Michael McBride
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

Bronagh Gallagher is back on stage, reciting an excerpt from Seamus Heaney’s The Cure of Troy.

It’s a choice of work that resonates with the many of the delegates and invited guests.

Back in 1995 Clinton had captured a moment, quoting Heaney’s poetic prediction of a time when "hope and history rhyme".

Gallagher says Heaney was glad his words entered the lexicon of the peace process.

She says it is timely now to hear his words again

Davy Wilson
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

James Tourish, the head boy of John Hume's old school St Columb's College tells the Guildhall that peace was the hope of so many people in Northern Ireland

It’s important, he says, to recognise and remember the achievements of the past.

Things may not be perfect “but the days of bombs and bullets have gone," he says.

"Now we must seek a better future for everyone,"

“People must live together, not die together."

He adds that his generation has a moral duty to make sure violence does not return.

Michael McBride
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

Two pupils from local shools now take to the stage to give their 2023 version of Nobel speeches about their hopes and dreams for the future.

David Trimble and John Hume were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998.

Hume’s peace medals are on public display in this very building.

Davy Wilson
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

A video montage featuring the concert held to promote a "yes" vote in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement referendum is now being played.

On screen is arguably the defining image of Northern Ireland’s road to peace - David Trimble and John Hume on either side of U2’s Bono, as the singer holds the soon to be Nobel peace prize winners' hands aloft.

That 1998 gig took place at Belfast’s Waterfront on 18 May – three days later the people of Northern Ireland voted to endorse the agreement..

Tim Wheeler of County Down band Ash played that 1998 show – he’s on the Guildhall stage next.

Michael McBride
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

Guests are warmly welcomed to the Guildhall by Derry-born actor and singer Bronagh Gallagher.

She says this a unique event marking the 25th anniversary of the GFA to remember two of the key architects of the peace process, John Hume and David Trimble.

Gallagher then welcomes Bill Clinton to the stage, describing him as the city's long-standing partner in peace.

Clinton enters the room to a standing ovation.

You can watch a live stream of the event by clicking the play button at the top of the page.

Produced by The Hume Foundation and Mike Edgar Production Limited.

Mike McBride
BBC News NI in Londonderry

We're just a few moments away from the event beginning and people have taken their seats here in the Guildhall.

There is a buzz of anticipation as people both old and young pose for photographs and talk amongst themselves.

Clinton, whose first visit to the city happened almost 30 years ago, will return to pay tribute to some of the architects of the peace deal.

The John and Pat Hume Foundation is hosting the Making Hope and History Rhyme event as a tribute to the late John Hume and David Trimble,

Members of both families are in attendance here tonight.

Other notable names who are set to take the stage later are distinguished Derry-born composer and musician Phil Coulter and actress Bronagh Gallagher.

Davy Wilson
BBC News NI in Londonderry

Sara Canning is among the delegates, dignitaries and invited guests arriving at the Guildhall.

Today's event takes place four years to the day since her partner, the journalist Lyra McKee, was shot dead while observing rioting in Derry.

“I owe it to her to move forward with hope for the future," she tells BBC News NI.

Now a board member of the Hume Foundation, she says Clinton’s return to the Guildhall will inspire a new generation.

‘I’m watching young kids filing up the stairs to see Bill Clinton today, in the same way young people came to see him in 1995," she says.

“It’s no less significant to have him here now, to look back on what has been achieved over the past 25 years and to importantly to look ahead to what can be achieved in the future," she says.

Michael McBride
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

Aimee and Steven McKeown have travelled to Derry as they hope to say hello to Bill Clinton.

Steven is originally from Belfast and Aimee is originally from Iowa in the United States.

They lived together in the US for 16 years before moving back to Northern Ireland in 2021.

"Bill Clinton is actually the very first president I voted for," Aimee says.

"I'm a big fan and would love to thank him for all he's done back home, and especially what he's done for Ireland."

Michael McBride
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

Members of the Hume family are waiting to welcome the former US president.

Seana Hume, who is the niece of John Hume, says she is incredibly proud and quite emotional to be here with her family.

She says it’s a joyous occasion that her uncle and David Trimble are being recognised for the huge role they played in the Good Friday Agreement.

“The Good Friday Agreement was signed on my 16th birthday and it has changed the lives of so many people, like myself here, for the better," she adds.

Davy Wilson
BBC News NI, in Londonderry

It’s a bright, sunny spring afternoon in Guildhall Square – a contrast to the dull, cold day in autumn when Bill Clinton first came to the city in 1995.

That November day, the crowds came regardless of a biting wind to hear the then US president urge young people to have hope, to believe in a future better than the past.

It was among the most memorable moments of a history-making first trip to Northern Ireland by a sitting US president.

Momentum towards peace was building then - within three years the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Today Clinton returns to Derry to pay tribute to two of that agreement’s main architects, Nobel laureates John Hume and David Trimble

Image source, PA Media

Sir Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern have both defended an element of the Good Friday Agreement which allowed the release of paramilitary prisoners.

Some 500 loyalist and republican prisoners who were sentenced before the agreement was signed were released under the deal.

The two former leaders, who signed the deal in 1998, were speaking at an event for school pupils in Belfast.

Blair described the decision as "horrible but necessary".

"What I found was that the most difficult conversations I ever had were with the families of the victims," he said.

"Some people found it unforgivable while what other people said was, 'I can't ever forget what has happened, but if you can tell me that your agreement will mean that someone else doesn't suffer in the way that I've suffered, then you go and do it'.

"'But you've got to make sure it lasts and it works'."

Blair said to make change, leaders had to do things which were difficult.

Ahern agreed, and said it was something that was necessary "like a lot of hard compromises".

"If we didn't do it we wouldn't have had an agreement, that is the straight and honest answer," he added.

"I can tell you we weren't celebrating, but as part of the overall collective issues that we were dealing with, which were huge - that was one of the difficult ones."

Michael McBride
BBC News NI in Londonderry

Jessica Woodruff and Agnes Garden are from New Jersey and Tennessee respectively.

They are both visiting for a week-long holiday, they didn’t know Bill Clinton would be in Derry today so changed their plans and travelled down to the Guildhall to see him.

“It’s all very exciting,” Jessica says.

“It’s quite funny I’ve never been this close to a president before and it’s only when we leave the US does it happen.”

Bill Clinton is due to arrive in Derry later this afternoon.

The event has been organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation.

It includes music from Neil Hannon, Roe, Phil Coulter and Tim Wheeler of Ash, who performed at the Yes referendum concert 25 years ago.

Both the Hume and Trimble families will take part too.

David Trimble’s son Nicholas will deliver a reading and John Hume’s granddaughter Rachel will recite a poem.

Clinton will deliver the keynote address.

Proceedings get underway inside the Guildhall at 17:00.

Eimear Flanagan
BBC News NI, at Queen's

"I just thought it was wonderful to have such a range of world-class leaders here today,” says Mandela Hall audience member Monica Kelly.

She was invited to hear Hillary Clinton, Mary McAleese and other high-profile leaders speak because she is member of the Women in Business organisation, which hosted the event.

Ms Kelly, from Moy, County Tyrone, has worked in finance for 20 years and said women can be under-represented in her industry.

“So it was lovely to see today a room full of such powerful women, looking to change and have an equitable workplace," she said.

She was particularly encouraged by the focus on childcare issues, because many of the speakers called for more support for working mothers.

Queen's University Belfast say over half a million pounds has been raised for a new scholarship fund announced at the Agreement 25 conference.

The Clinton Scholarship Fund was launched by the couple during a fundraising dinner at Belfast City Hall on Monday evening.

The fund is designed to support study opportunities in the United States and will be made available to economically or socially disadvantaged Queen's students from Northern Ireland.

Image source, Queen's University Belfast

Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University, Professor Ian Greer, said the fund will have a "significant impact on the future of many young people", developing them as "global citizens".

He added it is an honour to name the scholarships after the Clintons - “two figures who have played a significant role in promoting positive change in Northern Ireland and who continue to support international connections with Queen's and Northern Ireland."

Eimear Flanagan
BBC News NI, at Queen's

Farrah Oliver-McAuley, the 17-year-old schoolgirl who addressed the International Voices of Leadership earlier, grabbed a quick word with BBC News NI just as the event drew to a close.

As part of the SistersIN programme, she was asked to write and deliver a speech about what leadership means to her as a young woman.

“It took me a full day to write it,” she says, adding that she spent a further couple of days learning her speech off by heart, to make sure she could get her message across.

It’s a pretty daunting task to write a speech and go on stage after high-profile figures like Hillary Clinton, but all the more impressive when you take into account that the teenager has dyslexia.

“It did push me on,” Farrah says.

“Yes I have something that holds me back, but I need to work 10 times harder to overcome it because I don’t want it to define me or hold me back in the things that I could achieve.”

It's now time for lunch at Queen's, which will be followed by some discussions between academics.

We'll be taking a break from the main hall at that point, but we will continue with updates on Good Friday Agreement events.

Then this evening we will be in Londonderry for live coverage of a speech by Bill Clinton.

Image source, Reuters

Back to Whitla Hall now where a panel have been discussing how the Good Friday Agreement can work as a template for other global conflicts.

Among those on stage are former Irish President Mary Robinson, vice-president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, US Congressman Richard Neal and special assistant to US President Joe Biden, Amanda Sloat.

When asked by chairman Mitchell Reiss what qualities future negotiators should have, Robinson spoke about her experience brokering peace as a UN high commissioner for human rights in Africa.

She says one thing she has learned from the conference is the importance of nurturing the implementation of peace agreements.

"Things are bad again in the Democratic Republic of Congo, you don't easily make and sustain peace," ehs says.

"If only we understood how precious the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is and that it has lasted.

"There is a process here for the people of Northern Ireland which is beyond price. It's invaluable, it's rare at the international level."

Image source, PA Media

Šefčovič says respect is a particularly useful quality while negotiating.

Most recently, Šefčovič was part of the EU team that brokered the Windsor Framework with the UK, a deal intended to resolve issues regarding the Northern Ireland Protocol.

He says respect should be the most rated quality both inside and outside of the negotiating room as "it's hard to trust your partner when there is a lack of respect".

Establishing strong personal relationships is also important, Šefčovič continues, praising the role of Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Finally, he says the recipe for success while negotiating is to have an evening conclusion which allows you to come back in the morning to find a solution.

Eimear Flanagan
BBC News NI, at Queen's

The final speaker to address International Voices of Leadership at Mandela Hall is Sarah Friar, CEO of the social network Nextdoor, which has 80 million users worldwide.

She is originally from Northern Ireland.

Her father worked for Herdmans Mill in Sion Mills and as a teenager she attended Strabane Grammar School.

Ms Friars started working in Silicon Valley 25 years ago and acknowledges that she has personal traits that marked her out for leadership.

“I always wanted to do thing I was told I couldn’t do,” she says.

During employee assessments, she was often described as “stubborn”.

“I think that’s a little bit of a sexist way to describe a woman. If I was a man it would be “strong-willed,” she says.

She adds that she often channels the late trade unionist Baroness Blood, and can envisage the peer telling her: “Be more stubborn.”

Sarah Friars finishes her speech with a quote from a character from Derry Girls: “We're the ones that are going to change the world and no-one can stop us.”