Director of Northern Ireland Bureau Promotes Region by Changing People’s Perceptions by Sean O’Driscoll I interviewed Tim Losty, director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington, D.C., the day after violence flashed on the streets of Belfast. Highly controversial marches by the Protestant fraternity Orange Order led to violence between police and Catholics who were protesting the march. Some protestors threw homemade explosives at the marchers, while others occupied the road. The police and army moved in with water cannons as cars were set on fire. Every July 12, the traditional marching day for Protestants, people such as Losty hold their breath. For him, the skirmishes broadcast on CNN and the BBC sent the completely wrong signal about Northern Ireland. He pointed to the huge increase in employment and investment since the signing of the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998 as an example of the right kind of signal that’s often overlooked. Indeed, for those trying to promote the new Northern Ireland, violence-hungry media are a frustration. Mention trade and investment and nobody listens, the argument goes. But a dozen troublemakers firing stones at the police are flashed around the world. “Given our overall mission to promote a positive Northern Ireland, it puts us back a bit,” said Losty. “We say that these events are much better managed these days, and the scenes you saw 15 years ago were a lot worse.” No doubt about it, Losty has a difficult job overcoming perceptions about Northern Ireland. He already had a reputation as a problem-solver while working as a manager for Invest Northern Ireland, where he encouraged Northern Ireland businesses to expand and compete internationally. That position involved a lot of cross-community work, helping community leaders design employment plans for their areas and trying to promote Catholic and Protestant cooperation. He also led trade missions to the United States, an experience he said has helped him greatly in his current role as Northern Ireland bureau director in Washington. Much of Losty’s success comes from being accepted by all shades of political belief in Northern Ireland, and he has worked hard to get Catholic and Protestant groups talking in some of Belfast’s toughest neighborhoods. Losty was a founding member of the Belfast Peace and Reconciliation Partnership Board in 1994, which was set up to maximize communication when Northern Ireland’s warring paramilitary groups called a ceasefire that year. He also worked on the West Belfast and Greater Shankill Task Forces, which were set up to help areas of Belfast worst affected by the violence of the previous three decades. Educated at St. Mary’s Grammar School in Belfast, Losty learned a lot about the city traveling from Northern Belfast to school in the western part of the city. His interest in the political situation led to a political science degree from Queen’s University, Belfast, and a master’s degree in business improvement from the University of Ulster, which helped to hone his skills in selling Northern Ireland to foreign investors. Next Page