Harnessing the power of our diaspora
Andrew Cowan, Chief Executive of Northern Irish Connections, tells agendaNi about the tangible progress being made to form strong links within our diaspora network and the long-term benefits this will have for our economy, businesses and organisations closer to home.
By 2020, our goal is for NI Connections to be the established diaspora network for 150,000 friends of Northern Ireland globally, helping them to connect with each other, exchange advice, pursue new opportunities and thrive.
Diaspora engagement is not new and we are not the first country to recognise the power of our diaspora. People have, for centuries, been connecting back and working to be at home abroad. In fact, there are now more than 450 diaspora initiatives happening around the globe.
But we live in a world that has never been more connected and that has brought new attention to how we engage with our diaspora. At the core, the processes have remained the same – telling stories, listening to each other, and capturing the desire to help as much as possible.
There are 10 million first and second generation Northern Irish diaspora living away from our region, a number that increases to 20 million if we look to those with third generation connections.
Most are in the US, Canada, Britain and Australia, but they are also scattered far beyond those countries. You will find the Northern Irish diaspora in over 50 countries around the world including Hong Kong, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Sri Lanka.
Step change
2015 has already been an exciting year for our organisation. There has been a step change in our focus and passion for connecting with our diaspora and we have had the opportunity to see the appetite from friends of Northern Ireland around the globe to engage with us to benefit home.
We are now delivering tangible benefits in each of our four core areas of activity: Education, Investment, Innovation and Tourism. For example, this year NI Connections, collaborating closely with the Invest NI office in Dubai, secured three international students from the United Arab Emirates for Campbell College – an investment which will have an economic benefit of more than
£1 million across seven years.
Premier league
An introduction between professional sportswoman Angela Smith and Belfast Metropolitan College has resulted in a football camp for 30 students and premier league football links to Northern Ireland with Stoke Football Team. We have also connected David Campbell, President of IBM, to both of Northern Ireland’s universities. David has since spoken at a summit for QUB Lost Alumni, an introduction to NI Connections’ members.
We have introduced new investors, mentors and innovators to our universities, Invest NI and the Northern Ireland Science Park. We have laid the foundations for the Gourmand international food event to come to Northern Ireland which, if secured, would deliver approximately £3.45 million to the economy and we are in the process of helping to attract other conferences which have the potential to deliver a boost of more than £2 million to tourism.
NI Connections has also sponsored some high profile events around the world this year including the Co-operation Ireland Legal Dinner in London, the Golden Bridges event in Boston, and the launch of Canadian-owned gold company Dalradian on the London Stock Exchange. We have co-hosted diaspora events in Glasgow, Dubai and Belfast which presented crucial opportunities to speak and raise the profile of NI Connections. We also collaborated directly with Westminster on its St Patrick’s Day event.
The outlook for the year ahead is even brighter. We plan to extend the range of our connections around the globe even further by actively visiting and engaging with our network in their markets, and we also plan to ask our diaspora to come home to celebrate all that is good about Northern Ireland as part of a major celebration here in Belfast.
We aim to continue to identify investment opportunities and to create ways of encouraging more visitors, more international events and more Northern Ireland-based conferences. We are working alongside our universities and colleges to further promote their international programmes in both research and education, and we need support from globally experienced businesspeople to help entrepreneurs and young start-up businesses by sharing expertise.
Economic power
NI Connections is grateful to have the support of many organisations, including Invest Northern Ireland, Belfast City Council, Visit Belfast, Belfast Harbour and our local councils, all of which recognise the economic power that lies within our diaspora network.
Traditionally diaspora organisations have focused on the power of the United States, drawing on the experience and connections of those who are successful across the Atlantic. We are now stretching our reach even further, identifying the wealth of opportunity on our doorstep in Dublin and London, and in fast-growing economies such as the United Arab Emirates, Canada and China.
Our goal is achievable. To achieve our goals we are now stretching our reach to attract just 1.5 per cent of the 10 million strong diaspora to join NI Connections. When we listen to one another, collaborate and work together, the opportunities to raise the tide for everyone in Northern Ireland are vast.
Although we are a small country we continually punch well above our weight. Belfast has been named one of Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in the World Must-See’ places, the City of Culture year of events held in Derry-Londonderry marked us out on the UK map, and welcoming the Giro d’Italia attracted media from all over the world. Not to mention we are also home to the world’s #1 golfer and the world’s number 1 TV series.
Since 2013, NI Connections has been engaging with our diaspora, connecting thousands of Northern Irish people living across the globe with each other for mutual benefit through business, tourism, education, even friendship.
By engaging our diverse and influential diaspora we can identify business and cultural opportunities for our members, and for Northern Ireland. Continued collaboration, shared vision and a desire to ‘be better’ are at the core of NI Connections and we will drive this agenda forward in 2015 and beyond.
Northern Irish Connections
Bedford Square
Bedford Street, Belfast, BT2 7ES
T: + 44 (0)28 9069 8304
E: info@niconnections.com
W: www.niconnections.com
