wfn.org | Helping the Irish in education

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3202 notes).

Note 3200 by UMNS on Oct. 1, 1996 at 15:23 Eastern (5118 characters).

SEARCH: baroness, Northern Ireland, United Methodist, }usiness,
BEI, Irish, education

Photo forthcoming
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                          486(10-21-71B){3200}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              Oct. 1, 1996
                                 
Baroness Denton of Wakefield thanks educators 
for assisting in Northern Ireland's peace process

     NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- Baroness Denton of Wakefield, a
member of England's House of Lord's, met with United Methodist
education officials here Sept. 30 to thank them for the role they
are playing in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland.
     During an afternoon reception, the Baroness, minister for
economy and environment for the British government, met with top
officials from the churchwide Board of Higher Education and
Ministry and eight Irish students attending United Methodist-
related institutions that are participating in the Business
Education Initiative (BEI) program. 
     BEI is the result of an idea that emerged from the Northern
Ireland Inter-Church Committee in 1993 to broaden the horizons and
opportunities for some of the best students in Northern Ireland's
universities. 
     The baroness is responsible for the training and employment
agency in Northern Ireland -- the government office through which
BEI was established.
     The purpose of the education initiative is to enable Irish
students to gain valuable and new skills in business and
management vital to the success of the economy of Northern Ireland
and to the prospects for peace, tolerance, and understanding. 
     BEI's design and scope is simple. Students from Northern
Ireland and from six contiguous counties in the Republic of
Ireland study business for one year in a church-related college or
university in the United States. The government of Northern
Ireland pays travel and living expenses, while the colleges
contribute the tuition.  The United Methodist, Presbyterian,
Catholic and Episcopal Churches are participants.      
     This fall, 165 students from Ireland are attending 88 U.S.
colleges and universities, with more than half of these students
at United Methodist-related institutions.
     During the reception, Denton discussed the "troubles" in
Northern Ireland and offered gratitude to United Methodist
educators and the United States government for participating in
the efforts to strengthen the country's economy and help bring
about peace. 
     President Clinton endorsed the BEI initiative in a March 24,
1995 letter to the Inter-Church Committee. 
     According to the Rev. Roger Ireson, top executive for the
board of Higher Education and Ministry, this church-related
program is one of the "most significant efforts in the ministry of
the church to impact young lives with an international vision for
society."  
      Ireson said that the program has allowed Irish students to
see another society that too has problems and how it deals with
them and "instills hope in a new generation for a better way of
life."
     While in the United States, the students-- from any field of
study-- develop international business and management skills
through business education and work placement, and the colleges
and universities gain an understanding of Irish affairs. From
these exchanges, it is expected that the Northern Ireland's peace
process will be the beneficiary of students with an international
perspective, improved business skills and dreams for a peaceful
Ireland. 
     The baroness told the students that BEI is an opportunity for
them to "grow and return to Northern Ireland with a sense that
their country has a position in the world." She added that they
have "a responsibility out of their privilege to make sure that
Northern Ireland has a safety net for people less fortunate."
     For 20-year old Andrew Cunningham, a BEI student attending
Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., the program has
numerous advantages. Having ventured out of his community and
country for the first time through this program, he said he has
met new cultures and has learned more about himself. 
     Cunningham said that at the end of the year, he will return
to Northern Ireland "with a new self and attributes of the people
I've met and have a better understanding of home.  I've a
different view of the world and a different view of home." 
     BEI also has expanded its scope. Twenty students from the
United States are studying in Northern Ireland as part of a
reciprocal program.
     Attending the reception with the higher education officials
were Brian Smart, program officer for the BEI within the
government of Northern Ireland; and students and faculty from
Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Tennessee Wesleyan College,
Athens, Tenn.; Martin Methodist College, Pulaski, Tenn.; Hiwassee
College, Madisonville, Tenn.; and Lindsey Wilson College,
Columbia, Ky.  
                               # # #

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