BRANDON Lewis has defended the NIO's centenary campaign after it emerged there would be no more events to mark 100 years since partition.
The last notable event was on December 6 when the children’s book Our Wee Place was launched, while three days later the Centenary Forum met for the final time.
A portrait of Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney was also removed from the website marking Northern Ireland’s centenary.
The secretary of state said he believed the campaign left "an enduring legacy of hope and optimism for people".
Mr Lewis launched Our Story in the Making: NI Beyond 100 last December and one year on said the campaign had been one of "hope, optimism, inclusivity and reflection".
Writing in The Belfast Telegraph, he said he was proud to see the impact it had on people in the past year, particularly "by supporting our young people, the economy and Covid recovery as well as reflecting sensitively on our shared history".
Mr Lewis said it had engaged with more than 5,000 young people, created mentoring opportunities, helped local firms promote their products and services further afield and had given Northern Ireland’s "fantastic performing artists" a "brilliant platform".
While the past year was supposed to provide an opportunity to mark Northern Ireland’s past successes, the planned celebrations became mired in controversy from the off with a row over the Heaney portrait.
The use of the painting of the Co Derry-born poet by Tai Shan Schierenberg sparked controversy when it was selected to promote events. It later emerged that the family of globally-acclaimed poet, who was born into a rural Catholic family in Bellaghy, were not asked by for permission for the portrait to be used.
Other episodes relating to the centenary that also played out badly included a plan to erect a stone monument in the grounds of the Stormont estate.
The DUP, Ulster Unionists and TUV made the request to the assembly commission, only for the proposal to be reportedly “vetoed” by Sinn Féin.
An inter-denominational church service at St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh in October also proved contentious after President Michael D Higgins refused to attend after claiming the event had been politicised.
Mr Lewis said throughout the year-long programme it had been "especially important that we recognise the complex and contentious nature of our shared history - for those marking it or celebrating it.
"It’s so important that we continue debating, discussing and learning from our shared past to build towards a better, more reconciled, future," he wrote.
"We have funded 39 community projects across Northern Ireland, supporting them with £1m to demonstrate what 100 years of Northern Ireland means to them.
"As we look ahead to the next 100 years, I believe the centenary programme has left an enduring legacy of hope and optimism for people here."
