FESTIVAL LAUNCH PROVIDES OMAGH WITH A NEW VISION FOR THE FUTURE
Festival launch provides Omagh with a 'new vision for the future'
THE launch of the Millennium Festival has provided Omagh with a new vision for the future, the chairman of Omagh District Council, Mr. Allan Rainey, has said.
Mr. Rainey was speaking at a special reception in Omagh Leisure Centre, prior to Friday's night's concert, where top civic representatives from 22 'first' cities in the UK, as well as members of the Millennium Commission and 40 young people from the Millennium Gold Encounter, were present.
The civic representatives were invited to the festival launch to take back lights from the millennium flame for their own December 31 celebrations.
And the young people were also there to light torches to take around various towns across Northern Ireland on Saturday. Representatives of all five continents were present, from as far afield as India and Canada.
The coming together of the youth organisations was part of the Millennium Gold Encounter, a joint venture run by the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and the President's Award (Ireland).
Eighty young people from 30 countries arrived in the Republic on August 24, and 40 of them travelled to Omagh for the millennium launch.
They will be visiting various places around Northern Ireland before leaving on Wednesday next.
Welcoming all those present, Mr. Rainey said: "Omagh, as you are all aware, has had the eyes of the world focused on it this past year. Tonight, the focus will be a more positive one, thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of the Northern Ireland Millennium Company."
He thanked the Millennium Company for selecting Omagh for the launch of the festival celebrations, and added: "This event, coming just after the first anniversary of the Omagh bomb, has provided us with a new vision for the future and filled us with renewed hope and optimism.
Legacy
"There is a tremendous impetus for us to create a brighter and better future for our young people, and what better legacy could we give them than the legacy of peace as we enter the new millennium. I am sure that this is something we all aspire to, and I trust it is one we will all invest in."
Mr. Rainey then presented the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Margaret Smith, with a specially engraved Accurist Millennium Countdown Clock, one of which was later presented to each of the civic representatives.
Speaking on behalf of all the dignitaries, Mrs. Smith said: "It is a real privilege for us to be here, on this day when you are beginning your journey in Omagh into the millennium.
"You have had a lot of work to do in moving forward and coming to terms with what happened, and we all applaud you for that. I, personally, am honoured to be here tonight."
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution at the reception, one of the youth representatives, Luis Ribeiro from Portugal, said this was the first time Gold Encounter had been to Ireland. A trip to a different country is held every three years.
"We are all gold award winners in our countries, and since we arrived we have been doing leadership training, and experiencing new adventure activities," he said.
"We are learning about life here, and the sort of things young people in Ireland have to do to get their Duke of Edinburgh awards and President's awards. We will then go back to our countries and share the experiences we have encountered."
THE launch of the Millennium Festival has provided Omagh with a new vision for the future, the chairman of Omagh District Council, Mr. Allan Rainey, has said.
Mr. Rainey was speaking at a special reception in Omagh Leisure Centre, prior to Friday's night's concert, where top civic representatives from 22 'first' cities in the UK, as well as members of the Millennium Commission and 40 young people from the Millennium Gold Encounter, were present.
The civic representatives were invited to the festival launch to take back lights from the millennium flame for their own December 31 celebrations.
And the young people were also there to light torches to take around various towns across Northern Ireland on Saturday. Representatives of all five continents were present, from as far afield as India and Canada.
The coming together of the youth organisations was part of the Millennium Gold Encounter, a joint venture run by the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and the President's Award (Ireland).
Eighty young people from 30 countries arrived in the Republic on August 24, and 40 of them travelled to Omagh for the millennium launch.
They will be visiting various places around Northern Ireland before leaving on Wednesday next.
Welcoming all those present, Mr. Rainey said: "Omagh, as you are all aware, has had the eyes of the world focused on it this past year. Tonight, the focus will be a more positive one, thanks to the generosity and thoughtfulness of the Northern Ireland Millennium Company."
He thanked the Millennium Company for selecting Omagh for the launch of the festival celebrations, and added: "This event, coming just after the first anniversary of the Omagh bomb, has provided us with a new vision for the future and filled us with renewed hope and optimism.
Legacy
"There is a tremendous impetus for us to create a brighter and better future for our young people, and what better legacy could we give them than the legacy of peace as we enter the new millennium. I am sure that this is something we all aspire to, and I trust it is one we will all invest in."
Mr. Rainey then presented the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, Margaret Smith, with a specially engraved Accurist Millennium Countdown Clock, one of which was later presented to each of the civic representatives.
Speaking on behalf of all the dignitaries, Mrs. Smith said: "It is a real privilege for us to be here, on this day when you are beginning your journey in Omagh into the millennium.
"You have had a lot of work to do in moving forward and coming to terms with what happened, and we all applaud you for that. I, personally, am honoured to be here tonight."
Speaking to the Tyrone Constitution at the reception, one of the youth representatives, Luis Ribeiro from Portugal, said this was the first time Gold Encounter had been to Ireland. A trip to a different country is held every three years.
"We are all gold award winners in our countries, and since we arrived we have been doing leadership training, and experiencing new adventure activities," he said.
"We are learning about life here, and the sort of things young people in Ireland have to do to get their Duke of Edinburgh awards and President's awards. We will then go back to our countries and share the experiences we have encountered."
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1399
Published Date: 09-Sep-99
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