Against all the odds, John Hume maintained his schedule yesterday: a meeting in Derry in the morning, guest speaker at a schools politics society meeting in Belfast at lunchtime and, in the evening, the drive to Dublin for a Late Late Show appearance which also put him neatly in place for the SDLP's annual fundraising dinner tonight in Dublin; an event bound to be a sell-out now, crowed a jubilant party member.

What made the day rather different from the plan, however, were the endless, repetitive media interviews in between, wherein he repeated the mantra that he did not see this as "a personal award . .. more a powerful international statement of support and goodwill for the peace process and an endorsement of all those who played a role in the process".

Though pressed for his personal reaction by one reporter after another, he maintained that stance throughout, conceding only that "of course, I feel very honoured"; clearly anxious to be inclusive and, at the same time, eager to harness the explosion of media interest to further the region's push for economic growth.

He made repeated references to the Mallon-Trimble economic mission in the United States, the need for the communities to work together to attract investment to the region, to build links and contacts with a contracting world; all with an eye towards the ultimate goal of jobs and industries for the people of Northern Ireland.

He rejected the notion raised by David Trimble in the US that perhaps the award was somewhat premature. "No. I see it as a strong expression of support and one that should strengthen what is happening in Northern Ireland and which should encourage all politicians and political parties to do everything in their power to implement the agreement as soon as possible."

The award, he said, would surely work to bind those working for peace. "I see it as symbolic in a sense of the full support for both sectors of our people and the two governments who used so much energy in promoting this agreement and of the vast majority of our people who see it as an endorsement of their own endorsement of the agreement."

Reporters who raised a negative thought on this day of days - the bomb alert, the punishment beatings - were urged to be positive. "There are always hiccups," he said, "but the facts are that the overwhelming majority, North and South, have come out and powerfully supported the agreement, and this is major progress."

Earlier, his speech to the girls of the politics societies of Belfast's Dominican and Victoria Colleges, a joint cross-denomination venture, had served as an entertaining primer in Northern Ireland politics for the assembled world media. In the lively and well-informed question-and-answer session that followed, one student asked: What if the executive fails?

"We never think about that," he answered firmly, advising her to follow his mother's strategy: always to view the bottle as half-full, not as half-empty.

He provided other clues to his approach for an enthralled audience, recalling a meeting he attended as a 10-year-old with his father. "There was a lot of flag-waving and a lot of emotion and I got emotional, too." But his father took a look at him and told him not to "get involved in that stuff". Why not? asked the surprised young Hume. "Because you can't eat a flag," he replied. "Think of the wisdom of that . . ." urged his son yesterday.

"Did you ever feel like giving up, and now do you think the job is done?" asked a student. "I'm going to use a common word in Northern Ireland to answer that," he said, grinning. "No. No." Was this David Trimble different to the David Trimble who danced down the Garvaghy Road? asked another. "Well . . . he's still David Trimble," he responded to a great burst of laughter. "The fact that we are working together doesn't mean we haven't different points of view . . ."

Was Ian Paisley a political dinosaur, as described by David Ervine in Time magazine? "Well, we have our differences, but we work together in Europe for our own common interests."

And as the laughter died, he told the kind of story that sweetens the political pill and keeps his audience on its toes. It was the one about Ian Paisley agreeing to take a drink from the late Brian Lenihan - introduced by Hume as one of the great republicans - but on condition that it was "an orange", said Dr Paisley, "and a bitter orange at that!"