Naomi Long is buzzing.  It’s the day of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to Belfast and she has back-to-back meetings and engagements.  But she’s not complaining: “I entered politics to get involved.  I could see what was wrong out there and I want to make a difference.  I love this city… I love what I do… and in return I want to give back to it…”

Belfast’s Lord Mayor is undoubtedly a politician with passion, vision and drive.  Growing up in east Belfast during the height of the Troubles she developed a real love for the city: “I love the resilience and humour of the people, the strong sense of locality, the connectedness of the city, the beautiful location…” (you feel she could go on and on chatting on what appears to be her favourite subject)

“During the Troubles it was as it the city was closing in - it was a really desperate time but people here kept going, they had the guts to keep going,” Naomi reflects.

“But the city is so open now - it’s full of life and there are lots of tourists coming here.  Of course we still have problems, but what city doesn’t?”

Despite this obvious idealism the east Belfast MLA is well aware of the challenges that lie between Belfast at present, and her mayoral vision of a ‘city without barriers’: “We see difference as a threat… Difference itself is feared.  We have to learn ways of celebrating difference in a way that people will see as attractive.”

Clearly Naomi Long is a politician with her own identity: “I never wanted to join a tribe - I know who I am.  I like being part of the UK but there’s an Irishness which I fully recognise and enjoy.”

And so she sees herself as a conversation starter in communities that struggle to see past the barriers; to encourage them to dream and to imagine a world beyond the cultural divides: “We only see the part that we live in… I’d loved to see it opened up… that people could get to see all parts.”

During her year in office Naomi is loving that privilege of sampling life in all parts of Belfast but is there one group or person whose story has inspired her?

“I’m inspired by the passer-by… the people you meet incidentally.  It’s reinforced just how much work goes on under the radar - trying to make Belfast a better place. It’s reinvigorating for me to be a part of building for that future.”

And so Belfast’s Mayor is happy to endorse the Tell It In Colour vision - to see more of Belfast’s stories of hope rise to the surface: “There is alot of good work that goes uncovered… If we’re to have an honest assessment of the city we have to reflect on the good work - so that when something goes wrong - there is a backdrop to it.  It’s about being fair on how we reflect the city.”

It is this dream of a better city which clearly drives Naomi Long: “We want a city that inspires the younger generation to do good things.  I’m not going to change the world in a year… But let’s start imagining a Belfast without barriers…”