Between 07 and 09 June 2023 I had the immense privilege of being the photographer chosen by Open Strategic Communications in Northern Ireland representing The International Fund For Ireland -IFI- to cover the events and conferences marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement with events held in Messines and Leuven.
On the first day I had to drive almost two hours through incredible landscapes I had never been to before to the small town of Messines, situated on the border between Belgium and France. In this beautiful part of the region, there are many cemeteries honouring the memory of the fallen of the two great world wars. It was at one of these, the Island of Ireland Peace Park, that IFI held a commemorative ceremony attended by the region’s leading political figures, including the Bourgmestre (Mayor) of Messines, Sandy Evrard.
Here, attendees observed a minute’s silence in memory of the fallen after reciting emotional messages written by the soldiers to their families.
The Isle of Ireland Peace and Environs Park at Messines is a war memorial dedicated to the soldiers from the island of Ireland who were killed, wounded or missing during WWI. The memorial tower stands near the site of the Battle of Messines Ridge in June 1917, in which the 16th Irish Division fought alongside the 36th Ulster Division.
On the second and third day, the organisers changed the venue and chose the amazing premises of the Irish College in Leuven for the conferences and meetings that the delegates held. Among them Paddy Harte, Chair of the International Fund for Ireland (IFI), Jean-Luc Vanraes, Assembly of European Regions (AER) Vice-President for Interregional and Global Cooperation and above all Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union who was incredibly friendly with the attendees who did not stop for a second to ask for selfies with her.
Over the three days, I had the chance to work with Open Strategic Communications and IFI I enjoyed it so much, it’s amazing how someone you don’t know becomes a person you trust with your work in just a few minutes, but with Kaz Lynas this is all part of who she is. She was the one who contacted me and she was always one step ahead of everything, making my job easier and even going the extra mile and making sure everything was right on my side.
