I attended in the evening with Helen Brooker (Pretani Associates), John Kennedy (Dept of Arts ,Heritage and the Gaeltacht) and Professor Wesley Hutchinson (Sorbonne, Paris).

 Agenda

Comhdháil Aon-Chathrach Bhéal Feirste Conference Belfast One City

Lifting the City

MAY 9 || e3

10amm Folktown —— A Reborn Market Place in the Heart off Belfast.

Venue: Berry Street Presbyterian Church

Belfast’s Folktown area (Castle St, King St, Berry St, Marquis St, Bank Sq and Chapel Lane) is being regenerated and re-imaged through the provision of community-based cultural events (market, festival, art work, etc) to encourage inclusion of an emerging diversity of cultures and tradition, thereby encouraging community involvement, increasing footfall, tourism and trade in the area

Noon Skainos — A dynamic hub at the very heart of East Belfast..

Venue: Skainos, Newtownards Road

The Skainos Project is an urban regeneration development in inner East Belfast providing shared space for community transformation and renewal. Growing out of the work of the East Belfast Mission, it brings together a range of strategic partnerships which will contribute to the holistic regenerationof one of the most economically and socially deprived communities in Northern Ireland.

5:30pm e3,, Belfast MET.. Registration

6pm An Opening Reception in Song & Verse

Joby Fox ‘Belfast’. Michael McKernon will read from ‘Sea – 60 Years of Poetry’, the latest anthology of Pádraic Fiacc, at 89, still Belfast’s poet laureate

6:25pm A Warm Welcome to the West: Paul Maskey MP

6:30pm Opening of Conference: Naomi Long MP: ‘Lifting the City’

6:40pm Bridging the Gap: Peace,, Prosperity and Our Inner–City Communities

Debate in recent months has focused on the peace dividend for working class communities. How can we guarantee that the educational, economic and social benefits of the peace are felt across Belfast and in every section of society?

Chair: Alan McBride

Paul Nolan, Community Relations Council; Cllr Jim McVeigh, SF; Cllr John Kyle, PUP; Cllr Tim Attwood, SDLP

7.20pm Re–Stitching the City

Mark Hackett, Forum for an Alternative Belfast

(Introduced by Alderman Tom Ekin: ‘A City Architect for Belfast’)

7.35pm An Ambitious Agenda for Belfast

Minister Carál Ní Chuilín MLA

7..50pmm Democratising the Arts

Belfast has enjoyed a renaissance of the arts in recent years with The Mac, Ulster Museum, An Chultúrlann and The Lyric leading the way but how do we ensure that everyone has access to and enjoys the arts?

Chair: Lucy Caldwell, Author; Jim McGreevy, National Museums NI; Martin Lynch, playwright; Jenny Elliott, CEO Arts Care; Ciarán Mackel, Chair Gaeltacht Quarter

8.40pm Spirit of Belfast/Spiorad Bhéal Feirste Award

Recipients: Féile an Phobail and East Belfast Arts Fest. Presented by Tony McCusker, Honorary Chair of Conference and Chair

Community Foundation for NI.

9pm Conference Club:: Dánlann Dillon,, An Chultúrlann

Céad Míle Fáilte to Juan Karlos Izagirre Hortelano, Mayor of Donostia-San Sebastian with live Music and Sean-Nós Dance performance.