Alliance Councillor co-ordinates high-profile visit

5.21.33pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 4th Jul 2006

Alliance Larne Councillor, Geraldine Mulvenna

Larne Alliance Councillor, Geraldine Mulvenna, recently co-ordinated the visit of a group of high-profile young political leaders from the United States to Northern Ireland.

During their visit, the group comprised of politicians from both the Republican and Democrat parties saw the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont and met with Alliance Party leader, David Ford, and Northern Ireland Assembly Speaker, Eileen Bell.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon. Peter Hain MP, hosted the group for a drinks reception at Stormont Castle and later in the tour they visited the Lord Chief Justice at the High Court.

During their stay the group also visited Coleraine, Derry, Omagh and Enniskillen. Their visit ended with a barbeque at the US Consulate, hosted by Dean Pittman.

Councillor Mulvenna stated: "This is a very important project because it enables leaders to meet and share experiences with politicians from further afield.

"This visit offered an excellent opportunity for politicians from Northern Ireland and from the US to forge strong links, which will further encourage co-operation between the two places in the future."

The group's visit was part of the American Council for Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) project, which encourages co-operation between young political leaders from a range of countries throughout the world. The group was formed in 1966 and, to date, 6,000 young leaders have participated in exchanges in over 90 countries.

ENDS