Recent Speakers
The Club has been delighted to hear speakers from a wide-ranging compass during Club meetings this February. The Club thank each of them for their most interesting presentations which were very well received.
Chair Rosemary O'Mahony highlighted the work of 1001 Fontaines, a non-governmental organisation set up in France 20 years ago following a visit to Cambodia by their founder during when he saw the high incidence of child mortality due to drinking contaminated water. Their mission is focussed on making safe drinking water, produced locally at an affordable price, accessible to vulnerable communities in developing countries.
Stevie Maginn, Communications & Events Manager for the Linen Quarter BID (Business Improvement District) noted they fund, through a levy on local businesses, schemes to improve their environment and make the area a better place to live, work and visit. Currently 350 businesses participate in the area reaching out from the Linen Quarter around the City Hall to the Gasworks, Dublin Road and Shaftesbury Square. They keep the area clean, have regeneration and investment projects and promote the Linen Quarter as a vibrant area running different events during the year. He particularly highlighted their regeneration of and the events held in Bankmore Square, Dublin Road, one of the last open green spaces in the city - particularly popular is the free to use Pétanque area which was featured on The One Show which he suggested for a Club event in the summer.
Guest speaker Veronica Morris Interim CEO SOS NI gave a very comprehensive account of the role of SOSBus NI creating a haven in the heart of the city. She particularly highlighted they are a service-based organisation and the people who work in SOS are very special as no one does it for the glory! Utilising their familiar 'yellow buses' (both the big bus and smaller minibus) their 150 volunteers provide around an amazing 20,000 voluntary hours per year supporting approximately 3000 people on a one-to-one basis with an indirect impact on several thousand more.