Brown O'Connor Communications Job Opportunity: Client Executive (Public Affairs / Corporate Communications)

Job Opportunity: Brown O'Connor Communications, Belfast

Position: Client Executive (Public Affairs/Corporate Communications)
Salary: £17,000 per annum (Full-Time Role) / Based: Adelaide Street, Belfast City Centre

The Person

Brown O’Connor Communications is seeking a Client Executive to work in the areas of Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.

This is an exciting and demanding role within a small company and we require a resilient individual with emerging leadership qualities to join the team. 

You will have a deep interest in politics, business and the media and have a developing understanding of the role that public affairs, media relations and stakeholder relations plays.

Once you join the Brown O’Connor team, you’ll be signed up as a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and enrolled on the Continuous Professional Development programme.

About Brown O’Connor Communications

Brown O’Connor is an ambitious and trusted communications consultancy based in Belfast City Centre. We help our clients gain impact and outcomes through specialist insight and influence with decision makers. 

We have a growing track record for managing and delivering complex communications programmes for some of the UK and Ireland’s leading businesses, professional services, charities, trade bodies, interest groups and public-sector organisations.

Find out more here: www.brownoconnor.com

Criteria

·Third Level Degree or equivalent in the preferred areas of Communications, Law, Politics, Business, Social Science or Humanities.  

·Have a strong interest is the news agenda, particularly political and business news.

·Knowledge of government institutions and NI politics. 

·Possess strong writing and editing skills with ability to write attention-grabbing media material, client correspondence and reports.

·Expected to attend events for client and networking purposes.

·Willing to work evenings and weekends as required by client activity. 

·Strong initiative, leadership skills and work ethic.

·Ability to hustle to make things happen.

·Understanding of what makes social media content engaging.

Desired Criteria

·Clean driving licence.

How to Apply:

To apply, please send a cover letter and C.V. to Brown O’Connor Communications at hello@brownoconnor.com by Tuesday 31st July at 5pm. 

Dr Eamon Phoenix back by popular demand in aid of Brain Injury Matters

An evening of classical harp music and a talk by leading historian and broadcaster, Dr Eamon Phoenix, is due to take place on 21 June at the First Presbyterian Church, Rosemary Street in Belfast.

The event, ‘A Midsummer Celebration of the 1792 Harp Festival’ will be in aid of Brain Injury Matters, the charity dedicated to supporting people with Acquired Brain Injury to rebuild their lives.

The 1792 Harp Festival was a four-day event organised by Dr. James McDonnell, Robert Bradshaw and Henry Joy (proprietor of the Belfast News-Letter and uncle to Henry Joy McCracken). The purpose of the festival was to revive an interest in harp music and to collect the music of the harpers and note their style of playing for future generations.

Due to popular demand, this is the second talk that Dr Eamon Phoenix will give for the rehabilitation charity in recent months - the previous event selling out.

Irish Harpist James Patience and Family, who have played at venues all over Northern Ireland and even for the Queen, will perform at the event paying tribute to the 1792 festival.

The pre-event reception, sponsored by Winemark, takes place from 7pm with the performance from 7.30pm to 9pm. 

Tickets are only £10 and can be purchased by emailing info@braininjurymatters.org.uk or calling 028 9070 5125.

Belfast City Deal: On Track for Autumn Statement Inclusion? - Here's the detail

Development of the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) in accordance with the requirements of the Department for Communities and Local Government, is now in full operation according to Belfast City Council. Here's the rundown of some of the details taken from recently published minutes.

The programme is being developed to fulfil the agreed objective for the city deal of ‘more and better jobs; inclusive growth; improved skills and growth of domestic business and FDI’.  

At the last SP&R Committee at Belfast City Council, members were provided with an update on the work completed to define the key strands of the Belfast city Region deal in relation to Innovation, Digital, Infrastructure, Tourism and Employability and Skills.

Innovation

This included a number of outline innovation proposals from the two Universities relating to:

·        A Digital Innovation Centre

·        A Financial (and Legal) Technology Centre

·        Academic Medical Research Institute

·        Creative Industries Centre of Excellence

·        A Global Innovation Institute

Employability and Skills

An Employability and Skills framework with three principal strands:

1.     Targeting economic inactivity

2.     Addressing skill supply issues

3.     Meeting the skills needs of our growth sectors

Specific priority areas and programmes are being developed to support the key strands in areas such as; Careers Enhancement, Apprenticeship Hub, Graduate Development, Employability for All, Economic Activation, Business Productivity.

Digital

A digital proposition led by Future Cities Catapult which has now identified significant digital innovation projects including;

·        A 5G Smart District

·        A Regional Connectivity Fund

·        A Digital Innovation Platform

·        Makers Network

Tourism

Work has commenced on the development of an OBC for the Belfast Story gallery and film Centre which is due to be completed by the end of June 2018.  Work is also continuing on Tourism product in other areas such as the Gobbins II and Carrickfergus Castle.

Other Infrastructure

Key infrastructure projects linked to the priorities identified in a number of council strategies including the Belfast Agenda, the City Centre Regeneration Strategy and the Local Development Plan.  These include, Belfast Rapid Transit phase 2- Linking the north & south of the city, Lagan Bridges and Links, Transport Hub phase 2 (Weavers Cross), York Street Interchange and Living with Water.  It should be noted that all of the ‘suggested’ projects will now undergo a costing and prioritisation process and there will inevitably be a number which will not be delivered under city deal.

Work has also begun on the affordability element of projects and a process has begun to ensure any projects going forward to the deal have robust costings from both a capital and revenue perspective.  Financing considerations are also being developed at both a project and programme level including assessing affordability, borrowing requirements and alternative sources of funding.

The six chief executives and senior officials from NICS will now meet with MHCLG and HMT to update on the work completed, test emerging projects for possible inclusion in the deal, discuss financing and economic modelling and agree next steps in the negotiations to ensure the city region is on track to secure a deal by the autumn statement.

Next Steps

While significant work has been completed to date, the development of the deal is entering a new phase.   Officers are now assessing the resource and expertise required to develop robust project propositions that will secure the best possible deal.  Information required by MHCLG at project level includes:

·        Purpose of the project

·        Impacts- outcomes/outputs

·        Economic Modelling

·        Operation and Sustainability

·        Delivery Model

·        Timescales

·        Finances

·        Interdependencies

This will involve more intensive working with the NICS departments, the Universities, Belfast Harbour, the FE colleges, Belfast Met, other training providers and the private sector.  New work streams and governance structures are therefore being developed which will also have to take account of the financing arrangements and proposals to support the delivery on the deal once this is secured. As agree at the last meeting a Joint members Forum will be held with members from all six councils to discuss progress.  This will be hosted by Antrim and Newtownabbey in this month.

Retail NI urges businesses to back campaign to 'Save Your Local Pharmacy' before many could be forced to shut

Retail NI, the membership organisation which represents thousands of independent retail traders in Northern Ireland, has backed the campaign to save local community pharmacies, which are under attack due to a lack of financial support from the Department of Health. 

Photo (from L to R): Paul Savage, Community Pharmacist; Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive, Retail NI; and Gerard Greene, Chief Executive, Community Pharmacy NI.

Chief Executive of Retail NI, Glyn Roberts, has urged everyone in the business community to sign the Community Pharmacy NI petition to address the worrying fact that local pharmacists are dispensing at a loss and require an emergency package to plug a £20 million funding gap – before many pharmacies are forced to shut.

Like any other business, community pharmacists have similar financial pressures such as rates, rent, staff wages, taxes and general upkeep. This coupled with the rising incidence of violent crime on local chemists, medicine shortages, rising demand and a deepening workforce crisis, means that there are a plethora of issues they are faced with.

Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive of Retail NI said:

“Community Pharmacy is a great example of a sector which has been firmly rooted for decades in the towns and villages across Northern Ireland. They are normally anchor tenants and play a vital role in the vibrancy of many areas.”

“It is the most accessible part of the health service and could be regarded as the heartbeat of the high street. But due to underfunding by the Department of Health, it is currently under attack which means that some pharmacies could close, and close soon. We simply can’t let that happen.”

“We cannot afford more vacant units on the high street, especially those of the local pharmacist who provides much needed healthcare in a community setting. In fact, community pharmacy has an extremely important role in driving footfall for other forms of retail and services and should not be overlooked in the other parts that they play – socially and economically.”

“We have recently joined the campaign to ‘Save Your Pharmacy’ and call on everyone to add their name to the fight and sign their petition at Change.org by going to https://www.change.org/p/department-of-health-northern-ireland-save-the-northern-ireland-community-pharmacy-network “

Gerard Greene, Chief Executive, Community Pharmacy NI said today:

“We welcome the support from Retail NI and the boost it has given our campaign. We fully commend Glyn and his team in understanding just how important community pharmacy is to the high street, the wider retail offering, and the front-line healthcare that it provide to tens of thousands of people every day across Northern Ireland.”

“This is an extremely difficult period for community pharmacy. We are now coming to critical point when some pharmacists are being forced to make tough decisions which may force them to close causing hundreds of job losses across Northern Ireland and a hugely negative impact on patients and customers. We urge as many in the business community to support our campaign and sign the petition before it is too late.”  

At-A-Glance brief on the actions for Tourism and Hospitality sectors in the Outcomes Delivery Plan 18/19 published today

Today the Executive office published its Outcomes Delivery Plan 2018/19. The delivery plan sets out the actions that departments intend to take during 2018/19 to give effect to the previous Executive’s stated objective of improving wellbeing for all – by tackling disadvantage and driving economic growth.

Here’s at at-a-glance brief on the actions to boost the Tourism and Hospitality sectors.

· Develop and publish a draft Tourism Strategy to 2030 for Northern Ireland to increase visitor numbers and revenue and to support job creation.

· Run a Tourism NI Immersive Technologies scheme - Encourage greater use of immersive technologies as a way of increasing innovation in the NI tourism market and to help visitors to explore more of Northern Ireland and spend more when they visit.

· Host events of scale, including preparations for the 2019 Open Championship.

· Provide a programme of activities to attract visitors to NI heritage sites. An extensive, high profile programme to attract visitors to Northern Ireland’s heritage sites will attract visitors and promote tourism potential.

· Deliver 14 Public Realm Environmental Improvement and Revitalisation Schemes including a flagship project in Portrush to help prepare the town for the influx of visitors for the Open Golf Tournament in June 2019.

· Deliver the International Relations Strategy by: arranging overseas visits on behalf of Departments, and hosting inward visits. Participants will have a focussed message on Northern Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for investment, partnership, events or to visit.

· Deliver a business ambassador programme. The programme will showcase Northern Ireland as a place to do business by attracting key executives and organisations to visit.

Emergency Meeting at Stormont on Crisis in Community Pharmacy

Elected representatives, concerned patient groups and representatives of local community pharmacy gathered at the Long Gallery at Stormont yesterday for an emergency meeting to address the deepening crisis in community pharmacy here.

Paula Bradshaw MLA 

The response has been triggered after a survey was published last week on the critical impact of escalating financial pressures on local community pharmacists and the impact that the knock-on effects will have on patients.

The survey showed that as many as 87% of local community pharmacists surveyed expressed that they were ‘very worried about their own businesses’ with 81% stating that the ‘current funding situation is having an impact on their own health and wellbeing’.

Robbie Butler MLA 

But it is patients who are expected to feel the impact most severely says the Chief Executive of the representative body, Community Pharmacy NI, Gerard Greene.

Speaking at the emergency meeting in Stormont, Gerard Greene commented:

“There is a real threat that the continued under funding by the Department of Health will result in pharmacies closing.”

“The frontline services that community pharmacists provide are under attack and the prolonged government underfunding is putting huge financial strain on many, so much so that it is impacting on the health and well-being of community pharmacists across Northern Ireland. We are now in a dire situation and one which we are not prepared to sit back and accept.”

Mervyn Storey MLA

“Our members have a responsibility to ensure that we help patients stay well and prevent illness wherever possible, but there is an unseen side to the profession that must be supported before there is any further impact.”

“The support that we have received from patients, patient groups and customers in the last days and weeks has been overwhelming, which shows the reliance that many have on their local community pharmacy.”

“Due to this current situation we have no option but to speak out, and we must stand up and fight for our patients and demand that action be taken by the Department of Health to protect the vital patient services provided in community pharmacies.”

Prior to the collapse of the NI Assembly, the last Health Minister, Michelle O’Neill, outlined a commitment to continue to develop and resource community pharmacy-based initiatives over the next 10 years. However, this is now in jeopardy due to the fact that the Department of Health is under funding the cost of providing community pharmacy services by at least £20m.

Emma Rogan MLA 

This funding shortfall has been compounded in recent months by unprecedented generic medicines shortages leaving community pharmacists and their staff with a daily struggle to find many of the medicines needed by their patients. When they do source the items required, they can find themselves paying more than ten times the usual price, all without knowing if they will be fully reimbursed.

Mark H Durkan MLA 

Community pharmacies in Northern Ireland are currently under sustained attack due to:

• Prolonged Government underfunding;
• Additional funding cuts made in 2017/18;
• Funding model which sees many medicines dispensed at a loss;
• Medicine shortages;
• Rising demand;
• Workforce crisis;
• Rising incidence of violent crime.

Greater investment needed for brain injury rehab for young people at risk of offending says Brain Injury Charity Chief

Brain injury charity chief says greater investment in rehabilitation needed for young people at risk of offending and young offenders to reduce future criminality, social exclusion and mental health difficulties.

The Chief Executive of Brain Injury Matters, Fiona McCabe, has called for greater investment in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) rehabilitation and community support services for young people as a key way of reducing the risk of offending, social exclusion and mental health difficulties.

Fiona McCabe, CEO of Brain Injury Matters 

The call comes at the start of Acquired Brain Injury Awareness Week which takes place from 14th– 20th May.

The charity says there is a developing body of global and local research that identifies a high rate of brain injury right across the criminal youth justice system.

Recent studies suggest between 50-70% of young offenders currently in the justice system have an identified ABI, but investment in dedicated multidisciplinary rehabilitation services for adolescents is non-existent.

Young people living with an ABI have a disability that is less visible, less understood, and so open to misinterpretation of the young person's needs. This may result in a loss of friends and reduced social networks, over reliance on family for social needs and generally lower social participation.

In general, the identification, appropriate assessment and setting out of a treatment pathway is paramount for adolescents with a traumatic brain injury from all backgrounds.

The evidence indicates that without appropriate support to meet the emotional and social needs of young people, problems will escalate. More complex issues are likely to develop such as the deterioration of mental health, behavioural problems and anti-social behaviour that will ultimately place extra burden on adult health and social services. This is due to the complex nature of brain injury which can result in impulsivity, challenges with problem solving or flexible thinking, reduced social skills and poor emotional understanding, among a wide range of other issues.

Fiona McCabe, Chief Executive, Brain Injury Matters:

“We are aware that there is an inextricable link between anti-social and offending behaviour in young people with a traumatic brain injury here in Northern Ireland.  The high incidence rate is worrying, and lack of any investment is failing our young people.”

“The complete lack of service provision for those young people both inside and outside the criminal justice system means we are missing opportunities to intervene early and avoid long term problems which ultimately results in a poorer quality of life for them.”

“Rehabilitation requires support and education of a wide range of people such as carers, family, friends as well as a whole range of professional support for those with an ABI to lead a fulfilled life in their own community.”

“Recently, Brain Injury Matters developed a programme called ‘Youth Matters’ as a direct response to prevent the onset of negative secondary issues for young people with an acquired brain injury. The demand for this has been very high and proves that there has been a complete lack of attention towards this high-risk group.”

“This one to one and group-based support programme for young people (13-18 years old) across Northern Ireland aims to help young people achieve self-identified goals, promote age appropriate independence, maximise social and educational engagement, promote psychological adjustment post-ABI and improve overall well-being.”

Academic Dr Mark Linden from The Queen’s University of Belfast said:

“The research that we carried out showed that the majority (87%) of young male offenders in NI have had some degree of brain injury.”

“These injuries have occurred during childhood or adolescence which are critical periods for brain development. As such, many of these young men fail to fully develop regions of the brain called the frontal lobes which govern aspects of behaviour such as planning, understanding the consequences of their actions and the regulation of behaviour.”

“Our work has also shown that many young men were never told they had received a brain injury and were not aware of the consequences of this on their behaviour. Instead they may have been informed that they had a concussion (classed as a mild brain injury), the seriousness of which was down played. It is increasingly recognised that mild brain injuries make up the majority of cases and that they can have significant and long-lasting consequences. Approximately 66% of young offenders in our research sample had more than three injuries with many having more than six.”

“This work highlights the importance of proper screening and monitoring of young offenders as they enter the Criminal Justice System (CJS) so that targeted rehabilitation strategies may be put in place to better support their needs. It further suggests the need to better educate professionals working within the CJS to provide context to sentencing decisions and understanding of the needs of young men with brain injuries.”

Cross-Party health group calls for urgent support for Community Pharmacy

The Health spokespeople from each of the main political parties have expressed concern about the current funding crisis in community pharmacy in Northern Ireland which may lead to some pharmacists having to close their doors for good. 

In a letter co-signed by five Health spokespeople directed to the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health, Richard Pengelly, they state that despite several investigations outlining the cost of service, there remains an identified shortfall in excess of £20 million in funding needed to run community pharmacy effectively. This was independently outlined in a Cost of Service Investigation carried out by PwC and published by the Department 6 months ago (November 2017).

SDLP's Mark H Durkan MLA: One of five elected reps who has signed letter calling for support from Department of Health. 

The cross-party support for community pharmacy comes at a time when the representative body Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland has called for the Department to meet to resolve a number of pressures. The organisation which represents over 530 pharmacies has received universal backing in its assertion that an enhanced role for community pharmacies could shift many of the bottlenecks and pressure points elsewhere in primary health care.  

The group of Health spokespeople have called on the Department of Health to:

• Open further discussions with the representative body Community Pharmacy NI;
• Urgently introduce an interim rescue package;
• Reintroduce proprietary mitigation to address the issue of ‘dispensing at a loss’;
• Ensuring sufficient funding is maintained in rural areas;
• Deliver a new community pharmacy contract as a matter of urgency.

Health Committee Chair in the previous Assembly, Paula Bradley MLA said:

“We understand that the health service is under severe pressure, but we desperately need the clinical skills and community support provided by our pharmacies.” 

“Community pharmacists across Northern Ireland are not only calling for a new contract to be brought forward; but that funding is maintained in rural areas; dispensing medicine at a loss is addressed; and an interim rescue package is forthcoming to plug visible gaps.”

Paula Bradley MLA 

“We as a group of health focussed MLAs have been approached by a number of local pharmacy owners that they may have to close their doors as a direct result of the decision taken by the Department of Health. That is simply unacceptable for such a critical service.”

“We need, in the absence of the Assembly and a Minister in place, for the Permanent Secretary to give these issues his urgent attention.”

Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI said:

“Community pharmacies have a vital role in delivering community-based healthcare services and the promotion of well-being, with around 123,000 people visiting a community pharmacy every day.

“It is often the first point of contact for people to the health service and it is also the last point of contact for those receiving prescribed medication.

“We welcome the support from the main parties on the current issues facing community pharmacy and their call for the Department of Health to act to immediately stabilise the network here.

Community Pharmacy seeks urgent support: Gerard Greene, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy NI. 

“The healthcare system needs radical change and key to this is giving community pharmacy a more proactive role in public health and in the prevention and management of long term conditions.

“Scotland and Wales provide us with excellent examples of what this change looks like and the impact it can have on improving patient outcomes, shifting demand and delivering efficiencies.

“Through better understanding of its services, greater recognition of its value and with a flagship role at the heart of public health, our vital place-based network of community pharmacies can play a significant role in solving the crisis facing us.

“The intervention from this group of MLAs hasn’t come a moment too soon as the policy divergence between what has been agreed in terms of financial support and what is being realised is substantially different and simply can’t continue in this way.”

“This call from our elected representatives is vital in terms of ensuring that community pharmacy is recognised as a health service priority and resourced accordingly before it is too late.”

18th Belfast Film Festival Launched

The 2018 Belfast Film Festival is set to host 118 premieres out of 178 films ranging from features to short films to Virtual Reality (VR) titles drawn from 30 countries around the world. 

Chair of the Belfast Film Festival, Mark Cousins, with Director, Michele Devlin launch the 2018 Belfast Film Festival.  The 2018 Belfast Film Festival is set to host 118 premieres out of 178 films ranging from features to short films to Virtual Reality (VR) titles drawn from 30 countries around the world. 

The festival, which takes place across 22 locations in Belfast, will also see a number of special events including in-depth Q&As with well-known Father Ted writer, Graham Linehan and Director Ken Loach who is set to receive the Réalta award for outstanding contribution to cinema.

The festival kicks off on 12th April with the Lance Daly directed film ‘BLACK 47’ as the opening gala and continues through to 21st April.

Mark Cousins, Chair of the Belfast Film Festival said:

“We are thrilled to be launching the 2018 film festival with a whole host of great films, documentaries and shorts. Our festival is one of the boldest and most distinctive and this year we have curated a programme that shows how passionate we are about film and the people who make them and feature in them.”

“As the new Chair of the film festival I have great ambition for it. We want to take it out to more people and make it accessible for everyone to spark an interest they may not know they had. We have so much potential to raise the profile locally and internationally and with energy and the right strategy, we can do it.”

“BFF18 brings an entire showcase of 178 features, short films and VR titles, applauding innovation and exciting work from 30 countries around the world.”

“As part of the festival we are absolutely thrilled to welcome Ken Loach to Belfast, to screen a selection of his film and TV work and present him with our award for his Outstanding Contribution to Cinema.”

Top 5 Picks of the 2018 Belfast Film Festival Programme

12 April Opening Night Gala - ‘BLACK 47’ – Directed by Lance Daly

17 April Belfast Film Festival to welcome Ken Loach to Northern Ireland to receive the Réalta award for outstanding contribution to cinema. Ken will take part in a special Q&A.

18 April The festival will welcome BAFTA and Emmy winner Graham Linehan, co-writer of Father Ted and Black Books and writer and director of the IT Crowd who will take part in a special Q&A

18 April  ‘THE BREADWINNER’ - Directed by Nora Twomey (Parvana is an 11-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. When her father is wrongfully arrested, Parvana cuts off her hair and dresses like a boy in order to support her family. Working alongside her friend Shauzia, Parvana discovers a new world of freedom and danger).

21 April Closing Night Gala - ‘THE DIG’ – Directed by Ryan and Andrew Tohill

More than 20 films at this year’s Belfast Film Festival will have a ‘F’ rating which identifies if a film is directed, written or produced by a female or has a strong female lead or storyline.

The response comes off the back of the recent global movement to change the culture of how women are treated in the film industry and how they are represented on-screen.

Michele Devlin, Director of the Belfast Film Festival added:

“This year in the film industry there has been an upsurge of activism as a loud response to systemic sexual exploitation, race and class discrimination.”

“We work hard to make sure that our festival continually reflects the changes that are happening in the global film industry and society. As a festival, we want to make sure that we give everyone a voice and a platform.”

“This year we have introduced the ‘F’ rating throughout the programme which shines a spotlight on the role of women in film production. By doing this we want to make sure that we play our part in giving the overall campaign the attention it deserves.”

Festival Pass and Tickets can be purchased at: www.belfastfilmfestival.org

BREXIT AND THE BORDER - Institution of Engineering & Technology Policy Event, Wednesday 21 March, Belfast

The Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) is to host a bespoke workshop by the Engineering Policy Northern Ireland Group in conjunction with Manufacturing NI for those working in Engineering, Technology, IT and Manufacturing on BREXIT AND THE BORDER.

Hosted by Jamie Delargy 

Speakers Include: Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive of Manufacturing NI, Dr Katy Hayward, Queen’s University; Dr Eoin Magennis from Ulster University and Allie Renison, the Head of Europe and Trade Policy at IoD

Speaker: Allie Renison, Head of Europe and Trade Policy at IoD

Date: Wednesday, 21 March 

Time: Registration from 8.30am

Venue: Titanic Hotel, Belfast 

IF YOU WORK IN THE AREAS OF ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING, TECHNOLOGY OR IT AND WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND, PLEASE EMAIL: hello[at]brownoconnor.com TO SECURE A PLACE.  

Event Overview 

Nearly two years after the referendum vote, the clarity which business needs in relation to Brexit is still lacking.  To proceed with any future planning or investment, everyone needs to know at least an outline of what the likely new regime will be.

This is particularly true in Northern Ireland which, when the UK leaves the EU after March 2019, will have the only land border with an EU state. The decision to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union will profoundly affect the Northern Ireland economy and every business decision ranging from energy costs through to data transfer will be shaped by policies adopted in the next few months.

With the December 2017 “divorce” agreement between the UK and the EU widely recognised as a fudge - what do the engineering, technology and manufacturing sectors in Northern Ireland need from Brexit?  What effect will Brexit have on border communities and how might a future border operate in practice?

At this event, engineers and technologists from many different organisations, together with those involved manufacturing ranging from agri-processing to aero-space will consider both the context of what is currently happening and also look at some future scenarios.