Conference marks 20 years of peace in Northern Ireland, and its future

The Poynter Journalism Fellowship, in collaboration with the MacMillan Center, the Office of the Vice President for Global Strategy, and Queen’s University Belfast, is hosting a series of conversations about pursuing progress in Northern Ireland.

“Twenty Years of Peace” will take place on Friday, Nov. 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m in the Greenberg Center, 391 Prospect St. Registration is required. Visit the conference website, 20yop.yale.edu, for more information.

Marking 20 years since the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland, this conference will bring together architects of that peace agreement, political and community leaders, and academics to discuss current challenges that hamper the full realization of peace in Northern Ireland and possible paths forward.

The Belfast/Good Friday agreement is widely believed to be one of the effective agreements of its kind crafted in the past 50 years. However, Northern Ireland is still facing paralyzing setbacks and divisions that some believe cannot be ameliorated with similar tactics. The goal of the conference is to “foster open and critical discussions about what could have been done differently and what might be done now to address those divisions and rectify the setbacks,” say the organizers. The conference will take the form of three panels followed by an academic seminar.

The Poynter Fellowship in Journalism was established by Nelson Poynter, who received his master’s degree in 1927 from Yale. The fellowship brings to campus distinguished reporters, editors and others who have made important contributions to the media. Among recent Poynter fellows are Anita Dunn, Leslie Jamison, and Teju Cole.