New York Mayor Bloomberg
Integrated School Students Symbolize the new Northern Ireland  

• Hazelwood College >

Joining Mayor Bloomberg on his visit to the school was Speaker of the New York City Council, Christine Quinn, and Baroness May Blood.

Baroness Blood said ‘It’s a huge honour to welcome Mayor Bloomberg and Christine Quinn to Hazelwood Integrated College and it’s a great opportunity for the Integrated Education Movement to showcase the work and achievements of its students. Northern Ireland’s shared future must be based on working and learning together, and integrated education represents that future.’
Mayor Bloomberg said; "I really enjoyed my visit to Hazelwood Integrated College this morning. It was wonderful to witness at first hand the inclusive spirit and dedication to learning demonstrated at Hazelwood. These young people symbolize the new Northern Ireland - a Northern Ireland where all the community is working side by side for the benefit of all.  Integrated schools appear to be providing not only an excellent educational choice, but also a way for the next generation to begin working together to build a shared future."

"By bringing together children of all races, creeds and colours, the Integrated Education Movement is providing a crucial foundation promoting tolerance and fostering cultural understanding" said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.  "The New York City Council has a long record of both promoting and exemplifying diversity, and I am proud to support a movement that recognizes that identity is only enriched when we celebrate our differences."

About Mike Bloomberg

Born on February 14, 1942 in Boston and raised by middle-class parents in Medford, Massachusetts, Michael Bloomberg was taught at an early age the values of hard work and civic responsibility. He attended Johns Hopkins University, where he paid his tuition by taking loans and working as a parking lot attendant during the summer. After college, Mike went on to receive an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1966, he was hired by Salomon Brothers to work on Wall Street

Mike Bloomberg quickly rose through the ranks at Salomon, where he eventually oversaw the trading firm's information systems, using his lifelong interest in technology and gaining a keen understanding of the importance of innovation to a successful business. In 1981, Salomon was acquired, and Mike was squeezed out by the merger. With a vision of an information company that would use emerging technology to bring transparency and efficiency to Wall Street's trading firms, Michael Bloomberg founded Bloomberg LP in 1981. Today, Bloomberg LP has over 250,000 subscribers to its financial news and information service. Headquartered in New York City, the company now has 9,500 employees in more than 100 cities.

As his company grew, Mike started directing more of his attention to philanthropy. He soon became a generous donor of his time and resources, and he has sat on the boards of numerous charitable, cultural, and educational institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, where the prestigious School of Hygiene and Public Health was renamed the Bloomberg School of Public Health in recognition of Mike's dedication and commitment to health care issues

Already deeply involved in civic affairs, Michael Bloomberg officially entered public life in 2001, when he was elected the 108th Mayor of the City of New York. While many wondered about New York's future after the attacks of 9/11, Mayor Bloomberg brought a forward-looking agenda and optimistic spirit to his job and provided the leadership necessary to get New Yorkers through this uncertain time.

He took bold action to create jobs and help the economy grow. He wrested control of New York's schools from the unaccountable Board of Education. He built affordable housing, expanded parkland, improved efficiency in the City's agencies, and made America's safest metropolis even safer. Mike Bloomberg moved New York forward with an independent, fiscally responsible, non-partisan style of leadership

In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg was re-elected by the broadest, most diverse coalition of support in the history of America's largest city. Endorsed by every major newspaper and nearly every major labor group, business association and advocacy organization, Mike's victory united New Yorkers of every ethnicity, from every neighborhood, and from every political party behind his vision of a better future.

In his second term, Mike continues to build on the successes of his first four years. He is keeping New York's economy strong and its streets the safest of any large city in the country. And in addition to continuing major initiatives in affordable housing, public health and education, he has launched a major anti-poverty campaign, developed a long-term plan for a sustainable, environmentally sound New York, and co-founded a bipartisan national coalition to fight against illegal guns.

Photos
1. Mayor Bloomberg
2. Baroness May Blood, Mayor Bloomberg