NIE Networks Backs Fellowship

The Centre for Democracy and Peace Building is proud to announce NIE Networks as a supporting partner of our 2023-2024 Fellowship programme, with Chief Executive, Derek Hynes, and Gordon Parkes, Executive Director – People & Culture, joining the Fellowship’s Advisory Board.

The Fellowship Programme would not be possible without the guidance of our Board and our supporting partners, so we are grateful to benefit from the invaluable insight of the senior leadership team at NIE Networks.

Over the coming months, NIE Networks will be backing and hosting expert-led sessions with the Fellows at locations such as Oxford University and Derry / Londonderry covering topics such as climate, energy, sustainability and leadership.

Derek Hynes, Managing Director, and Gordon Parkes, Executive Director, People & Culture at NIE Networks, who both join the Fellowship Advisory Board, said:

“We are thrilled to join the Fellowship Advisory Board for the next three years. The Fellowship is unique as it brings together civic, political and business leaders from different backgrounds to learn from each other. Our most important challenges in Northern Ireland need all parts of the economy and society working together. This group of leaders has the potential to make a real difference for Northern Ireland, and their commitment to the Fellowship programme will no doubt lead to positive outcomes. We at NIE Networks are delighted to be able to help create a shared approach to leadership in Northern Ireland.”

Camlin Group Chief Executive Joins Fellowship Advisory Board


We are pleased to announce Peter Cunningham, Chief Executive of Camlin Group, as our newest addition to the Fellowship Advisory Board.

Peter joins the Advisory Board at an exciting time, as we prepare to launch the 2023-24 programme next month. We are also thrilled to announce Camlin Group as a supporting partner.

Employing approx. 600 people worldwide, Camlin Group is an innovative and world-leading company with headquarters in Northern Ireland, which works to optimise the critical infrastructure that helps to make electricity and rail networks safer, more efficient, resilient and sustainable.

The Fellowship Programme would not be possible without the guidance of our Board and our supporting partners, so we grateful to benefit from Peter’s invaluable insight and Camlin’s backing.

Commenting on the appointment to the Fellowship Advisory Board, Peter Cunningham, Chief Executive, Camlin Group said:

“The Fellowship is a unique and inspiring programme for political, business and civic leaders in Northern Ireland who come together to learn, explore and develop new ideas and solutions to some of the most pressing policy issues facing NI and the wider world. It is an honour to be joining the Advisory Board of the Fellowship Programme delivered by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building (CDPB).”

“At Camlin we firmly believe in trying to do the right thing coupled with the power of working together as two of our core company values, alongside our company purpose ‘to engineer better futures’, all of which this fellowship programme absolutely embodies. I’m excited to work with these incredible leaders to help make Northern Ireland a hopeful and prosperous place to live for future generations.”

When the Fellowship Programme is the inspiration for a £4.6mn programme to address disability employment


I enrolled on the CDPB Fellowship Programme as an opportunity for personal development and to consider ways in which civic society organisations can have a greater role in driving forward a sustainable peace. While the Fellowship Programme did provide opportunities to develop, grow and inform peace building, it has offered so much more.

The Fellowship Programme includes a unique assessment process in which leaders from across the region work together to identify a societal challenge and then seek to address that challenge. This process, Design Thinking, was delivered by Fujitsu and included a full day session at the Oxford residential. The persistent cost of living emergency, political impasse and public finance crisis were the backdrop to my group’s work. Together as a group of cross-sectoral leaders, we considered how the current societal context would impact upon disabled people and disabled person’s organisations.The challenge was vast and multi-faceted.

While this is a complex issue, the Design Thinking process kept disabled people at the heart of the challenge. The process identified that while funding and investment were important, disabled people wanted credible employment opportunities and ways to develop entrepreneurship. From this the seeds of the Empower programme were planted. Empower is a £4.6mn programme funded by the UK government and will support two thousand disabled, autistic and/or neurodivergent people to secure careers across all sectors and all levels of careers, including those who seeking to be entrepreneurs. Some of the Fellowship Programme’s partners are also partners in the programme, including Allstate NI, alongside Empower’s lead partners USEL, Disability Action and Specialiststerne.

Overall, the Design Thinking process was crucial to establishing the Empower programme. My group of cross-sectoral leaders were able to critically engage with this complex issue to identify multiple opportunities and provide the infrastructure to drive the programme forward. Further collaborative action and access to decision makers informed the decision of the UK government to increase the amount of funding available through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Throughout the process to obtain funding, Design Thinking was vital to ensuring two thousand disabled, autistic and/or neurodivergent people will receive essential support in the midst of our current societal context.

Nuala Toman, class of 2022-23 Fellow

Design Thinking session was delivered by Fujitsu.

Cultural Diplomacy Symposium – 29 June 2023, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

What is the role of the cultural diplomacy in our polarised and divided world? How can we foster a better understanding between cultures and nations? How can cultural diplomacy pave the way for wider cooperation and dialogue?

Hochhauser Auditorium
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
29 June 2023 | 10am – 5pm

This one-day symposium on cultural diplomacy provides a unique opportunity to gain practical insights and hear from former and current diplomats, art professionals and academics.

Together we will examine the role of cultural diplomacy and international relations, learn how we can foster effective diplomatic practices, examine positive stakeholder engagement, and explore how the arts and culture can enrich social cohesion in Britain and beyond.

This event is organised by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute in London and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Sessions including:

• Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations
• Cultural Diplomacy in Action: Fostering Effective Diplomatic Practices
• Changing Britain: Art, Culture and Society
• Art of Healing
• Connecting Cultures: Cultural Diplomacy and Stakeholder Engagement
• Making It Happen

Speakers:

• Dan Mulhall, former Irish Ambassador to US, UK and Germany, Parnell Fellow, Magdalene College, Cambridge
• Lord Alderdice, Executive Chairman, Changing Character of War, Pembroke College, Oxford
• Adriana Sandoval, Cultural Attaché, Colombian Embassy
• Anaïs Aguerre, Culture Connect
• Cian Smyth, Ulster Presents
• Evgeniya Ravtsova, Victoria and Albert Museum
• Marta de Zuniga, Director of the Polish Cultural Institute in London
• Roisin Inglesby, William Morris Gallery

(more to be announced)

Centre for Democracy and Peace Building launches new intake for Fellowship Programme

The Centre for Democracy and Peace Building has opened applications for its 2023-2024 Fellowship Programme for leaders in politics, business, and civic society in Northern Ireland.

The Fellowship Programme is supported by the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade, some of Northern Ireland’s biggest employers including Allstate NI, FinTrU, Fujitisu NI, Devenish, NIE Networks and Ulster Carpets, and the Irish American Partnership. It aims to support and equip participants to take on some of Northern Ireland’s most complex political, business, and civic challenges.

Through bespoke sessions delivered by leaders and individuals in the top of their field such as former adviser to three prime ministers and the Principal of Hertford College at Oxford, Tom Fletcher, and former Irish diplomat, Tim O’Connor, Fellows are challenged to step outside of their comfort zone, with sessions including in-studio media training with Northern Ireland’s largest commercial radio broadcaster, conflict management with the PSNI, as well as residential sessions at Oxford University and in Dublin.

The unique programme is delivered by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building to support the peace process in Northern Ireland, focus on innovation and capacity building, and encourage collaborative decision-making.

Past participants of the Fellowship Programme include Diane Forsythe MLA, Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Pádraig Delargy MLA, and Connie Egan MLA, Director at Diversity Mark, Nuala Murphy, and Head of Policy and Engagement at the Law Society, Jamie Warnock.

Applications for Centre for Democracy and Peace Building 2023-2024 will close on Friday 23 June. To apply or to find out more, visit:

Fellowship Advisory Board Chair, John Healy, said:
“The Fellowship Programme is a fantastic opportunity to gather ambitious leaders from diverse backgrounds and spark new conversations about the future of Northern Ireland. It has been a privilege to watch each cohort overcome difficulties and grow together in their abilities. Their open-mindedness, optimism and dedication to seeing Northern Ireland progress and truly prosper has been inspiring. I would encourage anyone who wants to enhance their own leadership ability, or who simply wants to learn from other leaders from different walks of life, to apply for this programme”.

Fellowship Alumna and Director at Diversity Mark, Nuala Murphy, added:
“Taking part in the Fellowship Programme has been one of my greatest achievements. I invested in the experience from start to finish, especially the completely unique opportunity to collectively seek out how to build a better future for all in Northern Ireland so that we can live up to our giant potential. The Fellowship has given me renewed hope for this place we call home, especially in my work in diversity and inclusion via Diversity Mark. I am confident in our future leaders’ ability to help this place we call home to evolve into a truly inclusive place to live, to grow up, to bring up a family, or to start a business, embracing the diversity of all our communities, our cultures, and our identities. That’s the renewed start that this place needs and it’s one I’m really excited to be part of in the future”.

Fellowship Alumnus and Chair, Migrant and Minority Ethnic Council & The African and Caribbean Leadership Consortium, Alfred Abolarin, said:
“Being part of last year’s Fellowship cohort was a great honour. Not only have I had the chance to learn and develop but I have had the opportunity to build relationships with so many individuals. I feel better equipped to build on the successes of the organisations I am affiliated with and contribute positively to navigating through difficult and complex issues that society contend with. A highlight for me was seeing people from different backgrounds and with different viewpoints come together to learn with a shared aim to see Northern Ireland thrive”.

Centre for Democracy and Peace Building Annual Report 2022 – 2023

CHAIR’S REMARKS

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in N Ireland/Ireland, which was been celebrated by the visitations and addresses by current and former Presidents of the United States of America, current and former Prime Ministers of the UK, current and former Taoisigh of the Republic of Ireland and the President of the European Commission.

Notwithstanding the important events that have taken place earlier this year, it is important to remember that democracy, reconciliation and peacebuilding is an ongoing daily process and not an one off event. In that respect I hope that peace efforts here in N Ireland will continue to bear fruit which will reflect unity in diversity in all aspects of our lives, and in our institutions of government, which I hope can be restored shortly.

As we mark this important anniversary on the island of Ireland, there has never been a greater need across the world for people to work for democracy and reconciliation and to continuously participate in peacebuilding. We have witnessed ongoing terror and violence in Ukraine and a war waged against innocent people and democratic political institutions. Only lately, we have seen the horrors of terrorism and violence in Sudan and Yemen. All the violence perpetrated against communities and people is underlining the compelling imperative and importance of the ongoing process of democracy and peacebuilding.

Centre for Democracy and Peace Building continues to be involved in important work in supporting current and future leaders. Our work encompasses the important Fellowship programme, which is aimed at political, business and civic leaders in Northern Ireland who were and will continue to be involved in paving a new, prosperous future for our region. This flagship programme is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin, Allstate NI, Devenish, FinTrU, Fujitsu NI, Ulster Carpets, the Irish American Partnership and our new partner Norther Ireland Electricity Networks.

Other important work includes the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement Course, Leadership in Arts and Culture, Re-thinking Leadership series, collaborative work with the UME Oleander Initiative programmes in Japan and the partnership with the John Smith Trust.

All this work is carried out under the strategic direction of our Board – of which I am proud to be Chair along with my director colleagues, and the dynamic work of Eva Grosman who is our Chief Executive. Eva is a powerhouse and has provided dynamic leadership in these islands in terms of peacebuilding and democracy.

We and the wider community owe Eva an enormous debt of gratitude and heartfelt thanks. I hope to continue to work with Eva, her team and our directors to ensure that the objectives of the organisation can continue to be fulfilled – particularly as we move on from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also owe a debt of gratitude to many business leaders and academics who have supported our mission and peacebuilding work over several years. Such combined efforts are vitally important in working towards fulfilling our commitments to democracy and peacebuilding locally and internationally.

Baroness Margaret Ritchie of Downpatrick