From Stormont To Saudi

摘要

Well, it has been a fairly heady start to the presidential year, which kicked off with the General Council and inauguration programme in Belfast back in October. Given that this was the first time that the presidential inauguration was held in Belfast, the Northern Ireland Centre was keen to introduce a social element for attending delegates. On the first day this had a "Titanic" theme, with some delegates initially visiting the Titanic Signature Project and Museum, followed by business meetings, and then followed in the evening by a social event hosted by the Centre on board the SS Nomadic. For those who don't know the Nomadic, it was the official tender to the Titanic which ferried passengers out to the Titanic's deep water berth from the harbours, many of which could not accommodate the bigger ship. The Nomadic was recently saved from an ignominious end as an industrial barge in Holland, where the upper deck had been removed to allow for cargo.