Dr. Stephen Farry is Deputy Leader of Alliance. He has represented North Down since 1993, as Councillor (serving as Mayor), as MLA until 2019 and now as the MP for North Down.
Minister for Employment and Learning between 2011-2016, he reformed universities and colleges, while promoting Northern Ireland abroad and creating investment across the community.
Ray Bassett is a former senior Irish diplomat who served as Irish Ambassador to Canada, Jamaica, and the Bahamas (2010-2016). He worked extensively in the Northern Ireland Peace Process and was part of the Irish Government delegation at the Good Friday Talks and subsequently was the Irish Government representative in Belfast 2001-2005.
Bassett has also held the position of head of the Irish consular service, including relations with the Irish Diaspora 2005-2010.
This event is part of a series on Peacebuilding in the Wake of Brexit. This series focuses on the North of/Northern Ireland during a time of great political and economic shifts. Various perspectives from community leaders, mostly from border counties or towns, highlight how recent developments affect everyday people as well as political possibilities. Interwoven with these perspectives are discussions with institutional figures who speak to more macro-level effects of Brexit and other sources of uncertainty on peacebuilding in Ireland and the UK.
Colin Halliday has worked within the community/voluntary sector over the last 25 years working in numerous conflict transformation and peace-building initiatives a, founding member and current director (chair) of New Horizons Credit Union Limited and a Director of Lisburn Community Self-Build Limited. Colin is currently employed as the Project Coordinator of the Open Doors Project which is funded by Peace IV Program.
Paul Gallagher is an elected Independent Councillor for the past six years for Derry City and Strabane District Council, representing the Strabane Area. He is also the Regional Project Coordinator for Teach Na Failte Open Doors which offers specialized support and training to Republican Socialist ex-prisoners, ex-combatants (INLA) and associated groups and individuals.
