AS the proverb goes: "Great oaks from little acorns grow . . . "
It's a line often trotted out at events such as this week's Investment Summit.
The premise is that an idea hatched, or contact made, may later develop into something tangible from which the economy will ultimately benefit.
Organisers, contemporaneously anyway, will be tripping over themselves to extol the merits of their gig. All their geese will be swans for sure . . .
And there's no doubt the 2023 version of "Northern Ireland is the world's best place to invest" (personally, I've reported on previous incarnations in 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2017 across Belfast, Washington and New York) has exceeded all early expectations.
That's especially given that it has happened in a political vacuum, and also at a time when the global economy is waving more red flags than you'd see on Manchester's Stretford End or Liverpool's Kop.
But let's hold fire on marking a final scorecard until the summit delegates jet back to their boardrooms in various parts of the globe and test their powers of persuasion to lure dollars, euros, yen or other coloured lucre back to Belfast/Derry.
Whether choreographed or not, the summit has already yielded a massive coup in the announcement of 1,000 new roles by EY and another 100 by Ionic Technologies.
And remember, these jobs are not just numbers. They represent opportunities for people, particularly young people, to be able to feel a strong connection with and make a stake in the future that we’re all so supportive of seeing.
Consider for a moment this quote: "Our workforce is among the youngest, best-educated and most computer literate in Europe. Internationally recognised university research centres are working alongside industry on pioneering produce development in fast-growth sectors. R&D facilities for industry are being further strengthened by a huge investment in a network of knowledge-driven centres of excellence . . . "
No. That wasn't Belfast 2023. In fact, it's a line from an address by then-economy minister Sir Reg Empey at an NI-US summit in Washington in 2002.
The venues, the politicians, the personnel, the companies and the sectors all change, but the underlying sentiments don't.
So the true success of this seminar won't be gauged this week, this month or even this year, but considerably further into the future.
Goodness knows, we might even have an Executive back in place by then?
