Ten exceptional individuals who have made Belfast their home will be recognised at this year’s Belfast Homecoming conference.
Those being recognised will include leading burns consultant Mr Khalid Khan from Pakistan, Children’s Commissioner Koulla Yiasouma and social worker and community activist, Donna Nalongo Namukasa from Uganda.
All ten will receive the Belfast Ambassador Medal and they will also participate in a talk at the two-day conference about their contribution to society here.
The talk, sponsored by Neueda, will centre on their individual experiences of moving to the city and why they chose to live and work in Belfast.
The ten recipients of the Belfast HomecomingAmbassador Medal
- Koulla Yiasouma, NI Children’s Commissioner
- Fatuma Maallin, Secretary of the NI Somali Association
- Sabine Kalke, Belfast Urban planning expert
- Khalid Khan, leading Northern Ireland burns consultant
- Dr Satish Kumar, Director for Internationalisation for the School of Natural and Built Environment, QUB.
- Donna Nalongo Namukasa, Community Relations Activist
- Joseph Ricketts, Community Leader
- Barbara Snowarska, Founder of the Polish Saturday School
- Rev. Brent van der Linde, Assistant Minister, Stormont Presbyterian Church
- Neil Shawcross, Recognised Portrait Artist
The two-day conference traditionally connects Belfast with its diaspora around the world, and this year it will call on its diaspora to back the city, as it rebuilds from the effects of Covid-19.
Brendan Monaghan, Chief Executive of Neueda, sponsor of the Belfast Ambassador Medals said:
“Each of these recipients has made an outstanding contribution to our society and are thoroughly deserved winners of the Belfast Ambassadors Medal.
“Through principled dedication to making their own lives better, in turn they have made positive impacts across Belfast in sectors including medicine, education, and international and community relations. This should not go without recognition.
“Neueda is proud to be a business full of multi-national colleagues, and through our partnership with Invest NI we have been able to expand, bringing more investment and importantly people to Belfast to live and work. This is why we see the value of the Belfast Ambassador Medals. They honour those who add to our city.
“We look forward to celebrating with the ten recipients next week at Belfast Homecoming and push forward the agenda of Belfast’s recovery through the hard work and determination of its people, both those from here and those who choose to make Belfast home.”
Fellow Ambassador Medal recipient, Donna Nalongo Namukasa said:
“Belfast welcomed me in 2003 and it has become home to me and my family.
“The opportunities I have been afforded in the city, especially in terms of education, have been outstanding and have allowed me to better my future prospects and more importantly, my children’s.
“The community spirit of Belfast is embodied by its people. Through my work with Beyond Skin and our focus on good relations, I have met many of the great people who make our city thrive. The uplifting nature of community resources such as LORAG in South Belfast is the perfect exemplifier of this strong community bond.”
“I am thrilled to receive the Belfast Ambassador Medal at Belfast Homecoming and look forward to connecting with Belfast’s diaspora to look at how collectively we can rebuild this beautiful city and come back stronger and better.”
The recipients talk ‘Celebrating New Neighbours: In these turbulent times, we give thanks to ten exceptional individuals from other places who have made Belfast their home’ will be live streamed on Thursday 1 October
