John and Pat Hume Foundation

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Official page of John and Pat Hume Foundation for Peaceful Change and Reconciliation. Upcoming events: https://humefoundation.org/events

22/10/2026

Peace Summit 2026: Peace and Reconciliation - Now or Never

👉 Monday 16th November, The Junction, Dungannon
👉 Wednesday 18th November, The Duncairn, Belfast
👉 Monday 23rd November, Holywell Trust, Derry City

Nearly thirty years since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the peace process, and over half a century since the onset of the Troubles, but the past still shapes our lives.

Segregation, paramilitary control, racism, sectarianism and unresolved legacy issues have been sidelined, and the past keeps coming back to haunt us.

The Peace Summit Partnership coalition of peacebuilders is fed up. Fed up naming the same problems. Fed up offering the same solutions. Fed up offering to assist the Executive with a constructive way forward. Fed up being ignored.

The Executive’s Programme for Government commits to Peace as an underpinning principle, yet there is still no comprehensive, time bound, resourced and politically agreed Executive peace plan.

The buzzword in government is co-design. So the Peace Summit Partnership has drafted a Peace and Reconciliation Plan for an inclusive, safe, multicultural society based on equality and human rights. It is not finished. It needs your views.

Together, let’s turn frustration into a plan the Executive cannot ignore.

Who should come - everyone with an interest in peace and reconciliation.

Join us in Dungannon, Belfast or Derry, from 10:30 to 13:30, to challenge it, improve it and own it.

Check out the draft Peace and Reconciliation Plan and secure your place here: https://linktr.ee/humefoundation

Can’t attend? Send your views to - [email protected]

16/10/2026

Today, as part of Good Relations Week, we hosted ‘Leadership for Peaceful Change – Women’s Critical Role in Peace Building’ alongside Thornhill College, Derry, attended by local schools from the Foyle Learning Network.

We heard from a range of brilliant speakers that consisted of Marie Brown, Monica McWilliams, Brid Rodgers, Deputy Mayor Cllr Catherine McDaid, Georgina Kee-McCarter, from Bready & District Ulster-Scots Development Association, Aine Bryce and Cara McGonigle of Thornhill’s Global Sisters.

Leona O’Neill, the panel facilitator, welcomed the audience to the Good Relations Week event emphasising her respect to all the women who stood up through very difficult years during our past. The peace that we share was and is built by women, in their campaign for human rights and, opposition to division and violence.

Georgina Kee-McCarter said that by providing young Highland Dancers every stage and opportunity, over time it would “chip away at fear” and that “culture and art creates conversations, and can break down barriers.”

Cllr Catherine McDaid highlighted “work on the ground” and “about living your values and calling out things publicly” in the context of being a leader for peace. The way to bring people together is through grassroots involvement and engagement, “making everyone’s life better.”

Marie Brown reflected on learning about domestic violence as a young person and the beginning of Foyle Women’s Aid squatting a building on Pump Street. The theme of domestic violence “always coming back through life” and working in that area giving her “a value system.”

Monica McWilliams said that “peace comes dropping slowly.”, Monica emphasised the importance of relationships in peace building and finding someone to talk to in better times and more difficult, and not just the people who think the same thing. She connected this to her own memories of friendship with the late David Ervine.

Bríd Rodgers recalled her first time speaking in a hall in Lurgan during the Civil Rights Movement, the first step in a long and meaningful career. She remembers the Citizen’s League for Women in Dungannon, showing her that “community women created a better understanding of the issues and an understanding that these issues were shared.”

Áine Bryce of the Global Sisters society at Thornhill College said that often the idea people have of leaders “are people in closed rooms but that’s not always true.”, Áine continued by emphasising that it is essential to create spaces to have open conversations.

Cara McGonigle also echoed the importance of spaces to have open conversations without fear of judgement, and putting ideas into action. Cara continued that “no woman is equal till we all are.” and that rights denied by geography are privileges.

01/10/2026

Mark Durkan, Hume Foundation Board Member, and Tim Attwood, Hume Foundation Secretary, met with the Republic of Korea Delegation, led by Chung Dong-young, the Minister for Unification. He was briefed on the Peace Process and the Good Friday Agreement. He visited the Peace Prizes in the Guildhall and then paid his respects at the graveside of John Hume.

Minister Chung Dong-young said: “ Yesterday afternoon, in poor weather, I visited the grave of John Hume, the man of peace, in the city cemetery on a hill overlooking Derry. I laid a bouquet of chrysanthemums and paid my respects. Along with my respect for a great statesman who realised the ideal of peace amid the harsh storms of history, I reflected deeply on our efforts and aspirations for peace and coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.

The philosophy of John Hume, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, who led the way to the 1998 Belfast Agreement and received the Nobel Peace Prize, offers painful lessons for the reality of the Korean Peninsula. Amid fierce criticism and political backlash, he never wavered in his conviction: "Peace is made with enemies. There is no need to negotiate peace with friends or colleagues. Even with extremist forces bearing arms, the task of a politician is to enable them to lay down their guns and return to dialogue. To stop the bloodshed, we must talk with our enemies."

Through his actions, John Hume proved that politics must not become "a fight of waving flags", and that the true power of politics lies in transforming hatred and violence into "mutual respect and institutional coexistence". With his whole being, he showed that only the patience and courage to confront fear and hatred head on, rather than taking the easy path of exploiting them, will ultimately bring forth peace. In the course of history, he put into practice the belief that a politician's duty is "to save future generations". I believe that John Hume's political philosophy is precisely the virtue most urgently needed by politicians in a divided Republic of Korea.

The blood-soaked wind that once blew across the barley fields of Ireland has now become a wind of peace. Yet in our own barley fields, a sorrowful wind has still not ceased.

As the great poet Yeats wrote, perhaps peace comes dropping slow. Here in Northern Ireland, a land that has turned the tragedies of the past into the hope of today, I renew my resolve to end the long war on the Korean Peninsula and build a lasting peace regime. For this is the only path, and the fastest one, by which our young people in the prime of their lives will no longer be sacrificed and can stride confidently beyond the DMZ towards the continent.”

25/09/2026

Yesterday at Riddel Hall, Queen’s University Belfast, we hosted ‘40 Years on - Reflections on How an International Fund Supported Peace and Prosperity in Ireland’, with opening addresses from Thomas P. O’Neill III, son of Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr, Seán Donlon, former Irish Ambassador to the United States, and former SDLP Leader Mark Durkan.

This was followed by the panel ‘Reflections on the Lobby in US to Invest in Peace and Prosperity in Ireland’with Seán Donlon, Mark Durkan, Thomas P. O’Neill III, and Tom Foley, who worked for Senator Joe Biden and who was an alternate Observer to the International Fund for Ireland. This panel was facilitated by Professor Paul Arthur.

Our second panel ‘The Impact of the Investment in Peace and Social and Economic Projects’ heard from former Chairs of IFI Willie McCarter and Paddy Harte, and Alf McCreary, author of A Fund of Goodwill.
This panel was facilitated by Hume Foundation Secretary Tim Attwood.

Our third and final panel was titled ‘The Positive Impact on Communities’, a conversation with Emma Shaw, Executive Director of Phoenix Education Centre, Dympna McGlade of the Peace Summit Partnership, and Kayla Henry of YouthAction NI. This panel was also facilitated by Tim Attwood.

22/09/2026

This Thursday, the 24th of September, we are hosting '40 Years on - Reflections on How an International Fund Supported Peace and Prosperity in Ireland' in Riddel Hall, Queen’s University Belfast. This event will run from 10:30 to 14:00.

The gathering will be addressed by Thomas P. O’Neill III, son of Speaker of the House of Representatives Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill Jr., Founder and CEO of O’Neill and Associates, as well as Seán Donlon, the former Irish Ambassador to the United States.

Following this we will hear from three panels.

'Reflections on the Lobby in US to Invest in Peace and Prosperity in Ireland' with Seán Donlon, Mark Durkan, former Deputy First Minister, Thomas P. O’Neill III, and Tom Foley, who worked for Senator Joe Biden and was alternate Observer to the International Fund for Ireland. Facilitated by Professor Paul Arthur.

'The Impact of the Investment in Peace and Social and Economic Projects', a conversation with former Chairs of IFI Willie McCarter and Paddy Harte and Alf McCreary, author of A Fund of Goodwill. Facilitated by Tim Attwood.

'The Positive Impact on Communities', a conversation with Emma Shaw, Executive Director of Phoenix Education Centre, Dympna McGlade of the Peace Summit Partnership and Kayla Henry of YouthAction NI. Facilitated by Tim Attwood.

🎟 Limited tickets left which can be secured here: https://humefoundation.org/event/promoting_peace_and_prosperity

21/09/2026

Today, to mark UN International Day of Peace and EU Presidency Programme, Monaghan County Council, in partnership with the Embassy of Finland in Dublin - Suomen Dublinin-suurlähetystö, the John and Pat Hume Foundation, and the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, hosted a seminar entitled: ‘Building Sustainable Peace in a Digitally Transformed World’, which took place at the Monaghan Peace Campus.

This seminar brought together leading voices from the fields of peacebuilding, diplomacy, education, community development, and digital innovation. The event forms part of the global observance of the International Day of Peace, designated by the United Nations as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace through dialogue, cooperation, and understanding among all peoples. This event has been funded through the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Communicating Europe Initiative.

Attendees were welcomed by Cllr. Aidan Campbell, Cathaoirleach of Monaghan County Council, and Niamh Smyth TD, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment with responsibility for Trade Promotion, AI and Digital Transformation.

The first panel on ‘Peacebuilding in Practice: The Northern Ireland Experience, Finland’s Role, and the European Dimension’ included Ambassador of Finland to Ireland, Leena Gardemeister, peacebuilding practitioner Dympna McGlade, and Pat Hynes of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

This was followed by a second panel ‘From Screens to Systems: Women Shaping Peace and Politics in a Digital World’, featuring former TD and Minister Liz McManus, political commentator Linzi McLaren, and Niamh Smyth TD.

Both panels were chaired by the Award-winning broadcaster Audrey Carville.

Tim Attwood, John and Pat Hume Foundation Secretary, addressed the audience before traditional music completed the day’s proceedings.

21/09/2026

Well done to all the young people from Sligo and Derry/Londonderry involved in Project Lighthouse who performed their shared vision of peace, identity and belonging, today as part of the International Day of Peace.

Project Lighthouse brought together a group of Cultural Champions from both sides of the border for a unique creative journey — theatre workshops, cross-community residencies, and honest conversations about what peace really means to their generation.

Special thanks and credit to Hawk's Well Theatre, Sligo, Millennium Forum Theatre & Conference Centre & Sligo County Council, who helped bring this project to reality! 🕊️

17/09/2026

On Monday the 21st of September, a Seminar has been organised by Monaghan County Council at Monaghan Peace Campus in partnership with the Embassy of Finland in Dublin - Suomen Dublinin-suurlähetystö, John & Pat Hume Foundation and Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

This seminar forms part of Monaghan County Council's EU Presidency Programme 2026 and is funded through the Irish Foreign Ministry's Communicating Europe Initiative.

The Peace Campus will host this special seminar to mark the International Day of Peace, bringing together policymakers, diplomats, educators, cultural leaders, community organisations and young people to explore the role of peacebuilding in contemporary societMonaghan Peace Campus will host this special seminar to mark the International Day of Peace, bringing together policymakers, diplomats, educators, cultural leaders, community organisations and young people to explore the role of peacebuilding in contemporary society.

As conflict, misinformation, technological disruption and political polarisation reshape societies worldwide, new approaches to peacebuilding are required. The seminar will reflect on the Northern Ireland process and learnings, examine the role of the European Union and its member states, including Finland's internationally recognised contributions to mediation, education and conflict resolution, in promoting sustainable peace.

The seminar will include a panel discussion of the role of Women in peacebuilding, politics and barriers to women’s participation in politics and public life. Women continue to be underrepresented in peace negotiations and political decision-making despite evidence that their participation contributes to more sustainable peace agreements.

Panel 1

Peacebuilding in Practice: The Northern Ireland Experience, Finland’s Role, and the European Dimension

Panel 2

From Screens to Systems: Women Shaping Peace and Politics in a Digital World

Speakers include Audrey Carville, Niamh Smyth TD, Ambassador Leena Gardemeister, Dympna McGlade of the Peace Summit Partnership, Pat Hynes of Glencree Foundation, former TD Liz McManus and political & social commentator Linzi McLaren.

There are limited tickets left which can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/building-sustainable-peace-in-a-digitally-transformed-world-peace-seminar-tickets-1998377434702

16/09/2026

Yesterday, the Peace Summit Partnership hosted a briefing on the Programme for Government’s cross-departmental Commitment to Peace. This briefing was held in Parliament Buildings, Belfast, with a welcome from Sinead McLaughlin MLA, who sponsored the event with Claire Sugden MLA and Mike Nesbitt MLA.

Professor Duncan Morrow, Ulster University and Peace Summit Partnership Dympna McGlade, Peace Summit Partnership gave short addressed with Moira Doherty, the Permanent Secretary and senior civil service head of The Executive Office responding on behalf of OFM/DFM and TEO. Unfortunately, Junior Minister O’Reilly was not able to attend.

The event was chaired by Tim Attwood from the John & Pat Hume Foundation and Peace Summit Partnership.

The briefing focused on the following areas:

🔴 How has the cross departmental commitment to peace been actioned across departments and agencies?
🔴 How peacebuilding is being embedded across government policy and delivery?
🔴 What is the progress in addressing division, segregation and inequality?
🔴 How are the voices of underrepresented communities being included in peacebuilding?
🔴 Whether current funding, structures and accountability mechanisms are sufficient to deliver meaningful change?

07/09/2026

Statement on the death of Stephen Walker

John Hume Jnr, son of John Hume and Chair of the John and Pat Hume Foundation said;
“The Hume family and the John and Pat Hume Foundation wish to express our deepest sympathies to the family of Stephen Walker.

Stephen was a courageous, professional and dedicated journalist who was a witness to a challenging history throughout the Troubles. Despite facing a battle against illness, he wrote a superb biography about Dad and whilst doing so he became a great friend to the family.

Our prayers are with his wife Katrin, his three children and his friends in journalism and beyond.”

Address

Guildhall Street
Derry
BT48 6DQ

Website

http://humefoundation.org/

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