ICLRD recognised for its work in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation

ICLRD Director Caroline Creamer meeting President Michael D Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin
Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 12:15

On the 13th of June, President Michael D Higgins welcomed ICLRD Director Caroline Creamer to a garden party he hosted at Áras and Uachtaráin to pay tribute to grass-roots organisations working to promote peace and reconciliation, and North-South cooperation, on the island of Ireland.

The President and Sabina Higgins this summer will host a series of Garden Parties, to celebrate the work of people and organisations working to build a better Ireland for all. The Garden Parties continue the tradition of past Presidents and this year the President and Sabina will welcome over 4,000 people from all over the island of Ireland to their residence in the Phoenix Park. 

The International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD), is an umbrella initiative comprising the  Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute (MUSSI), the School of the Built Environment at the University of Ulster and the Institute for International Urban Development in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ICLRD seeks to expand the contribution of spatial planning and development of physical, social and economic infrastructures in improving the lives of people in both Irish jurisdictions. ICLRD has extensive experience of action-research as animator and facilitator of cross-border cooperation, with numerous publications on practical collaboration, including shared services, spatial planning and river basin management.

The ICLRD creates something new and unique by bringing together a partnership of planning, housing, health, economics and property experts dedicated to tackling the challenges facing Ireland, North and South. It provides a model for others to follow: a prestigious cross-jurisdictional research and development Centre that draws upon the intellectual capital of third-level institutions and research centres at home and abroad to deal with key social, economic and environmental issues facing Ireland – and countries in Europe and further afield that want to learn from Ireland.