Mayo councillor chosen for international leadership programme
Councillor Mark Duffy, the cathaoirleach of the Ballina Municipal District, has been chosen for the prestigious Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network programme.
He is only the second Irish person to be selected since the initiative was launched in 2012.
Launched by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), the US Department of State, and the US Helsinki Commission, the Transatlantic Inclusion Leaders Network (TILN) is a programme designed to connect and inspire emerging leaders to excel in elected office and other leadership roles.
It is also designed to advance inclusive policies, and to engage with transatlantic policymakers.
Participants comprise a diverse group of leaders under 35 years old from the United States and Europe who have proved their commitment to fostering community, diversity, and inclusion.
TILN has an alumni network of more than 200 leaders from 34 European countries (including Eastern Partnership countries and the Balkans) and 22 US states.
Alumni hold elected office in bodies such as the US Congress, the European Parliament, and national and local governments, or hold senior corporate and civil society roles.
The 2023 TILN fellows will start their programme shortly with six months of distance learning and a one week in-person experience in early May.
The in-person portion of the programme includes participation in Brussels Forum, GMF’s flagship conference, and engagement with high-level policymakers, business and civil society leaders, and GMF alumni in Brussels.
Since first being elected to Mayo County Council in 2019, Mark has helped lead grassroots efforts to regenerate his town, focusing on a sustainable, green future for the community.
He has built, and continues to promote, Ireland's strong connections with diaspora in the United States, regularly visiting Irish-American political and civic leaders in Washington DC, New York, Chicago, and Ballina’s twin towns of Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Mark is passionate about community empowerment and enabling people to use their skills and energy to drive positive change.
He co-founded a community group, now comprised of 500 volunteers, who pick up litter, paint derelict buildings, and support street art and green initiatives, among other projects.
TILN programme is supported by grants from the US Department of State (American Embassies in Brussels, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, and The Hague), the Meridiam Endowment Fund (Archery), the Open Society Foundations, KfW and Fundación ONCE.