(L - R) Gabi Burnside, Ulster Bank; Debbie Caldwell, Belfast City Council; Duncan Morrow, Ulster University; Jenni Barkley, Belfast Harbour; and Jonathan Martindale, Phoenix Natural Gas
Thirteen exceptional individuals who have made a substantial contribution to Belfast or who have made the city their home will be recognised at this year’s Belfast International Homecoming conference.
The event, which connects Belfast with diaspora around the world, will acknowledge the work of thirteen individuals including Second Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office Sue Gray, Belfast City Council Climate Commissioner Debbie Caldwell, and Founder of the Join Her women’s network Lori Gatsi-Barnett.
The recipients will be installed as Belfast Ambassadors during a gala dinner at Belfast City Hall which will hear from Pekka Timonen, Mayor of Lahti, Finland, the EU Green capital for 2021.
Back for its seventh annual event on Thursday 4 November, Belfast International Homecoming will this year focus on the climate emergency and the need for a green economy as the COP26 Conference takes place in Glasgow.
The thirteen nominees to be installed as Belfast Ambassadors are:
Sue Gray, Second Permanent Secretary to the Cabinet Office
Debbie Caldwell, Belfast City Council Climate Commissioner
Lori Gatsi-Barnett, Founder of the Join Her Network
Anurag Deb, Paralegal at KRW Law
Councillor Ruairi Kelly, Glasgow City Council
Conal Harvey, Chair of Titanic Belfast
Conor Fegan, Barrister at Francis Taylor Building Chambers
Keith Farley, Managing Director and Vice President of Aflac NI
Nell Watson, Tech Ethicist at Researcher and Reformer
Patricia Canning, Assistant Professor of Forensic Linguistics, Stylistics and Rhetoric at Utrecht University
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
Terry Stevens, Founder and Managing Director of Stevens and Associates Swansea
Hugh Haughian, Senior Director of Customer Growth, MRP, Philadelphia.
Duncan Morrow, Director of Community Engagement at Ulster University said:
“Each of these recipients have made an outstanding contribution to our society and are thoroughly deserving of the Belfast Ambassadors title. Through principled dedication to making their own lives better, they have made positive impacts across Belfast and the world in sectors including, law, education, tourism, and international and community relations. This should not go without recognition.”
“We look forward to celebrating with the thirteen recipients on Thursday at Belfast International Homecoming and pushing forward the agenda of Belfast’s response to climate change through the hard work and determination of its people, both those from here and those who have chosen Belfast as their home.”