There is hardly another country in Europe where a past conflict remains so present in everyday life as it does in Northern Ireland. This is visible not only through physical divisions—walls, fences—but also in a society still deeply marked by ideological separation. In Belfast’s working-class neighbourhoods, loyalist and nationalist communities remain largely segregated. What kind of future awaits young people in a country where so much still looks to the past? Where older generations cling to symbols and traditions? Where Protestant and Catholic children still do not attend school together, and young people are often told who they are—and how they should think—based solely on where they come from?

And yet, in daily life, they wear the same clothes, sport the same haircuts, listen to the same music, and face the same struggles: violence, unemployment, and social exclusion. Slowly, what once seemed unimaginable is beginning to take shape. More and more young couples are crossing former boundaries, refusing to let old divisions define them. Could this be the beginning of a shared future for Belfast’s youth?

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Toby Binder, born in 1977 in Esslingen, studied communication design at the Stuttgart Academy of Art, graduating in 2005. His long-term documentary projects focus on people living on the margins of society—often in post-war or crisis contexts, but also in the everyday lives of children and young people, whose perspectives frequently shape his visual narratives. His work has received numerous international awards, including the Sony World Photography Award in 2025.