Marking 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement
In June, the Consulate held a series of events in Glasgow and Edinburgh to mark 25 years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
In June, the Consulate marked 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement with a series of events in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We were delighted to welcome esteemed guests Mike Nesbitt MLA, Prof. Monica McWilliams and Mark Durkan to Scotland to take part in the discussions and share their valuable experiences.
Our first event took place in The Scottish Parliament, a fitting venue to discuss an important milestone. We were pleased to be joined by guests from across the Scottish political spectrum and from so many members of civic society in Scotland and on the island of Ireland. Our thanks to David Clegg for moderating the evening, where we heard such thoughtful contributions by the panel and from the audience.
In Glasgow, we were delighted to mark 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement with a public event in partnership with the John Smith Centre, University of Glasgow, John and Pat Hume Foundation - with our thanks in particular to Paul O'Kane MSP and Kezia Dugdale and their teams for their help in organising the occasion. The discussion from our distinguished panel was expertly chaired by Mo Hume and we are grateful for their insights and candour in reflecting on the important milestone. Despite the very balmy conditions in what was a very sunny Glasgow, we were joined by a large audience of students, academics, politicians and members of the Scottish public.
To conclude the week of events on the 25-year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, we joined with The Constitution Society and Modern Irish History School at Edinburgh University to host journalist Peter Taylor. Peter's keynote address reflected on 50 years of covering the conflict in Northern Ireland and the path to the Agreement.
We were also pleased to support Causeway: Ireland Scotland Business Exchange in their event on strengthening economic ties between Scotland and Northern Ireland. As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, this was a timely reminder of the key role that the business community played in ensuring peace on these islands.