This article is from page 6 of the 2011-06-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A COMPANY will be officially formed later this week to create a centre for international humanitarian aid in Shannon. The Atlantic Way group will officially register the not-for-profit company ‘Global Aid Shannon’ this week, following more than a year of behind-the-scenes negotiations with a partner organisation in Jacksonville in Florida.
The new facility, which will co-ordinate the delivery of Irish and EU aid as well as disaster relief, is expected to create hundreds of new jobs in the Shannon region as well as greatly increase the chances of a major logistics hubs for cargo transport to be created at Shannon. The Clare People has also learned that the Limerick Institute of Technology and the University of Florida at Jacksonville are preparing to launch a new four-year joint degree course in humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The course, which will see students spend their time between both institutions, is being created to produce the trained professionals to work at the facility in Shannon and a sister facility in Florida.
Speaking to The Clare People last week, Brian Byrne, a member of the advisory board in Atlantic Way, said work on Global Aid Shannon could begin before the end of this year. “The ultimate aim is to promote the region and to create jobs. We view this as being a very worthwhile project from a global humanitarian perspective, which is very important because you are saving lives, but this is also generating jobs and using the Irish budget for overseas aims very effectively.
“So, instead of Irish overseas agencies taking out the phonebook and seeing who can provide what they need in other countries, they will be calling Shannon to see who can get them what they need in Shannon tonight. This creates jobs here and it helps to reinvigorate traffic flow through Shannon. It helps reinforce Ireland as a centre for global aid. We are working hard with our friends in Jacksonville to make sure that this will be bearing fruit by next year or even before – so we will be creating jobs in Shannon soon,” he said.
“We brought the universities together and encouraged the development of this curriculum because it matched the strategic aims that we have in mind for Shannon Airport and it underpins the shared regional assets that we have here and in Florida. This curriculum is being developed to allow Shannon to become a centre of excellence for humanitarian aid and to allow it to supply the trained people needed by the NGO and the agencies who work in disaster relief. This centre of excellence will be a conduit for employment, not just at home but also at overseas locations.
“There are some very large commercial players who have indicated their willingness to become involved and that significantly strengthens the proposition. It will be a not-for-profit entity but it will involve commercial players coming together to make it a reality, and that will help generate support at a government level and at an international level. All of these things are coming together.” The Clare People understands that delegations from The Atlantic Way and the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce have already held eight top-level meetings on the development with a ninth meeting due to take place in Ireland later this month.
Along with the humanitarian aid hub, the groups have also been working together on creating twin logistic hubs for cargo transport in Florida and Shannon, as well as exploring avenues in which tourism links between the two areas can be strengthened.
“We have built up some very strong relationships…which enables us to approach the challenge [of building connections between Shannon and Florida] at a regional level in Florida as well as in Georgia and South Carolina,” continued Mr Byrne. “For companies based in Jacksonville, Shannon is a major stepping stone into the European market. It is an ideal distribution point for cargos destined for the European market and that is why the focus from Jacksonville has been on Shannon as a bridgehead into Europe.”
The ‘World of Opportunity’ meeting between the two groups will take place in Shannon from June 22 to 24. Besides the two organisations, industry heavy-hitters such as DHL Global Forwarding, Dell’s Global Operations and the Irish Exporters Association will also be in attendance.