East-West Connections Enhanced at Future Leaders Connect Day
In this post-Brexit world, Co-operation Ireland is committed to ensuring the development of East/West connections across our islands. This commitment was evident at our recent Co-operation Ireland Future Leaders Connect Day at Queen’s University Belfast, we were delighted to welcome young leaders and staff from the England-based Luton Irish Forum, an organisation which promotes Irish identity, culture and heritage in communities within Luton.
Developing and strengthening social and civic connections on an East-West basis is a matter of strategic importance for Co-operation Ireland. Speaking on the partnership with the Luton Irish Forum, Programme Manager of Co-operation Ireland Future Leaders programme, Margaret Lucey, said:
“This year we’ve been focused on developing our relationships across these islands, offering young people from different communities an opportunity to connect, learn and develop leadership skills together. We were delighted to welcome the Luton Irish Forum to Belfast for our Connect Day and look forward to continued partnership with them.”
Margaret Lucey, Programme Manager for Co-operation Ireland Future Leaders Programme
Th e CIFL Connect Day brought together young leaders from the islands of Ireland and Great Britain, who enjoyed a keynote speech from the Permanent Secretary for the Department of Finance (NI), Professor Neil Gibson, and took part in a series of leadership workshops, focusing on negotiation, lobbying and public speaking skills.
We were also delighted to welcome our CIFL Ambassador organisations, Carson McDowell and Henry Brothers, to deliver a series of leadership workshops to young leaders, focusing on areas like conflict resolution, negotiation and effective communication.