and play to build both drumming skills and social bridges.
The Yūjō Taiko programme met its reconciliation, and cultural education aims with creativity, sensitivity, and heart. It provided children from two traditionally divided communities a shared experience that was joyful, meaningful, and lasting. Their own words collected throughout the project speak clearly of connection, courage, and celebration. The impact of the project, while subtle in some areas, points toward the power of sustained, embodied, and playful engagement in laying the groundwork for peace and understanding across difference.