I am delighted to extend a welcome to you to Northern Ireland. Its is a pleasure to see you all here in Parliament Buildings to participate in this Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference.
That many of you have travelled long distances to be here serves to remind us all just how beneficial it can be to learn lessons from each other in building structures and political systems which can effectively deliver to meet the expectation of our communities.
I want to congratulate the Association and the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly for organising this Conference and to thank all those who facilitated and led the various discussions throughout the week. This Conference has provided a valuable forum to share experiences and discuss the challenges faced in peace-building processes; and to highlight the effective role which we, as parliamentarians and public representatives, can play in providing leadership to our communities in overcoming the difficulties in finding a solution to conflict.
I hope that you all have found the various discussions throughout the Conference to be stimulating and thought provoking and that your dialogue has made, and will continue to make, a substantial contribution to national and international debate on peace-building.
As you are aware, in Northern Ireland we are familiar with the consequences of conflict and division. I hope that the session on 'Rebuilding Public Confidence after Violent Conflict' which you had earlier today with representatives from the parties here in Northern Ireland, highlighted the lessons we have learned during our journey to achieving a sustainable peace.
The transition from violence to peace was not an easy one.
While we have come a long way in a short period of time we still have some challenges to overcome and we continue to work to resolve these.
I hope our experience will show what can be achieved when local politicians and people work together and that a solution to conflict is possible if there is a real desire for peace.
Now I want to make a shameless pitch. 2012 is a year rich in significance for our Province. It is the centenary of both the Titanic, which was fine when it left Belfast by the way, and the Ulster Covenant. It is also Olympic year and we intend to play our part as a region of the UK in London 2012.
- We aim to maximise the opportunities from the Games to benefit the people in Northern Ireland and leave a legacy for future generations.
- In particular we are keen to host countries and teams from around the world for pre Games training and acclimatisation in the run up to 2012.
- Northern Ireland has 26 venues in the London 2012 pre Games training camp guide for the Olympis Games and 8 venues in the guide for the Paralympic Games.
- Countries are encouraged to train, in the UK, and the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) have offered financial assistance of £25,000 to National Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
- We are very excited at the prospect of hosting teams from across the world in the run up to 2012, to create new relationships and strengthen existing ones. Work with you on sharing best practice and existing 2012 projects and programmes we have for our young people and to develop a tailored package that suits your requirements.
- I would urge you to use your position in your respective countries to encourage your Olymoic and Paralympic Committees to strongly consider beasing themselves in Northern Ireland.
- If you would like to receive more information on this opportunity, I would be more than happy to pass on your details to the Northern Ireland co-ordinator.
I hope that the Conference has been a worthwhile and enlightening experience for you all and that you enjoy the remainder of the Programme. I wish you all a safe journey home to your respective countries and that you will take with you the lessons you have learned and the friendships you have made or renewed.
