Special symposium marking the fifteenth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement held on Friday 19th April

The University of Ulster hosted speakers from across Britain and Ireland on Friday 19th April to debate the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement / Belfast Agreement.

The all-day symposium was a joint event of the Institute for Research in Social Sciences (IRiSS) at the University of Ulster, the Whitaker Institute and the Peace and Conflict specialist group of the Political Studies Association of Ireland. It brought together some of the academics who played crucial roles as special advisors and negotiators to reflect on the negotiations that produced the Agreement, including Professor Lord Bew (advisor to David Trimble), Professor Monica McWilliams (founding member of the Women’s Coalition), and Dr Martin Mansergh (advisor to the Irish government).  Speakers debated a number of issues including the changing political dynamics that set the scene for the talks process, the implementation of the Agreement, and the unresolved past.