debate
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: Defending Islam and free speech
Freedom of expression or provocation? Join us as we examine the root causes of the wave of protest and violent attacks that have spread across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
FULLY BOOKED THIRD PARTY EVENT Broken filter: Is our journalism up to the debate over energy and climate change?
Organised by the Greenpeace Energydesk
With the UK’s Energy bill on the verge of coming before parliament and world leaders preparing for the latest climate summit, this time in Doha; some are worrying about the ability of a struggling media to play an effective role in the debate on energy and the climate.
Chaired by editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger an expert panel will be exploring whether our journalism is up to the debate over energy and climate change.
Insight Tarun J. Tejpal: The Story of My Assassins
Named one of India’s most influential people by The Guardian, Businessweek and Asiaweek, Tarun J. Tejpal is an acclaimed journalist, publisher, novelist and founder of Tehelka, a news organisation that has become renowned globally for its aggressive public interest journalism. He will be joining us in conversation with Shahzeb Jillani, South Asia Editor at BBC World Service News to talk about his work and the media landscape in India today.
FULLY BOOKED Ryszard Kapuściński: Where does journalism end and literature begin?
Voted journalist of the century in his native Poland, Ryszard Ryszard Kapuściński renowned across the globe for his coverage of the developing world during the final stages of European colonialism in the ’60s and ’70s .
We will be joined by a panel including Artur Domoslawski the author of Ryszard Kapuściński: A Life to discuss the work of this renowned journalist and his influence on journalism today. We will be asking to what extent Kapuściński blurred the line between journalism and literature.
First Wednesday: Obama’s reckoning?
On 6 November 300 million Americans in 50 states will go to the polls to elect the next US President. As the race for the White House heats up join us with a panel of experts to map out the arguments being made by both camps.
Insight with Lydia Cacho: Slavery Inc.
The international sex trade criss-crosses the globe using a sinister network, in a ground-breaking new work of investigative reporting internationally renowned Mexican journalist and campaigner Lydia Cacho follows the trail of the traffickers and their victims from Mexico to Turkey, Thailand to Iraq, Georgia to the UK.
Lydia Cacho will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with executive director of Article 19, Dr Agnès Callamard to talk about her expansive investigation into this world and the work she does reporting on domestic violence, child prostitution, organised crime and political corruption, whilst teaching workshops on how to help victims of trafficking.
The next chapter in a century-long conflict?
With a new coalition formed in Israel, a prospective reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and a new leader in Egypt it could be said the century-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict is entering a new chapter.
Across the world, the one-state solution is now openly discussed as a possible outcome. We will be bringing together an expert panel to explain the implications of these political shifts.
FULLY BOOKED The next chapter in a century-long conflict?
With a new coalition formed and then subsequently split in Israel , a prospective reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah and a new leader in Egypt it could be said the century-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict is entering a new chapter.
Across the world, the one-state solution is now openly discussed as a possible outcome. We will be bringing together an expert panel to explain the implications of these political shifts.
Iraq: Escalating violence and sectarian division
What do the recent deadly attacks in Iraq tell us about the country today? It has been nearly ten years since the US-led invasion and nearly a year since the last foreign troops withdrew. But is there anything about the state of the country they left behind that can begin to explain this recent wave […]
FULLY BOOKED Ryszard Kapuściński: Where does journalism end and literature begin?
Voted journalist of the century in his native Poland Ryszard Kapuściński is renowned across the globe for his coverage of the developing world during the final stages of European colonialism. Whilst covering revolutions and coups across Africa throughout the ’60s and ’70s he was known to carry two note books. One he would use to record […]
Insight Tarun J. Tejpal: The Story of My Assassins
Named one of India’s most influential people by The Guardian, Businessweek and Asiaweek, Tarun J. Tejpal is an acclaimed journalist, publisher, novelist and founder of Tehelka, a news organisation that has become renowned globally for its aggressive public interest journalism. He will be joining us in conversation with Shahzeb Jillani, South Asia Editor at BBC […]
First Wednesday
After the summer break First Wednesday will take place on the second Wednesday of the month. But, as always, we will be bringing together an informed panel to discuss the story of the moment in a public meeting hosted by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House.
FULLY BOOKED Stumbling Over Truth: The inside story of the sexed-up dossier, Hutton and the BBC
It has been ten years since the publication of the “September Dossier”, part of an ongoing investigation by the government into weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The following year, on 29 May, the then BBC defence correspondent Andrew Gilligan reported on Radio 4’s Today programme that he had been told by an unnamed source […]
What will Lord Justice Leveson conclude about the future of the British press?
As hearings come to a close and Lord Justice Leveson begins his report we will be holding a special event in association with Index on Censorship to discuss what we have learned and the key issues Leveson will be tackling in his report.
#FCBBCA: In conversation with Yosri Fouda – Egypt after Mubarak
Renowned Arab journalist Yosri Fouda will be discussing the events that led him to this conclusion in the wake of President Hosni Mubarak’s downfall and discussing how the Egyptian people have responded to the life sentence handed down to Mubarak for complicity in the deaths of protesters and their expectations following the presidential elections.
FULLY BOOKED #FCBBCA: In conversation with Yosri Fouda – Egypt after Mubarak
Renowned Arab journalist Yosri Fouda will be joining us in conversation with senior BBC presenter and special correspondent Lyse Doucet for this special event, post elections we will be asking what lies ahead for the people of Egypt and its new leader.
Diaries of the Syrian revolution with Samar Yazbek
As killings continue and Syria’s future remains in the balance we will be joined by Syrian novelist and journalist Samar Yazbek who will be reflecting on her experience of the uprising and her hopes for her country.
THIRD PARTY SCREENING: Why did Chut Wutty die? Logging and killings in Cambodia and beyond
THIRD PARTY EVENT ORGANISED BY GLOBAL WITNESS
On April 26th, Cambodian anti-logging activist Chut Wutty was killed by military police near one of the protected areas he was monitoring. The shooting was one of the most shocking episodes in the fierce battle to save the country’s forests from destruction by powerful, corrupt elites who have accumulated vast wealth from their plunder while the people remain devastatingly poor.
Insight with Maajid Nawaz: My Journey from Islamist Extremism to a Democratic Awakening
Having journeyed into and out of Islamic extremism Maajid Nawaz remains a Muslim but is a leading critic of his former Islamist ideological dogma. He will be joining us to discuss this journey and the work he now does educating young people about democracy, undoing everything he had once been prepared to die for.
In conversation with Hamid Dabashi: The Arab Spring – The End of Postcolonialism
Renowned author and academic Hamid Dabashi will be joining us to share his reflections on the Arab Spring that challenge current thinking about ‘the Middle East’ and propose a re-imagining the moral map of the region.
The challenges ahead for Egypt’s first democratically elected president
Report by Jonathan Couturier Mohammed Mursi has become Egypt’s first democratically elected president – but while he may have been chosen as the people’s representative, the country still has to contend with the powerful Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who may thwart any attempt at change. The panel was divided over Mursi’s ability […]
First Wednesday
Join us with Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House and a panel of experts, commentators and journalists to discuss the top story of the moment. This monthly event gives you the opportunity to hear from and question those with an informed knowledge of the issue.
The subject of debate will be announced on Monday, 25 June.
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: What does the result of Egypt’s Presidential election mean for the country and the region?
Join us with a panel of experts to examine the challenges Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Mursi will face at home and abroad and whether he will keep to his promise of being a leader for all Egyptians.
Mexico’s drugs war and the challenges facing its new President
Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon initiated a large scale crackdown on drug cartels in 2006 funded by millions of dollars in US military aid, the death toll in the country is believed to have reached 50,000 or more. Join us to discuss the different forces at play in this long and bloody war and if the efforts of the US and Mexican governments to break up and destroy the drug cartels can succeed.
THIRD PARTY EVENT: The future of newsgathering and the changing media landscape
Moderated by BBC television and radio presenter Nikki Bedi, Paul Lewis (Guardian), Matthew Eltringham (BBC CoJo), Mark Evans (Sky News HD), Gavin Sheppard (Media Trust), Ravin Sampat (Blottr) will be debating the future of newsgathering and the changing media landscape in a live panel discussion, in partnership with Media Trust.
FULLY BOOKED Reflections with John Pilger
In association with BBC College of Journalism
Renowned investigative journalist, author and documentary film-maker John Pilger will be joining us in conversation with broadcaster, journalist and writer Charles Glass to look back on half a century of reporting from around the world.
Cyber snooping: A threat to freedom or a necessary safeguard?
External event held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Abermarle St, London W1S 4BS.
How much freedom should the police and intelligence agencies be given to monitor cyber activity? Is cyber surveillance a threat to the public’s civil liberties or necessary to keep them safe? Join us to discuss whether a balance can be struck?
FULLY BOOKED Cyber snooping: A threat to freedom or a necessary safeguard?
This event will take place at the Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1JG.
How much freedom should the police and intelligence agencies be given to monitor cyber activity? Is cyber surveillance a threat to the public’s civil liberties or necessary to keep them safe? Join us to discuss whether a balance can be struck?
Who can prevent an Afghan civil war?
Posted by Nigel Wilson In a week that’s seen three “green on blue” attacks in Afghanistan, a divided panel came together to unpick the finer details of the country’s impending challenges. With foreign troops preparing to leave in 2014, the spectre looming over Afghanistan is a return to civil war. The expert panel debated whether […]
Can the Afghan National Army prevent civil war?
Chatham House rule applies to this event.
In 2014 America’s longest war will be over but what will become of the Afghan people? Join us as we ask whether the Afghan National Army can to keep the country from civil war or whether it is destined to see a similar scenario to what followed the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.