The last of the 2010/11 regional forums took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Thursday 31^st March with 9 schools, 2 MEPs, the British Council Northern Ireland and the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland all coming together to make for an excellent event.

The event started with a welcome speech from Paul O’Connor who welcomed participants to Belfast Metropolitan College and explained that although they would be happy to host the event next year, it will be moving to the all new Titanic Quarter Building.

Catriona Hughes, who has played a key role in organising EYP events in Northern Ireland for many years, introduced Bairbre de Brún MEP who talked delegates through the wide ranging role of MEPs looking at everything from climate change to the agricultural policy.

After the President Treise Lively officially opened the event, the teams got straight into discussing the topic of nuclear weapons before going on to debate various issues including multiculturalism and renewable energy.

The afternoon included a speech from Diane Dodds MEP who spoke about the importance of the fishing industry to Northern Ireland. This speech was then followed by a lively debate on fishing which included a number of humorous, fish themed puns.

The 9 schools taking part were: St. Dominic’s Grammar School (Belfast), Ballymena Academy, St. Patrick’s Grammar School (Armagh), St. Colman’s College (Newry), Victoria College (Belfast), The Wallace High School (Lisburn), Royal Belfast Academical Institution (Belfast), Portora Royal School (Enniskillen) and Dominican College (Portstewart).

All of the schools taking part had clearly put a lot of time and energy into
preparing for all of the topics. However, the jury could only choose 2 schools to go forward to represent Northern Ireland at the EYPUK National Session in Durham in September. The 2 schools selected were St. Colman’s College, Newry and Victoria College, Belfast who are both pictured above.

The event drew to a close with all of the teams presenting what they had got out of the day through a performance, with a special mention going to the Committee on International Trade who showed they were skilled rappers as well as debaters!

A big thanks goes to Belfast Metropolitan College for hosting the event, all of the EYP alumni for taking part in the day and in particular Catriona Hughes who continues to give up her time for EYP. Thanks must also go to the British Council Northern Ireland for their support.

Finally, a big thank you to Jeanette Thornton and all of the staff at the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland for their invaluable support, ensuring that this event is a continued success. Click on the link below to see the European Commission Office in Northern Ireland’s website which will soon include videos from the day.

http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/about_us/office_in_northern_ireland/2011/110330_en.htm