Emily O’Reilly.

Offaly woman joins leadership forum line-up

Tullamore native Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman, author and former journalist and broadcaster has been announced as part of the line-up for a new event series aimed at instigating a high-profile public debate on leadership in Ireland.

Ms O’Reilly will join author and broadcaster Emma Dabiri and Editor of The Currency and Deputy Chair of the RTÉ Board Ian Kehoe to share her views on leadership in the media during a free online event on Thursday, 15th April at 1pm

The event, ‘Leadership in the Media: A Two-Way Street?’ is the first of four events taking place as part of The Better Leadership Forum, a new initiative from LIFT Ireland aimed at instigating a high-profile public debate on leadership. The four events will take place across 2021, and each will focus on leadership in a particular sector of Irish society, including the media, politics, business and the public sector.

April’s event will explore leadership in the media, addressing topics such as: the role of the media in calling out good and bad leadership; the importance of press freedom and an independent and well-functioning media sector; and the role of the media in promoting positivity during difficult times.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Professor Kevin Rafter, Head of the School of Communications at DCU, while speakers include Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman, author and former journalist and broadcaster, Ian Kehoe, Editor of The Currency and Deputy Chair of the RTÉ Board. Emma Dabiri, author, broadcaster and social historian.

Sinéad O’Carroll, Editor of TheJournal.ie. Joanne Hession, founder and CEO of LIFT Ireland.

Professor Niamh Brennan, the Michael MacCormac Professor of Management at University College Dublin and Founder / Academic Director of the UCD Centre for Corporate Governance, will serve as rapporteur for all four events in The Better Leadership Forum; and a final report on lessons from the events will be published later this year.