APPLICATIONS have opened for the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building Fellowship, a prestigious programme which seeks to produce the north’s next generation of changemakers.
Now in its second year, the body aims to strengthen Stormont’s democratic institutions and ensure the next cohort of ministers, CEOs and civic leaders are best placed to lead the region going forward.
Previous Fellows include John Finucane MP, Connie Egan MLA, Cllr Aaron Callan, and IoD Northern Ireland Director, Kirsty McManus.
The Fellowship is delivered by the Centre for Democracy and Peace Building (CDPB), working with representatives from the business sector including Allstate NI, FinTrU, Devenish, Fujitsu NI, Ulster Carpets. The programme is also supported by leading academic institutions and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In discussions with leading policy-makers, academics, business leaders and public figures, Fellows will engage with global social, political and economic issues and seek to develop their understanding of how to tackle those issues in Northern Ireland.
Successful participants will also have the chance to participate in residential sessions at the University of Oxford and in Dublin.
Fellowship chair John Healy, who is managing director of Allstate NI, says this year’s programme is timely and significant given the current political deadlock, and he is calling on parties, businesses, and civic society organisations to nominate those individuals that can use the Fellowship to build a better society here.
He said: “The Fellowship is a brilliant initiative, and this year’s programme could not have come at a more crucial time. Northern Ireland is facing multiple challenges and with the Stormont corridors empty, we are also facing a political leadership crisis. This programme will give our future leaders the knowledge, skills, and relationships to look beyond the insular world we face here, and bring an exciting, new, and much-needed vision to our region’s future.”
“Last year’s Fellowship was a resounding success, seen through the election of former Fellows following May’s Assembly poll. This year’s expanded programme includes engagements with some of the UK and Ireland’s brightest minds in Dublin, Oxford, Belfast, and everywhere in between.
“From political parties, to businesses, to the third sector, I would encourage all organisations to nominate an individual for this year’s Fellowship they feel could help shape the future of Northern Ireland.”
Karise Hutchinson, Professor of Leadership at Ulster University and vice-chair of the Fellowship advisory board, said: “Next year we will celebrate 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement. A hard-won hallmark of compromise, it is disheartening that we currently face the prospect of honouring this milestone with no functioning government in place.
“The Fellowship seeks to ‘level up’ our next generation of political, civic and business leaders, giving them the confidence and ability to address Northern Ireland’s ongoing political, economic, and social challenges. At its core, it seeks to pave the way for a new spirit of possibility and compromise in our society.
“Our advisory board contains leaders from Northern Ireland’s leading companies who will seek to instil in this year’s participants the hard and soft skills required to introduce real, wholesale change. I am thrilled to be supporting this fantastic programme, and I would encourage all those eligible to apply.”
Those interested can complete the Fellowship application form at www. fellowship.democracyandpeace.org where they will be asked to upload their CV and a short essay.
As well as Mr Healy and Prof Hutchinson, advisory board members include Darragh McCarthy (FinTrU), Owen Brennan (Devenish), David Clements (Fujitsu NI) and Nick Coburn (Ulster Carpets).
