Want to work somewhere fast paced and fun where no two days are the same?

Fancy the challenge of dealing with some of Northern Ireland’s best known companies?

Do you want to work for a Belfast-based firm whose horizons stretch from Dublin to London to Dubai?

Stakeholder Communications is one of Northern Ireland’s largest and best known communications firms, specialising in public relations, public affairs, design and event management.  We need a bright, confident, self starter to manage our reception, act as PA for our Group Chief Executive and help PR executives as and when required.

If you think that’s you, please send your CV to johnny.quinn@stakeholdergroup.com

Dear Santa

It’s been a long year and I am sorry for this belated letter.  With recessions, dead cat bounces, floods and excessive MPs- I have been busy.  I would like to ask for some presents for a few of my friends – presents- I guess they would not ask for themselves

Moats and bell-towers are so 2009- that no-one has requested any this year but Bialetti Expresso makers for the BT9 lefty, leaning, cappuccino sipping labour luddites are all the rage.  Some backroom baristas even aspire to being politicians but sometimes even they can smell the coffee.

Firstly, you may have noticed but things have not been going so well up at the Hill. Long gone are the golden days of the Chuckle Brothers.  Marty and Peter are struggling to remember their St Andrew’s wedding vows and as the old saying goes ‘love goes out the window- when hunger comes in the door’.  Odd as it seems, Sinn Fein is hungry for justice and policing; odd because most of their members spent the greater part of their lives trying to avoid contact with either.

Martin and Peter could do with a copy of that book called ‘Unionists are from Mars; Republicans are from Venus’.  They could also benefit from the services of Jeremy Kyle and his live lie detector test.  Most of all, Peter and Marty need to get away from slumming it around the corridors of the Assembly where they are constantly being carped at by the bumpkin brigade. No doubt there is some five star golf resort or luxury castle where they could go to try and re-kindle the fire that once ignited their love. After all when in Washington last summer they made a lovely couple – in a platonic way of course.

This leads me nicely to lovely Iris.

As you know, Iris has a keen interest in psychiatry: the voodoo kind that turns gay people straight.  Apparently she may want a year’s subscription to the Flat Earth News too; in particular the back issues; ‘Science insults your intelligence’ and ‘Galileo was a liar’. It is also rumoured that she may theme one of her living rooms Liberace. After all, he was not gay- just a happy man with a fine taste in candelabras and sequins.

My old friends in the SDLP are having a hard time finding a leader.  Nevertheless, it is Christmas, and they deserve to be well led and as they never tire of saying-, they did give us -The Good Friday Agreement and err.. The Good Friday Agreement.  They also gave us Alex Attwood, without whom there would be ‘No folks on the Hill’.  But with the glass half full and a good Deputy Leader in place- Alasdair or Margaret deserve a nice reward.

My dear friends Sir Reg Empey and Lady Sylvia Hermon really need a dig out this year. Can they both get electronic diaries so they can schedule to be at the same conferences at the same time?

Over at Alliance HQ their needs are simple.  There has been a serious downturn in the baubles available to Alliance members since Sinn Fein and the DUP fill up quango spaces with like-minded individuals. It is unjust that they who did so much for political toadying to the Establishment; to now be without any form of aggrandizement. Could n’t they get just a little ministry?

The UDA social climbers must have thought you were long gone when Margaret Ritchie intercepted their letters to the Northern Ireland Office –source of all ill -conceived largesse and bribery to paramilitaries. Then up sprang the Santa’s little helper at the Aras with a request for more taxpayers money to encourage the UDA to swap cudgels for caddy cars.  Santa you really need to put the UDA on the permanent bad kid’s blacklist- along with Ms Ruane whose education policies went up in smoke with parental hopes. Two bags of ashes, please.

Santa, do not forget some Bishops this year. They have had it tough.  Some of them are nearly as old as you are and still at work.  Along with an abbreviated version of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, I recommend five copies of ‘101 Secrets of a Happy Retirement- Practical, Inspirational and Fun ideas to enjoy best years of your life’.

Finally Santa, please remember all the good people who last year just wanted peace and a properly functioning government. Was it too much to ask? If so, let’s settle for the peace.

Cameron’s brave new conservatism has boldly declared that it will contest all Northern Ireland constituencies under their clumsily named ‘New Force’. Unsurprisingly, with elections imminent, the inherently sectarian nature of traditional unionist politics rears its ugly head and calls for single unity candidates in South Belfast and Fermanagh/South Tyrone. For these markedly sectarian and out of date political clowns; it’s still a case of any jack ass unionist candidate draped in a Union flag being preferable to a nationalist/catholic representative. These are the people who propose a voluntary coalition government for the Executive but given their base political instincts- who in their right mind would enter a partnership government with them?

The Tories mistakenly believe that the recruitment of low profile and anonymous ‘catholic’ candidates somehow makes them non sectarian. When they or the Unionists put forward a recognisable and credible catholic candidate in a winnable seat then the electorate will know that they are serious about their inclusivity. To date the chances of that happening are as about likely as Tiger Woods advocating monogamy. In fairness the problem for ‘New Force’ lies not within the Conservative side of the partnership but on the Unionist side. Sir Reg Empey as the Leader of Ulster Unionists and Godfather to the new Tory/Unionist alliance is clearly not a sectarian man, clichéd as it sounds, many of his best friends are catholic but he needs to make it as clear as Cameron that masquerading sectarianism under the banner of unionist unity is not acceptable in modern politics. Its risky but necessary.

On the other side of the house, Fianna Fail has been raising the political temperature within nationalism. They have a thriving Cumann at Queens and active fora in South Down, South Armagh, Derry and now it seems Fermanagh. The revelation that Independent MLA Gerry Mc Hugh is a member of Fianna Fail surprised quite a few commentators. It may have surprised some at Fianna Fail Headquarters too.

Fianna Fail is a broad based political Church and it will no doubt attract members in the North from all quarters. It has already attracted a former Ulster Unionist councillor and UDR officer. But in days when Sinn Fein is fielding ex RUC reservists, no-one should be too shocked. McHugh’s membership is hardly an inspired catch. Had they converted the truly independent Kieran Deeny to their ranks one suspects that the SDLP would be more worried- West of the Bann. In the future, Fermanagh could probably provide Fianna Fail with an Assembly seat and if true with supporters like Peter Quinn they will have formidable strategists.

Fianna Fail will hoover up disaffected Provos and while that may seem odd to some, Sinn Fein know that some former comrades are only to willing to do their bit to damage to the Party. Ironically, its Sinn Fein’s destruction of old republican shibboleths such as taking seats in Leinster House and Stormont along with their support for policing and their definition of Real IRA volunteers as ‘traitors’ which has prompted this latent political activism amongst their ex-colleagues.

Traditional republicans in South Armagh outraged by the murder of Paul Quinn are also likely to seek political revenge on Sinn Fein by supporting Fianna Fail. Yet Fianna Fail needs to be wary of these renegade political Greeks bearing gifts- as many ordinary nationalists are likely to be turned off by these recent converts to law, order and mainstream politics.

Despite their self delusional denials, the SDLP know in their heart of hearts the threat Fianna Fail poses in places like Tyrone, Down, Armagh and Fermanagh. If the opposite is true then the apoplexy that some SDLP stalwarts go into when Fianna Fail raises its head in any Northern constituency is both irrational as it is inexplicable.

Like the Tories, if Fianna Fail is to be successful in the North it needs to identify credible new candidates or at least absorb existing political representatives who look to the future and not the past. Fianna Fail should not be in the business of recovering the political flotsam and jetsam of other political parties or maverick individuals.

It would be preferable for Fianna Fail to wait and let the electorate deal with the North’s political deadwood rather than try to give them any credibility with a fresh lick of paint- however green!

One of 26 water stations along the route

Richard Moore the founder of Children in Crossfire was responsible for a lot of happy pain on Sunday at the 40th New York City Marathon, when he and a team of 18 Irish supporters took part in the iconic event.

The ING New York City Marathon is one of the world’s great road races, drawing more than 100,000 applicants annually. As any one of the more than 700,000 past participants will attest, crossing the finish line in Central Park is one of the great thrills of a lifetime.

Every street corner brought a new cheering zone, a glimpse of a unique neighborhood, and the beat of a live band or radio station. Two million cheering spectators energise the participants as the race swept through 26.2-miles in all five boroughs, from Staten Island through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Harlem to Manhattan.

Over £40,000 was raised for Children in Crossfire during the NYC Marathon Campaign.

Stakeholder has been shortlisted for Best Publication in the 2009 CIPR PRide Awards

Stakeholder are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for this years CIPR PRide Awards. Reaching the short list is proof to our colleagues and clients that our work has been judged to be among the best in the UK .

The PRide Awards is the only awards scheme which showcases the best PR work being carried out across the UK regions and nations. There are twelve areas taking part in the PRide Awards – East Anglia; Home Counties South; Midlands; North East; North West; Northern Ireland; Scotland; Thames and Chiltern; Wales; West of England; Wessex and Channel Islands and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The CIPR PRide Awards have grown in strength and stature, recognising public relations success and achievement in the nations and regions.

Winners will be announced at presentation dinners taking place in each of the twelve participating areas from October to December.

Ann Mealor, CIPR Acting Director General said:

“This year more than ever, consultancies and organisations entering the PRide Awards want to spotlight their achievements while boosting morale – and being a PRide finalist does just that. Having gone through rigorous judging to reach the shortlist is a great achievement and I offer my congratulations to all those who have reached this stage of the competition.”

Antrim GAA

Club Aontroma congratulates the Antrim county teams who have delivered success for the county this season in all codes and at all age groups. Thanks for all the efforts so far!

Club Aontroma is hosting a fundraising dinner in the Wellington Park Hotel at 7.30am on Friday 17th July, featuring a sit down 5 course meal, fine wine, a panel discussion and entertainment. All proceeds will benefit the training funds of our county teams.

Tables are available at £600 per ten persons.

For further details visit:

www.clubaontroma.com

or www.antrim.gaa.ie

To book a table contact Pat McCaffrey at 0781 0510366.

The Newsroom, Fountain Centre, Belfast, BT1 6ET

The Building of St. Amadeus School in Tanzania is being funded by Children in Crossfire

The Stakeholder Group has long been a patron of Children in Crossfire, the NI based charity which is working in a hands on way to improve the lives of children caught in conflict. The entire Stakeholder team has worked in partnership with Richard Moore and his team at Children in Crossfire and have contributed our collective communication and branding experience to their work.

Children in Crossfire support local initiatives to improve the everyday lives of ordinary people in a range of ways including:

• Creating income earning opportunities through education
• Improving access to health and sanitation facilities, agriculture and food security
• Providing emergency relief and access to clean water supplies.

Last October I was part of a team that travelled to Tanzania with Children in Crossfire. It was a life changing experience and I saw first hand how important the work of Children in Crossfire is. As well as visiting a number of existing projects we also heard of projects the charity hopes to help in the future including an orphanage, HIV Clinic and a community clinic that has no access to water.

As part of our efforts to assist in this vital work I have pledged to run the New York City Marathon in support of Children in Crossfire. This will be my first marathon, and although I am looking forward to it (I think!) I have never, ever before run that far and am hoping that I can make it over the finish line in one piece on the day!

If you feel able to contribute to this efforts I would be very grateful. We intend to dedicate a page on the www.stakeholdermedia.com website to the Children in Crossfire marathon effort and of course all contributions will be acknowledged. Your support will lift my spirits and my legs as I prepare for and hopefully complete the NYC Marathon course.

Meanwhile this November our very own Deborah King plans to complete the grueling Inca Trail in the Peruvian Andean peaks in support of Children in Crossfire. As part of her fundraising push Deborah raised significant funds by hosting a ‘Strictly come Jigging’ night in Newry. Deborah was also an important member of the team that travelled to Tanzania in October 2008.

Spencer Dock Dublin, Mid Summer morning 2008

Those who participated in Tunick’s Dublin installation last year finally received their souvenir photographs today.

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority posted limited edition photographs of the installations at South Wall and the Treasury Holdings Alto Vetro Building to all who took part in the photo shoots in the capital. 

Looking back at the project I feel very proud to have taken part, It was a very euphoric sort of moment where people celebrated a shared humanity. Very often the only photographs we see of large groups of people naked are photographs of famine victims or of people in concentration camps.

“A body is a living entity. It represents life, freedom, sensuality, and it is a mechanism to carry out our thoughts. A body is always beautiful to me.” Spencer Tunick

To view the full extent of the Spencer Tunick Ireland projects go to: www.tunickireland.com

Eboy Belfast

I love the Coca Cola ‘Open Happiness’ poster campaign! it fills me with a sense of joy whenever I whizz by it on the Number 4A bus. The campaign is eye-catching and a mouth watering slice of retro-goodness. German artists Eboy were commissioned by McCann Erikson Ireland to produce posters for Dublin, Galway, Cork & Belfast in their distinctive Pixel style. 

The Belfast poster, like the others, is highly detailed with major landmarks rendered in a fun, cartoon shaded, isometric projection. The creative evolved from an architectural blueprint of each city and is populated with an abundance of happy locally inspired characters and general eboy madness. The imagery is colourful, funny, subversive and original. The posters makes intense use of popular culture and commercial icons, and their style is presented in three-dimensional illustrations filled with local knowledge. 

My favourite localisms are; The Leo and Kate reference on the Titanic, the dreary looking goths at City Hall, the jaunty angle of the Albert Clock, Hamlet lamenting on top of Stakeholder towers and of course the inclusion of Stakeholder’s brand for ‘George Best Belfast City Airport’ 

Eboy’s complex illustrations have been commissioned by many of the top brands in the world including Adidas, Coca Cola, Nike, Lacoste, MTV, Rolling Stone, and Paul Smith, just to name a few. They have also worked in creating the album cover for Groove Armada’s 2007 studio album Soundboy Rock 

The campaign has been translated to run digitally and includes an interactive Bebo web-page which allows visitors to explore the posters in depth as well as win prizes. Check it out at bebo.com/coke