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‘Passing the Torch’ Senator George Mitchell urges youth to sustain peace

May 15, 2025

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Narrative 4 celebrating peace makers in Belfast

Seven hundred young people from across the island of Ireland gathered at Queen’s University Belfast to hear one of the architects of the Peace Process, Senator George Mitchell, deliver a landmark speech urging them to use their ‘truth and dreams’ to sustain the peace enjoyed over the past 27 years.

At a time when the world faces increasing division, Senator Mitchell celebrated the efforts of peacemakers and issue a compelling call to action.

“Hope, then, meets hope. And that hope creates an overwhelming wave. This is what our peace needs: a wave of hope, sustained by you, so that it moves forward, and crashes onto other shores.”

Senator George Mitchell

Peace, powered by young people

Narrative 4 developed a project around the event, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast and Politics in Action. Young people from Donegal, Dublin, Antrim, and Limerick were trained as peace ambassadors and distributed limited edition commemorative booklets of the speech to everyone present.   

Platforming Youth Voices

The programme included a panel discussion ‘Is Gen Z really disillusioned with democracy?’, with Jade Gill (Narrative 4), Chloe Martin and Dany Sibu sharing their views on young people’s engagement in politics today.

Watch a highlight reel of the speech

As seen on RTÉ News

Amplifying the Impact: Resource pack for every secondary school on the island

A specially created resource pack featuring a booklet of the Senator’s speech— developed by Narrative 4 and Politics in Action — will be sent to:

• 192 secondary schools in Northern Ireland
• 740 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland

Each pack will include:

• A QR code to watch the speech
• A lesson plan on the Peace Process