Ten secondary students from various schools across Northern Ireland successfully delivered a large-scale event at ICC Belfast. The girls, participants of leadership and career development programme SistersIN, organised the event to celebrate the skills they have learned and the connections they have made in recent months.
Under the expert guidance of event professionals from ICC Belfast including the global award-winning Eimear Hone, a PCMA 20 in their Twenties Class of 2023 alum, and Laurel Gray who holds a place on the International Association of Convention Centres Future Shapers programme, the ten students planned the event over a four-month period. Ultimately over 800 event attendees were welcomed on the day, including representatives from some of Northern Ireland’s top companies in digital, pharmaceutical, and financial services. Along with securing double Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist Ciara Mageean as a keynote speaker, the girls also successfully secured exhibitor support from over 30 businesses including EY, Danske Bank and Kainos, and hosted panel discussions with female leaders including Julia Corkey, Chief Executive of ICC Belfast | Waterfront Hall | Ulster Hall.
Julia said: “We were delighted to host the SistersIN Celebration Event at our award-winning venue. I’m certain that the hands on experience the pupils have gained from shadowing our team will be really beneficial. Equally, the unique perspectives that the SistersIN cohort have brought to the planning process have been a fantastic learning exercise for our team.
The pupils now have in-depth knowledge into what it takes to deliver a world-class business event as well as the role ICC Belfast plays in Belfast and Northern Ireland’s overall economic development. ICC Belfast was one of the first organisations to join the SistersIN programme which is a testament to our commitment to supporting the next generation of female leaders. We look forward to continuing our relationship with SistersIN and supporting many more students in the years to come.”
The SistersIN Leadership Programme originated in 2019 at Assumption Grammar under the leadership of the principal Peter Dobbin. The SistersIN Charity was established in 2022 to help broaden the impact and reach of the programme to more schools and pupils.
Peter said: “I’m thoroughly inspired by the confidence and leadership the girls showed throughout the event planning process. It was incredibly rewarding to see how they stepped up and met the challenge. The SistersIN programme aims to enable, empower, and develop female pupils to become the leaders of tomorrow and this event was a wonderful way to bring that ethos to life and celebrate the efforts of our participants and our supporters. I’m incredibly thankful to all of the organisations that got behind us this year and I look forward to building on these relationships to support the programme long into the future.”
One of the ten selected to deliver the event was Caoimhe Roe, a student at Assumption Grammar, Ballynahinch, Co. Down.
Caoimhe said: “I’m really thrilled that everything went perfectly, and that our hard work as a team paid off. I still can’t believe all of the huge organisations that showed up and offered their support to us. ICC Belfast is a huge venue so at first it was quite daunting to think that we would take it over for a day to run our large-scale event, but as we started to put the plan in place and learn from Eimear and Laurel and the wider team, that became a much more realistic thought. I really enjoyed getting the chance to better understand how events are run, and I know this experience will stand to me in the future. It was also really cool getting to meet the girls from the other schools and make new friends. I’m sure our paths will cross again soon.”
Alongside her work on the event, Caoimhe has also been receiving weekly mentorship from ICC Belfast’s Director of Sales and Marketing, Oonagh O’Reilly.
Oonagh said: “All of the girls showed great promise as networkers and problem solvers. Across the business events industry, talent attraction and retention is a real challenge so having the opportunity to engage with these girls at an early stage in their career journey is fantastic as it showcases a potential future career path they may not have previously considered. I look forward to continuing to work with SistersIN by providing mentorship and in my role as a Board Member securing the support of as many businesses as possible in order for the charity to achieve our global ambitions.”
ICC Belfast – formerly Belfast Waterfront – is Belfast’s only purpose-built international convention centre. A £29.5m extension, unveiled in 2016, significantly increased the venue’s capacity and put Belfast in a position to compete globally for business events, an arena that has proved to be a critical driver for the region’s economy. It’s currently estimated that the industry could deliver £209 million in direct economic impact, and up to 2000 new jobs by 2030.
