Chamber Life

The first half of 2022 is off to a flyer for the Chamber with a whole host of events, networking sessions, webinars, political engagement, dinners, lunches, and everything else in between!

New Chamber Vice President Selina Horshi and President Aidan O’Kane

With Covid restrictions officially gone, society is beginning to get back to normality and we’re all looking forward to our first ‘normal’ summer in over two years again. Derry and the North West are welcoming tourists and visitors from across the world again with open arms and, with the return of large-scale events like the Round the World Clipper Race, there’s a palpable sense of excitement across our region. Our busy period kicked off with our AGM in December 2021, when Allstate Director Aidan O’Kane replaced Dawn McLaughlin as President of the Chamber. Speaking at the AGM, and outlining his vision for the year ahead, Aidan said, “Our region is on the cusp of something special. There’s an energy and optimism among colleagues, among key stakeholders, and among businesses to lift up the North West. We are fast approaching the next Assembly election, and it’s crucial that our local elected representatives, new ministers, and the incoming NI Executive recognise this and commit to doing all they can to positively develop our region during the next mandate.”

In one of his first engagements as President, Aidan gave evidence on behalf of the Chamber to the Oireachtas’ Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Aidan outlined to TDs, Senators, and MPs the huge crossborder potential of the North West region, some of the challenges facing businesses here including Brexit and Covid, and what the Irish Government can do to better support the North West as a whole.

Into 2022 and our first event of the year was a HR and Finance support webinar for SMEs on 18 January. Hosted by HR expert Julie Pollock and Chamber Past President Dawn McLaughlin, the webinar provided upto-date business advice and support for small businesses dealing with the various impacts of the pandemic including home working, VAT, and the minimum wage. On 20 January, we held our first Meet the Chamber event of the year at the Bishop’s Gate Hotel. Held especially for our new members, we had a fantastic turnout of business owners and leaders who got to meet the Chamber team face to face for the first time and get to know the organisation a bit better.

Members at the first Meet the Chamber event of the year

Speakers at the Strabane Succeed North West event at the Fir Trees Hotel

Café Conversations with Prof Louise Dubras, Ulster University John Harkin, Alchemy Technology Services; Senator Emer Currie; Chamber President Aidan O’Kane; and Claire McCollum, host, at the President’s Annual Lunch

We met with our colleagues at the Letterkenny Chamber the following day to discuss our priorities for the year ahead. After signing a memorandum of understanding with the Donegal organisation in 2021, this was an opportunity to review the partnership to date and share ideas about how to address similar issues including Brexit, the pandemic, and North West infrastructure challenges. On 1 February, the Chamber leadership team welcomed Northern Ireland Office Permanent Secretary Madeleine Alessandri to the North West. As the UK Government’s representative in Northern Ireland, we had productive discussions on their levelling up agenda, the implementation of the Derry and Strabane City Deal, the NI Protocol, and the Government’s plans to drive economic growth in the North West. A couple of days later we continued our outreach in Strabane with a Meet the President event at the Fir Trees Hotel. The first of two events in Strabane in February, this was an opportunity for local businesses to meet our new President, Aidan O’Kane, and hear more about his plans for the Chamber in 2022.

We welcomed Finance Minister Conor Murphy and his departmental officials to the North West on 9 February for a Budget engagement session. Hosted at Learning Pool’s fantastic offices in the city, this gave Chamber members an opportunity to question the Minister on his department’s plans for future spending, what the Executive was doing to help traders after the pandemic, and what the Budget would mean for business across Northern Ireland.

We were back in Strabane on 11 February for our Succeed North West event. Hosted by localborn journalist Declan Curry, and over 100 local business leaders in attendance, Succeed North West Strabane showcased the town’s economic strengths and reinforced the wider North West as a great place to live, work and do business. Attendees heard from Chamber members and businesses based in the town including Kieran Kennedy from 21 Training, Stephen Lomas from Allstate, Pete Boyle of Argento, and former Derry and Strabane Mayor Cllr Graham Warke. Our first Café Conversations event was held at the Sandwich Co on 16 February with Prof Louise Dubras, Foundation Dean of the School of Medicine at Magee. Members heard about the latest progress at the city’s School of Medicine after it welcomed its first students in September 2021, a vital institution for the city and the wider North West which will bolster the local health service workforce and bring greater investment to the city. The next day saw our first Speed Networking event of the year at the Everglades Hotel. Always a popular event, over 30 business people got to share contacts, generate new business leads, and get to know each other in an informal and comfortable setting. Our first major event of the year was held on 3 March with the President’s Annual Lunch. Held at the City Hotel Derry, over 200 business leaders, politicians,

Chamber Vice President Selina Horshi and French Ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna

and invited guests gathered to hear from Fine Gael Senator Emer Currie, a video message from Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, and Children in Crossfire founder Richard Moore. Full coverage of the event can be found on pages 60 and 61. We welcomed the French Ambassador to the UK, Catherine Colonna, to the North West on 5 April. This was an excellent discussion with the Ambassador on our members’ vision for a vibrant, open, and globally connected regional economy with strong links across the UK, EU, and beyond, as well as discussing the Protocol. We held another successful Meet the Chamber networking event on 26 April. Sponsored by the City of Derry Airport, it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with new and old members alike and hear about the exciting plans that our local businesses have for the year ahead. On 19 May, we held our business tax briefing in collaboration with the Cross Border Partnership for Employment Services at An Grianan Hotel just across the border in Donegal. Always an important event and very well received, this was the first briefing since the winding down of EURES after the UK’s exit from the EU.

A week later, we hosted our Growth from Recovery webinar in conjunction with Ulster Bank. Aimed at SMEs in the North West, it brought together retail, hospitality, agricultural, and manufacturing leaders to discuss how we recover from the pandemic, overcome adversity, and capitalise on opportunities for future growth. Ulster Bank’s Ciaran McLaughlin also gave an overview of the varying financial supports available to local businesses of all sizes.

Into June and we have our first awards ceremony since the pandemic! The North West Business Awards, sponsored by Derry City and Strabane District Council and delivered in collaboration by ourselves and City Centre Initiative, returned for its 20th year on 17 June at the City Hotel. With 17 awards up for

DUP MLA Gary Middleton and Chamber President Aidan O’Kane and Interim CEO Anna Doherty

Chamber President Aidan O’Kane and Interim CEO Anna Doherty with SDLP MLAs Mark H Durkan, Sinead McLaughlin, and Cara Hunter

Chamber President Aidan O’Kane meeting with Sinn Féin MLAs Pádraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson Chamber board members meeting with Northern Ireland Office Parliamentary Under Secretary Lord Caine

grabs, it was an excellent night which recognised the very best of business in the North West and was an opportunity to celebrate after a tough couple of years. Full coverage and photos from the event can be seen on pages 40 and 41.

Next up was our webinar in collaboration with Horizon Engineering focused on all things health and safety responsibilities for businesses. We heard from Horizon’s founder Michael Burrows on what businesses must do to effectively manage their onsite electricity systems safely and legally, as well as how to keep costs down. With the Assembly Elections on 5 May, we began our political engagement with the local Foyle MLAs who had been successfully elected. First up was the DUP’s Gary Middleton on 15 June. The next day we welcomed Sinead McLaughlin, Mark H Durkan, and Cara Hunter from the SDLP to the Chamber. And finally, we met with Sinn Féin’s Padraig Delargy and Ciara Ferguson on 24 June. These were productive and useful meetings, focused on delivering for the city and the region in the new Assembly mandate, and we pressed our local representatives to ensure they deliver on key priorities like expansion of Magee, infrastructure improvements, and attracting greater investment to our region. Our final engagement before the summer was with Lord Caine, Parliamentary Under Secretary at the Northern Ireland Office on the NI Protocol and the Government’s

Chamber President Aidan O’Kane addresses the North West Business Awards

plans to amend it. We reiterated the views of our members that the Protocol presents a serious opportunity for the North West and put across that any changes to the Protocol must be done through dialogue and bilateral discussions with the EU.

Look Forward :

Making Tax Digital – Toast Accountants 8 September Ulster Bank Webinar with Richard Ramsey 20 September President’s Annual Dinner 7 October Annual Energy Conference & Exhibtion 17 November AGM & Christmas Drinks 8 December

New partnership announced with CEF and City of Derry Airport

The Construction Employers Federation (CEF) for Northern Ireland and City of Derry Airport (CoDA) have joined forces in an exciting new partnership. As the Gateway of the North West, the Airport will be offering convenient and budgetfriendly business connectivity for CEF members across Northern Ireland that are regularly commuting to London, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, as well as the provision of commercial discounts on airport services and facilities.

The CEF is the sole certified representative body for the construction industry in Northern Ireland, representing approximately 70% of construction and around 800 businesses of all sizes that employ over 30,000 staff directly and 65,000 in the wider supply chain. CEF is the voice of the NI industry on the UK Construction Leadership Council, BuildUK, and the NI Procurement Board.

“The CEF is delighted to welcome City of Derry Airport as a Commercial Partner at a time when the construction industry is looking at time and costeffective connections to sites across the UK”, said Mark Spence, Managing Director at the CEF. “CoDA brings significant additional route choice and the door-to-door times of this regional airport compares very favourably with the larger airports. We look forward to working together with CoDA to offer local firms greater choice and convenience when travelling for business.”

“We are absolutely delighted to partner with the CEF and offer their extensive community of members the opportunity to ‘Fly Local’ with us”, added Steve Frazer, Managing Director at City of Derry Airport. “We work with our airline partners Loganair and Ryanair to provide daily connections to the UK, as well as NI award-winning tour operator, Travel Solutions, to offer holiday packages to Spain and Portugal. “Loganair operates daily services between CoDA and London Stansted and regular connections to Liverpool, Glasgow, and Edinburgh throughout the week. The all-inclusive fare system from Loganair means you can travel with 15kg checked-in luggage and enjoy in-flight refreshments at no extra cost – a huge benefit for anyone travelling on a weekly basis. “Loganair’s rewards sign up programme, ‘Clan Loganair’, offers regular passengers the opportunity to build points every time you fly which you can then use towards a reward flight of your choice. The airline also offers a ‘FlyFlex’ fare which provides the opportunity to get home earlier, should your plans change, and you can hop on an earlier flight on the same day (subject to seat availability).” City of Derry Airport recently welcomed Ryanair back to Northern Ireland for the new service to Manchester. The route provides a convenient connection to one of the UK’s key industrial hubs, with fares available from just £11.99pp one way. “The budget-friendly service to Manchester is available four days per week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – which offers the flexibility of departing at the start of the working week and returning either halfway through the week or at the weekend, for anyone commuting for work purposes”, explains Steve. “The beauty of travelling from City of Derry Airport is the fast, friendly and stress-free experience where you can proceed from the airport carpark, through the single-level access Terminal Building, to your departure gate in less than 15 minutes”, added Brenda Morgan MBE, Head of Business Development at City of Derry Airport. “We will also be offering a special Loyalty Card for the CEF, whereby members can avail of 10% discount on Airport Parking and access to the Amelia Earhart Lounge, making business commuting a much more pleasurable experience!”

Mark Spence, Managing Director at CEF with Brenda Morgan MBE, Head of Business Development at CoDA, and Maressa McWilliams, Senior Marketing Executive at CoDA

For more information on the business services available from City of Derry Airport, visit

www.cityofderryairport.com.

Visit Derry showcasing North West to the world with new Ambassador Circle

As a conferencing, events and meetings destination, Visit Derry aims to showcase the North West as a world-class business hub. Their new Ambassador Circle, launched earlier this year, seeks to promote, and attract more conferences and events to the city region in the coming years. The organisation is now calling on businesses to play their part in bringing the world to Derry~Londonderry, setting out the very best of what we have to offer.

Ambassador Circle members are academic and professional leaders who help bid for conferences within their sector that bring economic growth and value to the region. A joint initiative supported by Derry City and Strabane District Council and Tourism Northern Ireland, the Circle is an integral part of Visit Derry’s ambitious strategy to make our region a leading spot for global conferences.

Put simply, we cannot achieve this goal without the hard work and expertise of our partners in the Ambassador Circle”, explains Visit Derry Chief Executive, Odhran Dunne. “When

Members of the new initiative are academic and professional leaders from the North West John McGrillen, CEO at Tourism NI; Former Mayor of Derry City & Strabane District Council, Alderman Graham Warke; Eimear Callaghan, Head of Programmes at Tourism NI; Odhran Dunne, Chief Executive at Visit Derry

considering where to hold a conference, an association or society can be strongly influenced by the input of a local member. More than 90% of all conferences and events secured here are made through the support of ambassadors, who make vital introductions and influence the decision-making process to host events in the city.” The organisation works with an extensive network of medical, academic, and corporate professionals who promote the city as a conference destination among their connections, colleagues, and clients. They also work within their affiliations with professional bodies, Associations, Societies, and Institutes. On why businesses should join the Ambassador Circle, Odhran explains the kind of work that businesses in the group are undertaking. “If your work is cutting-edge or you’re making waves in the field, we want you to tell the world. By joining the Ambassador Circle, you can raise the profile of your work and organisation across Ireland, the UK and internationally; build relationships with national and international colleagues; gain professional recognition for world class research and knowledge; and generate substantial revenue to help support the local economy.” With the continued rollout of the Derry City and Strabane City Deal,

It is envisioned that the new Ambassador Circle will bring new conferences and flagship events to the region

there is no better time to express an interest in hosting or bidding for a national or international conference. Our region continues to display excellence in the likes of technology, manufacturing and engineering, medical health and life sciences, creative and digital, and professional services. The work of the Ambassador Circle will ensure that each of these sectors is supported in their continued expansion in the North West. “If you are bidding to bring a conference to support economic recovery, then Visit Derry is here to help”, says Michelle Simpson, Visit Derry Chairman. “Whether you are considering bringing a meeting of 50 people, or a conference of 1,000 people, our team of event experts will support you in creating a successful bid. Through our free advice and assistance, from all things venue sourcing, to hosting site inspections, tailored social programmes and itineraries, we can help you showcase the best both you and the North West have to offer.”

Business events and conferences generate mid-week, year-round demand to our venues, hotels, and hospitality sector. With large-scale events planned for this summer like the Foyle Maritime Festival and Clipper Race, it is envisioned that, by bringing the likes of international businesses and trade bodies to our shores, the North West can continue to be a tourism hotspot for both domestic and foreign visitors. Addressing regional imbalance has always been an integral ask of trade bodies across our region. When the new initiative was first announced last year, it was ensured that Visit Derry would be working closely with Visit Belfast, Invest NI, and Tourism NI in the delivery of the Ambassador Circle. By working closely in collaboration with all regions, this initiative will seek to truly harness the education, research and talent that defines the North West economy, bringing about more prosperity for all. Reflecting upon his vision for the new body, Odhran is confident that this will be a game-changer for tourism recovery and economic development. “As well as providing immediate economic benefits, business events which we hope to bring in provide a high-profile opportunity to showcase Northern Ireland as a place to invest and do business. We firmly believe that the Ambassador Circle now marks a new era of collaboration between tourism, economic development, education and research that will be a game-changer for Derry~Londonderry.” Industry leaders like you have invested heavily in this place and its people. Now, Visit Derry are asking you to play your part in bringing the world to the North West and showcasing the very best of what we have to offer. For more information on joining the Ambassador Circle, please contact:

matt.doherty@visitderry.com

visit www.visitderry.

com/conferencing/

ambassadorcircle or call +44 2871 377577.