“The Negotiators – Those in the Shadows?” 

May 2023 in conjunciton with the Global Strategy Forum at National Liberal Club in London

Chaired by Tom Tugendhat MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, this debate on an often overlooked world showcased the work of negotiators in the Middle East Peace Process, Northern Ireland and other parts of the world.

The event was inspired by the latest documentary by Academy Award nominated Israeli filmmaker Dror Moreh, “The Human Factor”, a gripping insider account of three decades of the Middle East Peace process from the perspective of the US negotiators involved.

Speakers

• Dror Moreh explained the thinking and process behind the documentary. He discussed his approach to getting US Middle East Peace negotiators and those usually reluctant to seek the media limelight to talk on camera. He also discussed his new documentary Corridors of Power where he interviewed all living US Secretaries of State from Henry Kissinger up to and including Antony Blinken on how the US decides in which conflicts it should intervene.
• Jonathan Powell provided an insight into the role of a negotiator as former chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair and UK chief negotiator in the Northern Ireland Peace Process as well as sharing some other relevant experiences, for example, as Prime Minister David Cameron’s Special Envoy on Libya. Jonathan (along with Martin Griffiths, the current UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs) is a co-founder of Inter Mediate which mediates in global conflicts.

‘Journalists in the Line of Fire’

July 2019 in conjunction with Channel 4 Television event at C4’s London HQ

Chaired by Lindsey Hislsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News, the event expolored what can be done under an unravelling world order to shore up international safety protocols. Report after report from international agencies such as the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists and the UK-based Article 19 stress that press freedom is under more threat internationally than at any time since the end of World War II. The event focussed on attacks on journalists and discussed ideas on how to better safeguard freedom of the press and mechanisms to hold to account those who target journalists.

Speakers

Dorothy Byrne, Head of News & Current Affairs Channel 4 (Opening Remarks)

Rasmus Nielsen, Professor of Communication & Director of the Reuters Institute

Mimi Mefo, Award Winning Journalist at Equinoxe TV Cameroon & Pen Sponsored Journalist

Her Excellency Baiba Braize, Ambassador of the Republic of Latvia

 

‘Jihadi News Corp: The Online Battleground?’

December 2nd 2015, Event in cooperation with Global Strategy Forum.

Participants
Mina Al-Lami, Media analyst and jihadist media expert, BBC Monitoring
Peter Clarke CVO OBE QPM,Education Commissioner, Birmingham (2014); Former UK National Coordinator of Terrorism Investigations and Head of Counterterrorism Command, London Metropolitan Police
Alex Krasodomski-Jones, Researcher, Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, Demos
Fiyaz Mughal OBE FCMI FRSA, Founder and Director, Faith Matters
Professor Peter Neumann, Director, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London
Kevin Sutcliffe, Head of News Programming EU, VICE News

‘If terrorism is going to be truly effective, it must be directed against the spirit of the age’ (Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent)

Those words may have been written over a century ago, but still hold true today. Jihadist groups may reject many aspects of western culture and modernity, but they have been very effective at harnessing the power of the Internet to promote extremism and radicalisation.

 “Dogma or Demons? – The portrayal of a modern terrorist” 20th of June 2017, Max Hill QC, Government’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation in conversation with BBC’s Peter Taylor.  

Event looked at how the media covers Terrorist attacks and the individuals who carry out attacks.  What responsibilities and challenges they face when doing so.

 “Influence Warfare – Have Social Media and Fake News Become The New Battleground? 

Co-Chairs: Lord Lothian, Chairman of GSF, Sir David Omand, Visiting Professor Kings College London, Deborah Pout, Founder Oxford Media Network 

Speakers

Keynote remarks: Christiane Amanpour CBE, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent; anchor of ‘Amanpour’, CNN’s flagship global affairs programme

Mevan Babakar, Digital Product Manager, Full Fact

Professor Michael Clarke, Director General of the Royal United Service Institute (2007-2015)

Matthew d’Ancona, Evening Standard and Guardian Columnist; Author of ‘Post Truth – The New War On Truth And How To Fight Back’

General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux GCB CBE DSO DL, Chief of the Defence Staff (2010-2013)

Professor Richard Sambrook, Professor of Journalism and Director of the Centre for Journalism, Cardiff University; former Director of Global News, the BBC