History was made on 24 March 2023, when 800 invited guests, mentors and pupils descended on ICC Belfast to celebrate the 2023 SistersIN cohort.  

For the past seven months, 10 female year-13 students (16–17-year-olds) from various schools across Northern Ireland have been shadowing event organisers at ICC Belfast to help successfully deliver the inaugural SistersIN Celebration Event.  

These pupils have been participating in the SistersIN programme, which gives students the opportunity to gain work experience in the events industry, explore real-life career options and connect with senior female leaders from Northern Ireland. 

Each of the 10 young women were assigned specific tasks to help deliver this large-scale event which showcased their leadership skills to many of Northern Ireland’s top companies across the digital, pharmaceutical, and financial service sectors.  

The young event planners were guided by the award-winning ICC Belfast team, which included global award-winning Eimear Hone, a PCMA 20 in their Twenties Class of 2023 alum, and Laurel Gray who holds a place on the International Association of Convention Centres Future Shapers programme. 

Keynote speakers inspire event attendees  

The keynote address began in the main auditorium with an opening speech delivered by Vicky Davies, chief executive of Danske Bank UK (a foundation partner of the programme) who spoke of her ambition to forge a career that truly made a difference. Her four pieces of advice to the students were:  

• Get a mentor 
• Try new things 
• Do something that you love 
• Have confidence 

The event also welcomed double Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist and former Assumption Grammar School pupil, Ciara Mageean.  

Ciara took to the main stage and spoke about her inspirations and how she dreamed of becoming an athlete as a young schoolgirl in Portaferry. Her career has not been without its challenges and even after injury she kept focused on her dream of being a runner. Her advice to the schoolgirls, “Find something that you enjoy doing and use that passion to strive and discover your full potential. Happiness brings success and remember anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”  

Assumption Grammar School principal and SistersIN founder, Peter Dobbin was a key driver behind the SisterIn Celebration Event. Speaking at the Celebration Event, Dobbin spoke about the programme’s mission to empower Northern Ireland’s future female leaders and that if you “dream big, you can make it happen.”  

In relation to the 10 young women who delivered the SistersIN Celebration Event, Dobbin said, “I’m thoroughly inspired by the confidence and leadership the girls showed throughout the event planning process. It was incredibly rewarding to see how they stepped up and met the challenge. 

“The SistersIN programme aims to enable, empower, and develop female pupils to become the leaders of tomorrow and this event was a wonderful way to bring that ethos to life and celebrate the efforts of our participants and our supporters.” 

Julia Corkey, chief executive of ICC Belfast, Waterfront Hall and Ulster Hall, said, “We were delighted to host the SistersIN Celebration Event at our venue. I’m certain that the hands-on experience the pupils have gained from shadowing our team will be beneficial. Equally, the unique perspectives that the SistersIN cohort has brought to the planning process have been a fantastic learning exercise for our team.  

“The pupils now have in-depth knowledge into what it takes to deliver a world-class business event as well as the important role ICC Belfast plays in Belfast and Northern Ireland’s overall economic development.”