Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) SURVIVING OR TRANSFORMING? Listen back to this afternoon’s panel at John Hewitt International Summer School who were asked whether we are just getting through these years and the contention without too much disharmony, or are we creating something new and transforming relationships on this island?
PREVIEW of some of the political and historical events in the 2016 John Hewitt International Summer School programme (25-30 July in Armagh). Women? Gerry Adams? How have we remembered 1916?
BOBBY SANDS: 66 DAYS is a documentary film that weaves together the story of 1970s and 1980s republicanism with day by day updates on Sands’ condition and diary entries throughout his hunger strike. It’s neither an apologetic nor a rose-tinted documentary. The film sets events firmly in context but the critique of the hunger strike, the decisions of the UK government and the protest’s long term effect is fairly lenient.
BIG IDEAS – a day long festival of economics will be hosted by NICVA’s Centre for Economic Empowerment on Friday 12 August. Prof Steve Keen will be joined by a host of other speakers – and there’s room for your ideas too if you get in touch with the organisers.
BECAUSE WE’RE HERE – The juxtaposition of khaki onto the modern colour palette was striking. The sound of boots marching in formation down the footpath. Across the UK – including Belfast, Derry and Ballymena – men in replica WW1 uniforms paid tribute to lives lost at the Somme on 1 July 1916.
130 YEARS AGO One Clarence Street exported fancy hankies around the world, Today Sixteen South are creating kids TV shows that are sold to more than one hundred countries. Today they celebrated the opening of their new offices in Belfast, though a cloud of Brexit hangs over their industry.
THE SHAPE OF BELFAST – Xchange Summer School looking at the architectural heritage of the city and what could be done to improve the city in the future.
Listen back to most of the panels at today’s third annual Xchange summer school – changing the conversation about participative democracy, faith and societal wellbeing.
Listen back to the short pitches by representatives of the Remain and Leave campaigns at this morning’s final event by EU Debate NI: Owen Paterson, Claire Hanna, Glyn Roberts & Lee Reynolds
What’s the background to the new framework of actions, outcomes and indicators that will sit behind the Programme for Government? What’s all this talk about wellbeing? Dr Peter Doran from QUB School of Law was involved in the Carnegie Roundtable that helped introduce the concepts to NI’s public sector over the past few years.
The new Executive is much simpler with more room for elbows around the circular table in Stormont Castle. Yet today’s selections felt quite topsy turvy, with parties allowing their previous portfolios to lapse to the other party.
The D’Hondt tombola has been turned and the ministries have been pulled out and names assigned by the team captains. DUP (Economy, Education, Agriculture, Communities), Sinn Féin (Finance, Infrastructure, Health)
First and deputy First Ministers have just announced that independent MLA Claire Sugden to be new Justice Minister.
This afternoon, Speaker McLaughlin chaired proceedings, welcoming MLAs back the Assembly and led the new elected members through the process of signing the undertaking and the roll of membership. After lunch, the MLAs returned to the chamber to elect a new Speaker and three deputy speakers. Arlene Foster nominated Robin Newton, saying that he was a “conciliator”. Martin McGuinness said he had “no difficulty whatsoever supporting” the nomination. An oral vote confirmed his election, and Speaker McLaughlin vacated the chair …
Nearly one hundred service users and service providers gathered in front of Parliament Buildings this morning in an enthusiastic demonstration calling on the Programme for Government to boost funding of the Supporting People programme by at least 10% to help thousands of vulnerable people to live as independently as possible.
WHEEL OF FORTUNE – How the party totals will affect D’Hondt and ministry selections now that all 108 MLAs have been elected.
In parallel with the real Assembly election, on Thursday Methodist College ran a mock poll using the real Belfast South candidates and an electorate made up of pupils in Forms 1-4. They elected 1 Green, 1 Sinn Féin, 2 Alliance and 2 DUP MLAs.
At first feisty, but an ultimately uninspiring debate between five leaders who threw punches but all walked out of the ring with bruises. Relatively little discussion about policies or achievements. While parties won’t have lost votes, tonight’s debate will have done little to boost turnout.
SPEAKER BERCOW delivered a lecture last night to explain “What Westminster can learn from the devolved Parliaments and Assemblies”.
In a speech dominated by the shadow of 1916, Gerry Adams gave a piece of his mind to Enda and Micheál and promised to end the ban on marriage equality in the North.
