A number of business people are currently in Washington at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival representing the 26 business sponsors and are lending their support to the 160 participants who are attending the 10-day event.
Arts and Culture Minister, Edwin Poots, MLA, who also attended the Festival said: “To have the support of the private sector in this venture has been invaluable. The business community has come together with Government and numerous public bodies to promote everything that is special about our region.
“This opportunity could not have come at a more pivotal time in our history and together we have shown the US that Northern Ireland has changed for good.”
Ryan Williams, Rediscover Northern Ireland Business Links Manager, said: "The Rediscover Northern Ireland business sponsors have demonstrated outstanding and unequivocal support for the programme. They have played a key role in ensuring that the face of the private sector is represented in DC across the range of engagement and events. Our main sponsors, Titanic Quarter and Ulster Bank, were joined by a number of Northern Ireland’s business ambassadors from companies such as Port of Belfast, Grafton, First Trust Bank, Fire IMC and Diageo. The size of the delegation from the Rediscover sponsor team was reflective of the deep sense of public/private partnership running across the programme and providing an impetus for further cooperation and partnership in the future."
The Festival, which began on 27 June and ends on 8 July, is showcasing the very best of Northern Ireland’s contemporary culture to over one million visitors to the National Mall.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
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