Meet our FuSIon Fest Host - Naomi McMullan

She has worked at the business unit at CNN International and at UTV in Belfast. Previously she was part of a team who set up Northern Ireland’s first podcast on entrepreneurship, to help share business knowledge.

Naomi previously worked with the team behind FuSIon Fest at Tech for Good at Digital DNA and has a personal interest in social innovation. We sat down with Naomi to ask her her thoughts on the conference and social innovation.

Tell us a little about yourself and your career:

Hi. I started off in journalism after I graduated from Law and Politics in Queen’s University Belfast. I was working in CNN International in London when the financial crisis hit in 2007. I hadn’t intended to go into business journalism originally but one day a call went round the newsroom for someone to do some simple maths, I did it, and that is how I ended up in the business news department.

What interests you in FuSIon Fest?

We have a little boy that was born with Down’s Syndrome. I am very hopeful about Joseph’s future. Part of the reason that I am, is that I see so much innovation happening at the moment. Innovation that will help some of the most vulnerable people in society.

How do you think Social Innovation can help Northern Irish based organisations?

I think social innovation helps Northern Irish based organisations because it gives them an opportunity to help build lasting changes in our society that benefit everyone.

Why do you think cross collaboration is so important to the social innovation agenda?

Cross sector collaboration is crucial to the social innovation agenda. It sounds very obvious to say, but it isn’t always implemented; cross sector collaboration brings in new ideas and new ways of thinking to help solve the challenges the sector faces.

Tickets for FuSIon Fest, which takes place October 19th and 20th in Derry and Belfast, are available here.