20th November 2003

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University of Ulster academics joined with Irish American business leaders and Middle East community activists this week to call for US Government support in their drive to harness Northern Ireland's experience of emerging from conflict to boost peace and progress in the Middle East.

The call came at the NIMEC (Northern Ireland/Middle East Connection) conference held this week in Belfast, where academics, business leaders and community representatives from NI and the Middle East came together to explore a new plan to use call centre technology as a means of powering economic growth in the troubled region.

Dr John Cullinane, the driving force behind NIMEC, said:

"Our next action item is to have the US commerce department host a demand-creation conference in Washington in spring 2004.

"We need to get all the prospects for these contact centres in the same room with the people capable of delivering these services in the Middle East, and by using NI as a key component in our mission to chasing the 'virtual day' around the world, we can take advantage of the knowledge and experience Northern Ireland has to help progress in the Middle East.

"We want to use Northern Ireland as the neutral site that knows how to bring together the range of skills and experience needed this kind of radical economic development strategy work."

Conference Co-ordinator, Professor Gillian Robinson Director of INCORE, the University of Ulster/United Nations University peace studies initiative, backed the NIMEC plan.

"Northern Ireland is now being seen as a location which has something to offer other troubled regions of the world in their struggle to overcome their conflicts.

"The University of Ulster is engaged in a wide range of research, training and other activities that look at conflict resolution and how economic development goes hand in hand with peace processes. Many of our international and comparative projects study methods of building confidence and empowering communities: so there are lessons that we can hold out to the Middle East, and some of the things we've been involved in may be models for them.

"Today in Northern Ireland, we have a glimmer of hope: but there are other regions where that light of hope has not yet begun to shine.

"At the University of Ulster, our contribution is to make our academic and community networks available in the service of peace and progress in the Middle East."

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk