This November, the Irish-American community of Massachusetts will join together with the community of Donegal and Derry to forge and consolidate transatlantic cultural links.
The fifth annual Boston-Northwest Ireland Golden Bridges Conference 2012 will take place in the Seaport Hotel and the World Trade Centre, Boston on November 8th and 9th 2012.
Hosted by leading Irish-American newspaper, the Irish Echo, this year’s conference is centred on the theme, “community, culture and commerce,” and will include the US launch of the Donegal Global Diaspora Project.
2013 will have huge significance in the north-west of Ireland with Derry being named as City of Culture, and The Gathering 2013, extending a huge Donegal welcome to our worldwide Diaspora.
Senator Jack Hart, democratic member of the Massachusetts State Senate will launch the showcase and on behalf of the cream of the Irish-American business community, welcome the Irish north-west delegation.
Two day of intensive talks and discussions will follow featuring an array of speakers from Donegal, Derry and the US, on topics which will include- The Launch of Transatlantic Reading Project; To a Profitable Partnership: Boston and Northwest Ireland; City of Culture Showcase; Rising to Common Challenges; An Invite Home: The Gathering 2013; US Launch: Donegal Global Diaspora Project; Creating World-Class Regions and much more.
The conference will be attended by a high-profile Donegal delegation which will include Minister for State, Dinny McGinley, TD; Donegal County Mayor, Frank McBrearty Jnr; Donegal County Manager, Seamus Neely; and Letterkenny Institute of Technology President, Paul Hannigan.
Speaking this week, Mayor of Donegal, Cllr Frank McBrearty Jnr commented, “The bonds that tie Boston, Massachusetts, and Irish America in general to the Northwest of Ireland have never been as strong.
“This conference offers an amazing opportunity for all parties to consolidate existing partnerships, while also collectively collaborating to establish exciting new innovative processes that can be mutually beneficial to ourselves and our transatlantic Diaspora of family and friends.”
A full agenda of the weekends events and names of guest speakers can be found here: http://irishecho.com/boston/wpcontent/uploads/2012/10/GoldenBridgesAgenda.pdf