Mayor Elisha McCallion
GRANDPARENTS and parents of loved ones travelling home to Derry or Strabane for the Christmas holidays are being encouraged to sign them up to be part of the Mayor’s Diaspora Reception scheduled to take place in the Guildhall on 22 December.
Mayor, Cllr Elisha McCallion wants to welcome home all the local Diaspora who are living and working away from home and who are travelling back to with family over the festive time, to be her guests at a special reception in the Guildhall.
“I am really keen to connect with our Diaspora, to meet with all those who have left Derry and Strabane and who are now living in London or Boston. I want to hear about what they are doing with their lives, what new experiences they have had and if they are willing to become ambassadors for the city and district and help us spread the good news about what a great place Derry and Strabane is.
“This is part of my new Diaspora initiative, aimed at reconnecting with our Diaspora community across the world and inviting them to come home, share their experiences and help us to tell the region’s positive new story.
“Derry City and Strabane District Council is very keen to connect with our global Diaspora community and engage with them to have a role in shaping our economic and social future.
“Close to 1,000 highly skilled quality jobs have recently been created in the region presenting us with opportunities for our Diaspora to come home and bring their experience and skills and secure some of these positions.
“We feel that our Diaspora have an important role to play in our future success story, by assisting us in promoting Derry and Strabane as a good place to invest.
“We have a very clear message to our Diaspora – we want you to get in touch in with, let us know when you are coming home, share your experience, your skills and your contacts to become an ambassador for the city and district and tell the world about where you come from and what a great place it is to live and work,” she added.
To register your loved ones to be part of the Diaspora welcome reception, please register by email at[email protected].
“I am really looking forward to the opportunity to meeting people from Derry and Strabane who are home for Christmas to be part of our festive celebrations and to share in our new story,” the Mayor added.
