FORMER U.S President Bill Clinton has said he feels he is “on the verge of keeping my word” to Enniskillen after he announced a major initiative to renew and enhance the Clinton Centre.
Dublin City University, Ulster University and University of Massachusetts (UMass) have united to create a new, sustainable operational model for the building on the site of the Enniskillen bombing. 
The new plan will deliver a programme of both academic and cultural activities and events in the centre, which was was officially opened by Mr. Clinton in 2002, over the next three years, in the first instance, with a specific focus on the themes of peace and conflict resolution.
Speaking during a visit to Belfast on Tuesday, in which he met Democratic Unionist leader and Fermanagh-south Tyrone MLA Arlene Foster, Mr. Clinton said: “Let me thank you and say how glad I am that this is going to be in your constituency.”
“I want to say to the people of Enniskillen, you know, I was there 13 years ago just before my heart surgery and knew I was not well and at the time I was working very hard to try to get something up to scale at the Clinton Centre. In the years since we have tried a number of things but this is the first time we have been able to institutionalise an idea where we can take education, communication and actual real projects of young people doing things and getting valuable experience and working it out together,” he said.
Looking at Mrs. Foster, Mr. Clinton said: “So I say to your constituents: I am sorry it took me so long but I am thrilled this is going to happen and I am very grateful to all of you.
“I believe in this sort of thing. When people sit with each other as people instead of categories, opportunities stir and something good can happen,” he said. 
Modifications will be required at the centre to facilitate its expanding role and the expected increase in numbers of users and visitors.
The new work will incorporate a memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives and were injured by the 1987 bomb, 30 years ago next month, situated in the area where the centre is located. 
“I think it’s altogether fitting that there’s going to be a monument to what happened in Enniskillen. I think it’s also important that this small community where a very big bad thing happened will be able to launch good things for the future.
“I think I am finally on the verge of keeping my word to them,” said Mr. Clinton.
Mrs. Foster, who presented Mr. Clinton with a bottle of gin from Fermanagh’s Boatyard Distillery, described the joint project as a “significant boost” to Enniskillen and Northern Ireland.
“This model will benefit all involved as well as boost the entire area,” she said. 
Artist Colin Davidson’s work will be exhibited in the centre which Mrs. Foster said will be “widely recognised as a tremendous honour” and “will enhance the profile of the centre.”
“It is a sad reality that Enniskillen is known to many across the world as a result of the 1987 bomb in the town. I have worked with many of the survivors of that bomb.
“A permanent memorial for the victims being incorporated into the remodelled Clinton Centre will be a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives and those who still live with the scars,” she said. 
Starting in Summer 2018, the centre will host students from the United States, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland and likely other countries for a range of academic programmes focusing primarily on peace and conflict studies. An interactive interpretive centre will be launched comprising documents/artefacts from the peace process and to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the ‘Silent Testimony’ exhibition of Mr. Davidson’s work will be based at the centre for six months. 
A portrait of President Clinton by Mr. Davidson will be bequeathed by the artist to the centre in 2018, a summer school on women and leadership in post conflict societies will commence and a social entrepreneurship programme aimed at the local region will also be launched.