Good afternoon.
Thank you, Susan, for your kind words.
It is great to join you today to launch the Washington Ireland Program Class of 2023.
This year marks the appointment of a new Executive Director for the Washington Ireland Programme. I know you will join with me in congratulating Nicola Skelly on her appointment. I have no doubt Nicola will be a great addition to the team, bringing with her the experience she gained at Queen’s University Belfast.
For over 12 years Bryan Patten led the Washington Ireland Programme. Bryan played a critical role in the development, growth, and success of WIP. Thank you, Bryan, for your dedication over those 12 years and best of luck in his new role as Head of the International Unit at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
When I undertook my own Washington Ireland Program experience in 2000, I was 21 years old, in my third year at Trinity College Dublin, and part of the first class of students from Ireland to participate in the programme. There were four of us from the Republic travelling to spend a summer in America with more than 30 students from the North. It was very much a learning experience and we learned as much from each other than from anything else.
I was placed in former Congressman Jack Quinn’s office in the House of Representatives. Capitol Hill along with the other organisations the 2023 students will be in, are great training grounds for any young person hoping to enter the world of politics, public affairs and leadership.
One of the reasons I believe the Washington Ireland Program works is because it recognises the importance of broadening perspectives - of how valuable that can be in fostering leadership, in nurturing the art of compromise, and in honing the political skills needed to make a difference. It’s good for young people to be exposed to new ideas and differences, to be challenged and to challenge themselves.
The Program stokes the flames of curiosity, knowing that it will be essential to future success as global leaders, and – vitally – to the future success of the global community.
In the beginning, WIP participants arrive as strangers from different backgrounds, communities, and ways of life. However, as I’m sure you’ve already found out, it doesn’t take long to learn that we are not that different at all. Or that we are, and that’s not a problem. It’s an advantage.
To have been chosen for the Program today, participants have already demonstrated some of the character, skills, and experience necessary to be a leader.
What truly distinguishes the participants in WIP is readiness to work with people who hold different views, come from different backgrounds and political perspectives. Through this, you can develop constructive and mature relationships, learning from, and seeking to understand, new viewpoints.
Over recent years it has been encouraging to see WIP seeking applications from more diverse communities.
Good Friday Agreement
The 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement next month is an opportunity for all of us to renew our commitment to the values and vision contained within the Agreement.
We should ask ourselves hard questions about what more we can do to bring the dividends of peace to all communities. How can we best serve those who still struggle with the legacy of the Troubles? As we reflect on the past, can we also look to what remains to be achieved?
Ireland and Northern Ireland have changed profoundly in the past 25 years, but the appetite for a peaceful, prosperous future has not. The Good Friday Agreement remains the foundation for a hopeful future. Peace. Powersharing. Cooperation North and South and East and West. Respect for identity and an acknowledgement that national identities are not always binary.
Among the WIP future participants announced today are I hope the leaders and peacebuilders who can achieve great success in the next 25 years.
If I can offer some advice to the Class of 2023. Embrace the moments of unease, the awkward conversations, the cultural differences. Get to grips with the intricacies and challenges of your work placement. Enjoy the connections you make with your host families. Take time to learn from the WIP Community.
Understand that you are here to serve and represent your communities to the best of your abilities with respect. Nurture the curiosity that this city, this program will ignite.
For me it is best summed up in the words of John Hume, following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement:
“We have succeeded not because we have challenged others. We have succeeded because we have challenged ourselves.”
Thank you to the Washington Ireland Program staff, friends, and participants for dedicating yourselves to this shared purpose.
Thank you for having the courage to embrace a future of public service and leadership.
ENDS.