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2023

Agreement 25: A Round-Up of Day Three

The third and final day of the conference was hosted in association with the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils, and included addresses from senior government officials and panel discussions with both local and global business leaders.

Bill Clinton
President William J. Clinton

A three-day conference in Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (B/GFA) hosted by Queen’s University Belfast concluded today under the theme of ‘Reimagine.’

The third day of the conference at Queen’s campus was hosted by Professor Nola Hewitt-Dundas, who introduced Dr Jayne Brady, Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service;  Congressman Joe Kennedy III, US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs and Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast.

Welcoming guests to the Whitla Hall for day three, Professor Ian Greer said: “Looking ahead, partnership and cooperation are key to this university’s success, and key to Northern Ireland’s success… I think of universities working with government, working with business, and working with communities to create a virtuous spiral of success. That’s what we want for our society. That's what we need for our economy."

Dr Jayne Brady said: "The education that my classmates and I received here, the friendships that we made, the partners that we found and the high expectations of our tutors shaped a generation with a steely determination to see a future free from the darkness imposed by The Troubles... We are innovators, problem-solvers and storytellers and together we have achieved so much."

In a keynote address, Congressman Kennedy said: "To the people of Northern Ireland, for the extraordinarily warm welcome that you have extended to me and my family this past week... you could not have been more friendly, more gracious or more kind. To all of you... Thank you!"

He added: "You are building a Northern Ireland where the troubles of the past give way to the triumphs of tomorrow. "

A panel on ‘Northern Ireland – A Place to Invest’ was chaired by Angela McGowan and featured panellists including: Chris Conway, CEO, Translink; Ellvena Graham, Chair of Tourism NI; Gillian McAuley, President NI Chamber of Commerce; Celine McStravick, CEO, NICVA and Joe O'Neill, CEO, Belfast Harbour.

Angela McGowan said: "After 25 years of peace, we owe it to the next generation to create 25 years of prosperity. But that requires courage, it requires determination and bold ambition, because the same status quo hasn’t been working. And it also requires the help of our friends."

Ellvena Graham said: “People who visit talk about the welcome they get. About how we go the extra mile. We stop people in the street & say, ‘Can we help you?’ Our unique selling point is definitely our people."

Joe O'Neill commented on NI’s booming film and television industry, saying: "To be able to say 25 years ago that we would be able to attract Warner, Universal, Netflix and Amazon, I don’t think anyone would have believed that. To say that it all started with Tom Hanks, Bill Murray, William Dafoe, Kevin Hart and Nicole Kidman... We brought the world-class stars here."

Gillian McAuley said: "We’ve been described as the world’s most exciting economic zone. I think the door is open now for us to make some very good use of that and it’s a great offering that we have got, so we are delighted to have it and I think it’s time to get on with it now."

Celine McStravick said: "I’m a great believer that economies thrive and grow when you address inequalities and take people with you. So, I would want to make sure that we grow our specialism in the private sector and we don’t forget that communities also need to be invested in."

A second panel, entitled Global Northern Ireland, was chaired by the Honourable Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council of Competitiveness, USA, and featured: Dr Steven Ashby, Director, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Sarah Friar, CEO, Nextdoor; Joan Gabel, President, University of Minnesota; Steve Orr, CEO, Catalyst; Josh Parker, CEO, Ancora.

Deborah Wince Smith said: "Innovation is... the intersection of imaginations, of ideas, of insight, invention and, most of all, impact. And the letter I for innovation also, of course, is the letter I for each of us as human beings, which underscores that every human being has to be given the opportunities to really participate in this innovation journey of the future that has no beginning and no end."

She also announced that leaders from 40 countries around the world will come to Queen’s for the Global Innovation Summit in 2024, saying: "We are very, very proud and excited that we will be convening here at Queen’s in 2024, for the Global Innovation Summit of the Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils. We will be bringing leaders from 40 countries from around the world. This is going to be a big global showcase for what’s happening here in Northern Ireland."

Sarah Friar: "The world of cyber security is a journey. We’re always just trying to keep ahead... I think this is a great area of investment and it makes me so happy that Northern Ireland has become a centre of excellence."

Joan Gabel said: "The university is one component of the entire ecosystem around innovation... By making the investment in the educational opportunities for students... you create a real component of the overall innovation ecosystem that is hard to have otherwise.”

Later, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast introduced a number of keynote speakers including: Charles Michel, President of the European Council; Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; President William J. Clinton, Former President of the United States and Chair of the Clinton Foundation; Dr Leo Varadkar TD, Taoiseach of Ireland; and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, Prime Minister of the UK.

She later shared how amazed she was that students in a shared campus she visited were literally building an aeroplane, saying: "I was just stunned that at the STEM school that is at the centre of the shared learning experience, largely as a result of the commitment and support of Queen's University Belfast to make it happen, I saw students literally building an aeroplane. I thought that showed the kind of commitment and innovation that we want to see across Northern Ireland."

Charles Michel said: "It is the will of the people that is the steely backbone, the vision, for what Northern Ireland can be. Thousands of unnamed people, over many years, who worked to unlock this agreement in politics, in public life, religion, civil society. The full story of this peace agreement cannot be told without acknowledging their brave contributions."

Ursula von der Leyen spoke of Northern Ireland’s changing reputation among youth in Europe saying: "For young Europeans, Northern Ireland is today a cool place. It's a place of music, of film sets and stunning landscapes. This brighter reality is only possible because on Good Friday, 25 years ago, the leaders and the people of Northern Ireland decided to plant a seed in soil previously stained with blood and tears. And it is the seed of peace and possibility for new generations which has been growing defiantly ever since."

She also gave a powerful rally cry to the people of Northern Ireland, saying: "The ultimate choice lies with you, the people of Northern Ireland, to shape your history and that of the next generation. The gateway to a bright future is open. All you need to do is walk through it."

Later, President William J. Clinton said: "No matter how good any deal is, how much endurance there is, what really matters is how long it has a hold on people’s imagination and trust, and whether the people who are in positions of power and influence will always do what’s best for the people."

He added: "I am really worried about how politics has drifted away from serious issues that affect people’s daily lives, into identity issues which are subject to infinite twisting and the main purpose of them is to make people feel that some of us are more human than others. Some of us are more worthy than others. And that our differences matter more than our common humanity... But people do get sick of it and the basic, decent humanity you see in almost everybody person-to-person eventually reasserts itself."

Dr Leo Varadkar TD said: “Reflective, diverse, engaging and challenging; everything that we’d expect from a university that has produced some of the finest thinkers, leaders and poets on these islands down through the centuries."

Rishi Sunak said: “There is nothing glamorous about violence. There is nothing glorious about terror. Squalid acts are always justified with some false dream about what they will achieve. But they have never worked and they never will.”

He also made a promise to the people of Northern Ireland, saying: "I will use the full force and power of the UK government to help you make this one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business, create jobs, train and learn new skills and attract investment."

Closing the conference, Professor Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast said: "I opened this conference with the words of Seamus Heaney and I want to finish with them too, because this conference took us on a journey... Through that journey, we brought into perspective the words of Seamus Heaney as we can see that for Northern Ireland today, ‘hope and history rhyme.'"

You can watch recordings of the live streams on Queen’s University’s Youtube channel.

For more information on the Agreement 25 conference, please visit: https://www.qub.ac.uk/agreement25/ 

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