A gate blocks access to the Catholic enclave of Ardoyne in north Belfast. First built in 1969 as a temporary solution to reduce violence, the peace walls — a euphemism for segregation barriers — have increased in number and scale since the start of the peace process.

A young man wearing a uniform shirt of the Pride of Ardoyne Flute Band adds an election poster of a Sinn Féin politician to a bonfire. Bonfires are traditionally lit in Protestant areas on the "Eleventh Night" of July to commemorate the victory of the Protestant William of Orange over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The "Twelfth" as it is called is a tense period. Many Catholics consider the celebrations a display of sectarian triumphalism whereas for many working-class Protestants they are an essential expression of their cultural identity.

Ryan in the Village area of south Belfast. Behind him a lamp post in the colors red, blue and white of the Union Jack identifies the area as Protestant. Flags, murals and painted curbs and lamp posts are common identity markers in Protestant working-class areas.

Young people near a so-called peace wall in north Belfast that separates the Protestant Glenbryn area from the Catholic Ardoyne area on the other side. First built in 1969 as a temporary solution to reduce violence, the peace walls — a euphemism for segregation barriers — have increased in number and scale since the start of the peace process.

Young people celebrate Saint Patrick's day in the Catholic Ardoyne area of north Belfast. The young man on the left has a tricolor flag, the national flag of the Republican of Ireland, draped around him.

Caitlin (right), 17, and Tigernach, 14, get ready for boxing practice in the Divis Immaculata boxing club in the Catholic Divis area of west Belfast. Caitlin who already won several national and international medals, is an inspiration for the younger Tigernach.

A view over the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, a small Catholic enclave. West Belfast is mostly Catholic, the east mostly Protestant, the south is the most affluent with pockets of Protestant working-class units and north Belfast is a patchwork of Catholic and Protestant areas.

Shrine to a teenage suicide victim in the Catholic Ardoyne area of north Belfast. Northern Ireland's suicide rate is the highest in the UK and it continues to rise. Disadvantaged areas, in particular north and west Belfast, experience higher suicide rates and young men are particularly affected.

A republican mural depicting former north Belfast IRA volunteer Martin Meehan on a housing estate in the Catholic Ardoyne area of north Belfast. Northern Ireland has a long tradition of murals with paramilitary and historical narratives as dominating themes.

Surrounded by Irish flags, teenagers hang out in the Catholic New Lodge area of north Belfast.

Tigernach (right), 14 and a friend in the Catholic Falls area of west Belfast. Behind them a mural commemorating the 1916 Proclamation of the Republic, a document written in the name of the self-styled Provisional Government of the Irish Republic that proclaimed Ireland's independence from the UK.

Young people watch a parade from the roof of a derelict building in the Protestant Woodvale area of north Belfast. Parades are an important part of the culture of Northern Ireland, particularly — but not exclusively — in the Protestant loyalist community.

Seanalee, 17 and her daughter at the front door of their home in the Catholic Ardoyne area of north Belfast. After having her baby, Seanalee dropped out of school but hopes to return.

Best friends Demi (right), 17, and Briege-Anne, 16, get ready for a party, in Demi's home in the Protestant enclave of Suffolk in west Belfast. The two friends come from different communities and frequent each other's houses, still a rather exceptional situation.

Demi, 15, at a friend's home in west Belfast. Education is segregated with 95 percent of children attending single-identity schools. Most schools have their own uniform and since schools are overwhelmingly either Protestant or Catholic, these uniforms identify a person's community background.

The Ulster Banner, the former flag of the Northern Ireland government (1953–1972), is seen on a bonfire-under-construction in the Protestant Lower Shankill area of West Belfast. The flag no longer has an official status but has become a contentious symbol representing Ulster loyalism.

Teenagers play near an open fire hydrant in the Protestant Lower Shankill area in west Belfast. Working-class youth from both communities are often stigmatized and perceived as a problem or threat. Young people in turn feel misunderstood and undervalued.

Graffiti threatening heroin dealers on a wall in the Catholic Falls area of west Belfast. The graffiti is signed by Oglaigh na hEireann (ONH) - soldiers of Ireland - a small dissident republican paramilitary group. Paramilitary activity is an enduring legacy of the Troubles. Paramilitary groups are involved in drug trafficking, protection rackets and other criminal activities. The paramilitary groups continue to recruit young people, often through coercion or in payment for drug debts. They also engage in vigilante policing and pretend to protect their communities from alleged anti-social behavior and petty crime with their violent attacks. People, including children, from both communities have to cope with the intimidations, beatings, shootings and expulsions out of the area by the paramilitaries of their own community.

Young people hang out on discarded furniture in the Protestant Lower Shankill area of west Belfast.
Working-class youth from both communities grow up in a risk-laden environment where they are exposed to poverty, barriers and paramilitaries.

- Young people participating in a cross-community project of a youth club in the Catholic Divis area in west Belfast decorate both sides of a gate between Protestant Shankill and Catholic Falls road. Every night the gate closes at 6.30pm.