“Belfast works harder to show visitors a good time, because we’ve always had to,” says Deborah Collins, head of Business Events at Visit Belfast. We’re sipping trendy turmeric lattes at Established Coffee, one of Belfast’s most-loved cafes. When the cafe opened in the regenerated Cathedral Quarter in 2013, all polished concrete and birch wood, it was a big deal for my hometown – a historically innovative and industrial city that had experienced decades of military occupation, economic stagnation and, indeed, rubbish cafes.
Collins’ words ring true, with international visitors a rarity during my teenage years. And yet, two decades later, we’re sat among tourists discussing last year’s One Young World Summit, which welcomed over 2,200 young thought leaders and ambassadors from 191 countries to the Northern Irish capital. Keynote speakers ranged from Queen Rania of Jordan to Rio Ferdinand, tackling topics including the climate emergency, mental health, peace and reconciliation, education and the food crisis.
In fact, 2023 was
