The Council for Integrated Education in Northern Ireland has appointed leading figures from public life to a board of patrons.
They are: the former head of the Northern Ireland civil service, Sir Kenneth Bloomfield; the actor Mr Kenneth Branagh; the pianist Mr Barry Douglas; the former boxer Mr Barry McGuigan; the writer Ms Jennifer Johnston; the playwright Mr Brian Friel; the flautist Mr James Galway; the wife of the former Northern Ireland prime minister, Lady Faulkner; the Olympic gold medallist, Dr Mary Peters; the former Presbyterian moderator, the Most Rev John Dunlop; and the broadcaster Mr Sean Rafferty.
The chairman of the council, Mr Martin Stroud, said: "The fact that very well-known and widely respected people from such a broad spectrum of the community have agreed to become associated with developments in integrated education as we approach the millennium signifies an important new step for all involved with the movement."
The announcement was made at a reception of parents, staff and governors from three independent integrated schools which have been operating for the last three years without any grant-aid from the British government.
The schools are Oakwood Primary in Derriaghy, Co Antrim, which opened on a derelict factory site and now has 89 pupils; Ulidia College in Whitehead, Co Antrim, which was built on disused playing pitches and has 127 pupils; and Strangford Integrated College in Co Down which has 143 pupils.
The number of children attending integrated schools has grown from 28 in one school in 1981 to about 11,000 in 43 schools. "In only 17 years, the pupil enrolment has increased 375 times," Mr Stroud said.
"Against all the odds, parents have driven this change. We hope the new culture of tolerance written about in the Good Friday agreement will indeed become a reality through the integration of Catholic and Protestant young people in the schools of Northern Ireland," Mr Stroud said.