The Rt Hon Shaun Woodward

Shaun Woodward MP was appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 28 June 2007. Prior to this appointment he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the St Helens South constituency in 2001. Since 2001 has has held the posts of Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He was a member of the Parliamentary Joint Commons and Lords Committee of Human Rights from 2001 to 2005. He was formerly a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and European Union Scrutiny Select Committee.

 

Dr John J DeGioia

Dr John J DeGioia is President of Georgetown University in Washington DC. He is a member of the US National Commission for UNESCO and Chair of its Education Committee, and represents Georgetown at the World Economic Forum.

 

 

Professor Lord Bew

Professor Lord Bew has been Professor of Irish Politics at Queen’s University since 1991. A leading commentator on Irish history and politics, he is the author of many authoritative publications on Ireland, past and present. He took his seat in the House of Lords, where he sits as a Crossbencher, as Baron Bew of Donegore, in 2007.

 

 

Professor Liam Kennedy

Professor Liam Kennedy is Director of the Clinton Institute for American Studies at University College Dublin. He has diverse research interests and teaching experiences, spanning the fields of American urban studies, visual culture, globalisation and transatlantic relations.

 

 

Mr Tony Kennedy

Mr Tony Kennedy has been Chief Executive of Co-operation Ireland since 1992. In addition he is Board member of a range of North/South and Northern Ireland organisations which aim to promote a shared future, including the Community Relations Council, the One Small Step Campaign and the Institute of British Irish Studies. Tony is also a member of the Arts Council and Director of the John Hewitt Society.

 

The Rt Hon Sir Brian Kerr

Sir Brian Kerr became Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland in January 2004. Appointed a judge of the High Court of Northern Ireland in 1993, he has sat as an ad hoc judge at the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg. He is Chairman of the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission.

 

Mrs Avila Kilmurray

Mrs Avila Kilmurray is Director of the Community Foundation Northern Ireland. She was a founder member of Counteract (the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Anti-Sectarian Unit) and is a Board member of the Community Development Foundation (UK).

 

 

Professor Monica McWilliams

Professor Monica McWilliams is the Chief Commissioner for Human Rights in Northern Ireland. A co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, she served as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1996 to 2003.

 

 

Dr Seamus Mallon

Dr Seamus Mallon served as the first Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1999 to 2001. He was Deputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland from 1979 to 2001.

 

 

Professor Brendan O’Leary

Professor Brendan O’Leary is Lauder Professor of Political Science and Director of the Penn Program in Ethnic Conflict at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a former policy adviser to the British Labour Party.

 

 

Sir Hugh Orde

Sir Hugh Orde is Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He took up the role following a distinguished career in the Metropolitan Police Service.

 

 

Professor Sir Desmond Rea

Professor Sir Desmond Rea is Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board. He is a former Chairman of the Northern Ireland Labour Relations Agency and the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.

 

 

Dr Mary Robinson

Dr Mary Robinson was the first female President of Ireland, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She is Honorary President of Oxfam International and Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders.

 

 

Ms Alex Tennant

Ms Alex Tennant is Head of Policy and Research at Save the Children Northern Ireland. In this role, she leads on Save the Children’s work to end child poverty in Northern Ireland.

 

 

The Rt Hon The Lord Trimble

The Rt Hon The Lord Trimble was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party from 1995 until 2005, and served as the first First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize with John Hume in 1998.

 

 

Mr Brendan Tuohey

In 2007 Brendan Tuohey was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America by the Institute for International Sport. He is Executive Director of PeacePlayers International (PPI), a global organisation that uses sport to unite and educate young people in divided communities.

 

 

Archbishop Dr Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Dr Desmond Tutu is a courageous opponent of apartheid, and a role model of leadership in a divided society. The first black Archbishop of Cape Town, he served as Chairman of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission which reported in 1998. He was awarded the Nobel prize for Peace in 1984.