Conference
The 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement: Working together to fulfil the promise of peace
- Date
- Thursday 25 May 2023
- Time
- Address
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Schouwburgstraat
Schouwburgstraat 2
2511 VA The Hague
About the event
The event will bring together a panel of speakers who were either involved in the negotiations which brought about the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 or who have first-hand experience of Northern Ireland and insight into the outcome of the Agreement.
The Irish and British Ambassadors to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ambassador Brendan Rogers and Ambassador Joanna Roper will welcome participants. Following this, Mr. Mauritz Verheijden, Deputy Director for Europe Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands will introduce the event, which will be preceded by the showing of a brief video from the British Council that marks 25 years of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement through the voices of 25 x 25 year olds.
Dr Joost Augusteijn of Leiden University, the foremost specialist on Irish Affairs in the Netherlands, will serve as moderator for the roundtable that follows.
The speakers include:
- David Cooney, Secretary General of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2014, former Ambassador to the United Kingdom and a member of the Irish Government team for the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement.
- Bronagh Hinds, a key participant in the Good Friday Agreement negotiations for the Women’s Coalition and the former Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
- Dr Katy Radford, Chair of British Council Northern Ireland’s Advisory Committee and UK Electoral Commissioner with responsibility for Northern Ireland.
The event will take place in Leiden University Hague Campus, Schouwburgstraat 2 on 25 May 2023 and will commence at 17.30 hrs; we encourage entry from 17.00.
Registration
This is a (free) ticketed event. Please register via the button below
Register for this eventAbout the Good Friday Agreement
April 10 2023 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) also called the Belfast Agreement. The Good Friday Agreement is both a peace agreement and the basis for reformed and inclusive Government in Northern Ireland. The vision of the Agreement is based on hope, on inclusion, on power sharing, and on peace and reconciliation.
The Agreement has led to sustained peace in Northern Ireland; addressed many of the issues that underpinned conflict during the previous decades and has now become a model for addressing other entrenched conflicts across the world. This is all the more pertinent in a context where we have witnessed the return of major inter-state war to the European continent.
This anniversary year is an opportunity to reflect on the Peace Process and on the progress that Northern Ireland has made over the past quarter of a century. It is also a time to celebrate what was a transformative moment for Northern Ireland and for relationships within and between the two islands.
Northern Ireland has changed over the last 25 years. In an increasingly interconnected world, it has become more diverse, more prosperous and more outward looking. The Good Friday Agreement challenged our assumptions of what we once thought possible. It offered a pathway to a better future and has provided the foundation for a peaceful and prosperous society. It remains, despite difficulties and challenges, the foundation for a hopeful future as we look to what the current generation of leaders and peacemakers can achieve in the next 25 years.
It is against this backdrop that the Embassy of Ireland and the Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are organising a joint event to mark this important anniversary.