Activities

MME Participation: Exploring Barriers, Exploding Myths, Seeking Solutions

On 14 September 2024 a Democracy event was hosted at the Great Hall, Parliament Buildings, Stormont, titled "MME Participation: Exploring Barriers, Exploding Myths, Seeking Solutions."

The event, organised by NILGA, the MME Thinktank, and the NI African and Caribbean Leadership Consortium (NIACLC), provided a fascinating platform for discussion.

Keynote speeches from Eileen Chan-Hu (MME Thinktank Chair), Alfred Abolarin (Honorary Advisor/ Founder MME Thinktank), explanation from the Electoral Commission, Electoral Office, and a panel discussion with a Q&A session with representatives from the Alliance, DUP, Green Party, SDLP, Sinn Féin, and UUP.

The Consular Corps of NI were in attendance, with representation from the Polish Consulate General and the Italian and Ukrainian Honorary Consulates. In addition, many interested parties – including individuals and representatives of NGOs - were present. This included those based in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

All Photos

From left to right: Prof Dina Belluigi (research coordinator MME Thinktank and QUB staff member), Alfred Abolarin (Honorary Advisor/ Founder MME Thinktank), Ola Sobieraj (MME Thinktank Board member), Eileen Chan-Hu (MME Thinktank Chair).

From left to right: Alfred Abolarin (Honorary Advisor/ Founder MME Thinktank), Cllr Alison Bennington (NILGA President), Eileen Chan-Hu (MME Thinktank Chair), Dr Federica Ferrieri (Italian Honorary Consul in NI, President of the Consular Corps NI, and QUB Civic Engagement Officer), Phillip Brett MLA and Cllr David Lee-Surginor.

Since 2021 Queen’s University staff have partnered with the Migrant and Minority Ethnic Thinktank, a strategic collective based in Northern Ireland. One of the projects which have come from this partnership is this interface – Queens on Ethnic Minorities in NI - to encourage more impactful dissemination of information about QUB’s research, activities and partnerships with local social groups and organisations. It was developed by two Council members of the MME Thinktank who are also staff members of QUB: Dr Maurice McCartney, MME Thinktank secretary, and Prof Dina Zoe Belluigi, who serves as its research coordinator. They have also held events on campus, and coordinated evidence-gathering for calls by authoritative bodies. Another project was a mapping exercise of past NI academic research about ethnic minorities and migrants, led by Prof Belluigi, which developed into a funded British Academy research project. In such ways, partnerships have enabled us to begin to contribute impactfully to exploring barriers, exploding myths and seeking solutions.