 Think tanks are places where we think and thinking is really important in this world, it's in short supply. Politics has become immensely complex in the last number of years, there are no certainties anymore. Thank you, that is a very warm welcome and I'm really delighted to be here. The foreign ministers and the foreign ministers have lost a lot of ground over the last 20 years. Only a global movement can mobilize the transformation needed to prevent an irreversible climate crisis. The speakers at the institute gather and the topics they cover are highly relevant to us and we get great value out of attending lunches and events with the IIA. As well as learning from the speakers, we also learn a lot from the network of people that we meet when we attend IIA events. It is easy to be seduced by simple slogans, like taking back control and draining the swamp. Building a think tank culture is mission critical and it's ever more critical again when divisions are being widened to have that analytic ballast of people who can deliberate and then put forward ideas that have been wrestled with over relatively extended periods of time. That's the recipe for sound policy. So the environment changing each year, we are seeing that since many decades now the season change a lot. I must say I was very happy when I was president to be patron of the IIA at an earlier stage because I saw it as a very good convener of decision makers, of policy makers, but also of a wider public to inform them of the issues. People who come to the institute have the opportunity to attend events, listen to international speakers, hear what has been said in other parts of the globe, whether it's climate change or what the latest developments are at the European Union. They get it from the horse's mouth and they get it uniquely in the Institute for International and European Affairs. Ireland is going to be faced with lots of choices and lots of ways we should go. As a business member of the IIA you get to understand the key issues that are going to shape your strategies and shape your future. It's very important for any organisation to be part of that wealth of information and ability to feed into policies as they emerge rather than being taken by surprise at the last minute when decisions have already been taken. Since we've been a member of myself and a couple of colleagues have attended as many of the events as we can. It has been a fascinating journey for us to understand more about how policy makers and academics and journalists and fellow stakeholders are thinking. I think in terms of developing a culture of taught leadership and fostering debates about policy that are independent of any kind of vested or private interests and independent of the political process of all it's incredibly valuable. It's a fantastic tool for getting to know new people, for building relationships and for increasing my own knowledge and shaping my own views on European and international affairs.