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Education and the Future of Northern Ireland's Peace Process

On August 7, 2025, the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) conducted the second of two Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders (NI EL) virtual talks this summer. These public events featured NI EL alumni sharing their insights and sparking meaningful conversations on two critical transatlantic topics: the role of education in peacebuilding, and transatlantic collaboration on climate and biodiversity. Participation was open to all. Four leaders from the past two cohorts of Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders—Patricia O’Lynn, Matthew Taylor, Matthew O’Neill, and Anne Devlin—joined together for a virtual panel discussion moderated by Program Director Emma DeSouza. They examined how education can support the peace process and help shape a shared future. They discussed what’s working, what needs to change, and how cross-sector collaboration can advance lasting peace. Featured Speakers: Dr. Patricia O'Lynn is a skilled researcher, political activist, education consultant, and committee chair. She has a demonstrated history of leading change in the field of education, where she champions collective impact approaches to reducing school exclusion. Patricia completed her doctoral research at Queen’s University, focusing on better understanding young people’s experiences of exclusion from school within the context of Northern Ireland. Prior to her doctoral research, she earned a master’s degree in social science, a degree in law, and a diploma in strategic leadership and management. Patricia is a Chartered Manager and Northern Ireland’s Lead Consultant for the Chartered Management Institute. She is also a recipient of the Sir Tomas Dixon Award and the Department for Economy doctoral scholarship. In 2022, she became the first woman in Northern Ireland’s history to be elected as an MLA to serve the people of North Antrim. Before this, she served as a Councillor in local government, representing the Alliance Party. Matthew Taylor is an activist, student, and writer. He co-founded the UK’s first entirely youth-led mental health charity at the age of seventeen, which has since benefited thousands of children and young people through a range of youth work programs, innovative approaches to public policy, and the development of an emotional curriculum for Northern Ireland’s primary and post-primary schools. In 2022, Matthew was awarded the Diana Award, the highest honour a young person in the U.K. can receive for their humanitarian and community work, in recognition of his contributions to advocacy for improved mental health education and services in Northern Ireland. He also successfully completed the prestigious Washington Ireland Program in the summer of 2022. Dr Anne Devlin is a Research Officer in the Economic Analysis Division at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin. Her research interests are primarily in the areas of labour economics, economics of disability, economics of education, and social inclusion. Anne is also actively involved in researching the Northern Irish economy as well as various aspects of the all-island economy, including but not limited to, education across the island of Ireland, cross-border workers, the all-island labour market, and future labour supply North and South. Anne currently works with a range of external collaborators from various institutions in NI, Cyprus and the Netherlands. Anne disseminates her research widely in traditional media as well as writing blog posts, contributing to podcasts and utilising social media to reach a wider audience. Anne obtained her PhD in Economics from Queen’s University Belfast in 2021. Her PhD research examined the high levels of disability in Northern Ireland and whether there is a relationship with the conflict. During her doctoral studies Anne also conducted a research internship at the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service. Anne holds a BSc in Economics and an MSc in Management from Ulster University. Prior to joining the Institute in December 2020 Anne held a post at Ulster University and also has teaching experience from Queen’s University Belfast. Anne is a Visiting Researcher at Queen’s Business School, Queen’s University Belfast and a Steering Group member of the All-Island Social Security Network. Emma DeSouza is the Director of the NCAFP's Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders program. Emma is also a writer, campaigner, and peacebuilder. She led in the creation of the first All-island Women’s forum, acting as Chair and facilitator 2021-22, the Founder and Co-facilitator of Northern Ireland’s Civic Initiative, Vice-Chair of Votingrights.ie, and sits on the Board of Directors at 50:50NI.