Together UK Foundation is delighted to announce that Causeway Coast and Glens Councillor Aaron Callan has been selected to represent the Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program in New York next year. He will present a policy paper to the National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) outlining his ideas to use the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to boost tourism and strengthen relationships between the United States and Northern Ireland. We look forward to keeping our supporters updated on this exciting development!

– Andrew Grocock, CEO

The New York-based National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) is a non-profit, non-partisan activist organisation founded with the primary aim of resolving conflicts that threaten United States interests. In the 50 years since its foundation, however, the Committee’s scope has broadened to improving economic and cultural relations.

One way it does this is through recruitment of local “mentors.” The community leaders chosen for the Committee’s ‘Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program’ have been asked to come up with ideas to address climate change and boost transatlantic tourism and trade. Others will tackle social housing, prevention of youth paramilitarism, strengthening grassroots democracy, and finding ways to reverse the brain drain. The mentors will be invited to New York in the spring of 2026 to present policy papers on their chosen field to a conference attended by US policymakers and diplomats.

On the plane will be Causeway Coast and Glens councillor Aaron Callan. The DUP representative has been a member of council for the Limavady DEA since 2014. He is also a governor at Limavady Grammar School, a commissioner at Coleraine Harbour where he chairs the Strategy Working Group, and a parliamentary researcher to Gregory Campbell CBE MP. He will be presenting the Committee with his ideas for using the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence to boost tourism and strengthen ties between the US and Northern Ireland.

“Northern Ireland stands at a historic crossroads as the USA250 anniversary approaches, with a unique opportunity to reposition its tourism strategy,” he told the Chronicle. “By focusing on the Ulster Scots story — its migration, cultural influence, and global diaspora — my policy paper recommends sweeping, innovative actions that will deliver economic, diplomatic, and cultural benefits for future generations. Also, to build on global Ulster Scots networks, strategic partnership opportunities, and the unbroken ties between Ulster and America. This remarkable legacy underscores the depth of historic transatlantic ties between America and Northern Ireland and provides a powerful foundation for future tourism and educational outreach linked to the USA250 anniversary.”

Announcing the 2025–26 Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Programme, the NCAFP said: “Over the next nine months, this cohort will take on challenges ranging from boosting Northern Ireland’s tourism economy and transatlantic trade to advancing climate-smart agriculture, green energy, and climate justice. They will close skills gaps and prepare young people for an AI-driven future. Other projects will reimagine social housing, prevent youth paramilitarism, strengthen grassroots democracy, and find ways to reverse brain drain. Guided by NCAFP’s network of mentors (including former government officials, leading scholars, and policy experts), these leaders will transform their ideas into actionable policy recommendations. The program will conclude in spring 2026 with a conference in New York City, where participants will present and publish their policy papers and recommendations to U.S. policymakers, diplomats, and transatlantic partners. We extend our deepest thanks to the Government of Ireland’s Reconciliation Fund, The Ireland Funds, Invest Northern Ireland, the Eithne & Paddy Fitzpatrick Memorial Fund, the Irish American Partnership, and our entire community of donors and supporters who make this work possible.”

In the past, much of the NCAFP’s work has involved organising off-the-record diplomacy to resolve problems that governments are unwilling or unable to address in official dialogue.

Following the Downing Street Declaration that kick-started Northern Ireland’s peace process in 1993, the Committee placed a full-page ad in The New York Times challenging every party involved in the conflict to attend an NCAFP-sponsored conference in New York to air the arguments of all sides.

The National Committee was instrumental in convincing President Bill Clinton to issue a visa to Gerry Adams, a vital move in bringing Sinn Féin aboard in talks that would eventually lead to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Peter Winter first wrote this article for the Coleraine Chronicle