Building Peace Locally Making Peace Globally. University of Ulster The John Hume & Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace

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1 Building Peace Locally Making Peace Globally University of Ulster The John Hume & Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace

2 The John Hume & Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace The United States of America and Ireland has a unique bond built on centuries of shared values, heritage, family, culture and economy. It is this proud, deep and enduring bond which helped create peace in Northern Ireland. Two men who were pivotal to building peace in Northern Ireland with their unique and powerful friendship, mutual respect and vision were Speaker Thomas P. O Neill and Nobel Peace Laureate John Hume. John Hume, inspired by Martin Luther King s Civil Rights movement in the US, found an enthusiastic partner in Speaker O Neill. He, in turn, galvanised support for Hume s message of non-violent political discourse as a route to resolving the Troubles. Speaker O Neill led the way for the US to play its vital role in turning peace in Northern Ireland from a dream into a reality. Now is the time to memorialise this unique chapter of Irish-American history and one of its most influential friendships and to share its legacy with the rest of the world. The University of Ulster wants to celebrate and perpetuate the impact of this powerful relationship, without which peace in Northern Ireland would not exist, by establishing the John Hume and Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace at the Magee campus in Derry. The peace process in Northern Ireland is a profound and historic achievement, a genuine peacebuilding success story. And while peace is still evolving, and needs to be further consolidated and embedded, the time is now right for us to share the valuable lessons learnt with other countries currently in, and still emerging from, conflict. The John Hume and Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace will lead this process. This Chair, the most senior of academic positions, builds on the success of the Tip O Neill Chair in Peace Studies, supported by the Ireland Funds, and held by John Hume from Under his tenure, an unparalleled and stellar collection of international figures lectured at the University s Magee campus in Derry, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and Kofi Annan.

3 The Chair will work in Northern Ireland and globally to: honor the Irish-American contribution to creating peace in Northern Ireland; consolidate the University of Ulster s pioneering and ground-breaking work in peacebuilding both locally and globally over the past 40 years and take this work to the next level; equip a new generation of peacebuilders, not only from Northern Ireland but internationally, particularly from countries in conflict; lead work on worldwide initiatives, making a practical difference to ensuring peace locally and globally, for future generations. L-R, Mr Aidan Hume, Mrs Shelly O Neill, Professor Richard Barnett,Vice-Chancellor, University of Ulster, Mr Thomas P. O Neill III

4 The John Hume & Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace No two men did more to build the imaginative momentum that culminated in the Good Friday agreement and today s remarkable ongoing peace process, than Dr.John Hume and Speaker Tip O Neill. I hope this Chair will help us to consolidate the peace and to reveal its full potential through the rigorous scholarship and research we need to keep this bright, brand new day on track. Professor Mary McAleese, Former President of Ireland Investing in Peace The bonds between the US and Ireland have helped us achieve a peace which once seemed almost impossible. We are now asking for your help again to consolidate this peace, and share our proven and profound lessons with the rest of the world. To establish this Chair in perpetuity, we need to raise $4.8m, of which $4m has already been secured. We are therefore now in the final push to raise the remaining balance of $800,000 by December These funds will be placed in an endowment fund, to ensure that the Chair can be funded forever. We hope that our friends in the US will invest in this ambition and help make it possible for us to create this legacy, borne out of the relationship between two countries and two men. Recognizing your Gift Gifts of any size will help establish the Chair. In recognition of your gift, there are a range of naming opportunities and benefits. For more information, please incorepeaceinitiative@ ulster.ac.uk How to Give Checks should be made payable to The American Ireland Fund with a note in the bottom left-hand corner University of Ulster - Hume & O Neill Peace Chair and sent to: The American Ireland Fund 211 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02110

5 Today, more than 1.5 billion people are affected by conflict, fragility and violence, making the prevention and resolution of conflicts one of the most critical challenges of our time. I welcome your initiative to establish the John Hume and Thomas P. O Neill Chair in Peace, which is uniquely placed to learn from the efforts made in Northern Ireland to build and consolidate peace, and wish you all success in nurturing the next generation of peacemakers and peacebuilders around the world. Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations.

6 INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR IRELAND