By Róise Collins
This week government ministers, European Commissioners, US congressmen, ambassadors, academics and economists, will all flock to the small rural town of Glenties, in south west Donegal.
The MacGill Summer School was founded over 40 years ago to celebrate the memory of local writer, Patrick MacGill.
Since then the school has grown from very modest beginnings to being one of the most important fora in Ireland for the analysis of topics of national and international interest.
It has consistently been a source of innovative and fresh thinking on a range of social, economic and political ideas, and this year will be no different with a busy jam packed schedule in the pipeline.
The theme for the 43rd annual summer school is ‘A New Global Order – Precarious & Dangerous?’ where participants will discuss the critical issues facing the country, Europe, and our world.
On Wednesday the school opens with Ukraine as the central theme of the day’s discussions.
In the evening Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna will join the conference live from Ukraine.
This will be followed by a discussion titled ‘How and when will the war in Ukraine end?’.
On Thursday participants will discuss a range of issues from China to the European Union.
The day will close with the 23rd Annual Hume Lecture that will this year be delivered by US Congressman Brendan Boyle.
Boyle has strong connections to the area as his family hail from Donegal.
On Friday morning the school will kick off with ‘The future of Russia and its place in the world’. In the afternoon the great Irish poet, Seamus Heaney will be remembered on the tenth anniversary of his passing.
The evening will draw to a close with ‘Ireland – The future?’ where a panel of prominent politicians from the north and south will be hosted by the former RTE Northern Editor, Tommie Gorman.
On Saturday the summer school will close with two topical talks exploring Ireland’s battle against climate change and the future of Artificial Intelligence.
The MacGill Summer School will be hosted in the Highlands Hotel, Glenties from August 16 to 19. For more information visit macgillsummerschool.com
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