LISTEN: Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Summer Podcast Series
Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Podcast: A Two-Part Summer Series
June 2026
Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program Director Emma DeSouza brings together alumni from across three cohorts to interrogate the defining challenges of post-conflict Northern Ireland — from institutional reform to rights, health, and the next generation of leadership.
Episode 1: Building Capacity for the Future: Health, Talent and Smarter Government
Emma DeSouza speaks with Austin Orr and Caolan Rooney about the structural pressures now bearing down on post-conflict institutions: an ageing population, an overstretched health and social care system, and the near-impossible task of long-term policymaking inside short-term political cycles. Drawing on examples from Finland and Estonia, the conversation asks what smarter, more resilient government might actually look like, and ends on an optimistic note, pointing to youth, innovation, and momentum in public health and social change.
Read Austin and Caolan’s 2024 NCAFP Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders report here.
Episode 2: Building an Inclusive Future
Recorded against the backdrop of disorder on Northern Ireland’s streets, this episode asks who is truly included in the peace that followed the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. Four alumni tackle political disillusionment, the limits of mandatory power-sharing, misinformation and AI, refugee integration, and the marginalized young people most at risk of exploitation. Jack Armstrong makes the case for reforming how the First and Deputy First Minister are appointed; Leah Rea unpacks the gap between rights on paper and rights in practice; Judith Atwell draws on Northern Ireland’s own history of displacement to reframe the conversation on welcoming refugees; and Katy Haskins zeroes in on the young people that institutions consistently leave behind. The episode closes with optimism in grassroots movements, resilient communities, and a post-conflict generation that refuses to be written off.
Read Judith and Lea’s 2024 NCAFP Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders report here.
Read Jack’s 2025 NCAFP Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders report here.
Read Katy’s 2026 NCAFP Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders report here.