economy
Kleptoscope #4: Nigeria, London and the Dirty Cash Trail
Kleptoscope returns with an evening focussed on Nigeria, a country criticised by former Prime Minister David Cameron as “fantastically corrupt”. Chaired by investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, a panel of experts will address the roots of Nigerian corruption, ask why so much of the stolen money ends up in London, and discuss why more isn’t being done to give it back.
Covering Brexit: The View from Abroad
Of the many questions that remain to be addressed as Brexit negotiations commence are the status of EU nationals resident in the UK, and how Europeans will be economically and socially impacted by the UK’s exit of the EU. Meanwhile official reaction on the continent to the high court’s ruling on article 50 has been quiet, with national governments regarding the decision as an internal matter. We will be joined by EU correspondents and European journalists to discuss European reactions to Brexit negotiations and explore how UK press coverage matches up to sentiments on the continent.
Kleptoscope #3: Britain’s Offshore Islands
After two successful Kleptoscope talks discussing the former Soviet Union and the Middle East, we come closer to home, with an exploration of Britain’s offshore tax havens. The Channel Islands, and the various overseas territories in the Caribbean and elsewhere pay host to huge capital flows, as well as untold thousands of shell companies, but are they are bad as they are painted?
Kleptoscope #2: London’s Dirty Money
We are delighted to present the second talk in our series of events investigating corruption and dirty money in London: interrogating its origins, its launderers and how it gets spent. Hosted by investigative journalist Oliver Bullough, Kleptoscope unites journalists, campaigners, academics and others to discuss the latest research into the UK’s role as an enabler of global kleptocracy.
Breaking Point: The EU Referendum and its Aftermath
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she will trigger the formal Brexit negotiation process by the end of March 2017. Drawing on analysis of official and off-the-record meetings with senior politicians as well as with ordinary voters, we will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss where post-referendum Britain is heading, how we got here, and what lessons might be learned.
Screening: FREIGHTENED – The Real Price of Shipping + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Denis Delestrac.
FREIGHTENED – The Real Price of Shipping reveals in an audacious investigation the mechanics and perils of cargo shipping; an all-but-visible industry that relentlessly supplies 7 billion humans and holds the key to our economy, our environment and the very model of our civilisation.
“Times are Changing” But Little has Changed for Ordinary Cubans
Whilst institutional changes in Cuban foreign relations make headlines in global media, the daily-lives of ordinary people on the island are yet to see huge improvements.
Screening: Bloody Money + Q&A
UPDATE: Unfortunately, on account of legal challenges directed at the Frontline Club, this event will no longer include a screening of Bloody Money as originally advertised. The event will still be going ahead minus the screening – and promises to be a fascinating discussion on the wider issue of corruption in Ukraine featured three key experts in this field: presenter and journalist Oliver Bullough; executive director of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Daria Kaleniuk; and Shauna Leven, Global Witness’ Campaigns Director on corruption.
Screening: The Divide + Q&A
Inspired by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett’s best-selling book The Spirit Level, Katharine Round’s accomplished debut feature illustrates a more personal account of how inequality shapes our societies. The film travels across the world and into individual lives to see how broad economic shifts have shaped not only our physical circumstances, but also the way we think and what we believe in.
BBC Preview Screening: Inside Obama’s White House + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with series producer Norma Percy and producer/director Paul Mitchell, moderated by journalist and author Jonathan Freedland.
In this landmark series by Norma Percy, Brian Lapping and Paul Mitchell, four one-hour programmes capture key moments when policy was made, including contribution from Obama’s Chief of Staff and insiders within the administration.
Al Jazeera Preview Screening: Cuba for Sale + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with reporters Juliana Ruhfus, Seamus Mirodan and others.
Cuba was the first communist state to be created in the western hemisphere – it’s also the last one standing. The President insists that these measures are designed to preserve, rather than dismantle, Cuban socialism. But can he successfully open up the economy without betraying the promise of a classless society upon which the Cuban state was built? Juliana Ruhfus and Seamus Mirodan investigate.
Al Jazeera Preview Screening: Chinese Dreamland + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director David Borenstein.
The “Exotic Flavour Talent Agency” can turn a rural Chinese ghost town into a booming world-class city for the afternoon. Company CEO Suky and his assistant Yana organise attention-grabbing performances and talent shows in cooperation with property developers and local government officials to make real estate more appealing to potential buyers. In Chinese Dreamland, the success of Suky and Yana’s foreigner-focused talent agency is tied to questions concerning racial diversity and globalisation, as well as the sustainability of China’s rapid urban development.
Screening: Jungle Sisters + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Chloe Ruthven.
In 2008 the Indian Government launched an initiative to train 500 million of the rural poor to work in its growing industrial sector. Migrants from the rural areas of India now make up a significant percentage of the labour force in India. Seduced by the opportunity to be independent, many hopeful young women, like best friends Bhanu and Bhutu, try their luck working for garment factories, yet the women’s inexperience leaves them terribly susceptible to exploitation.
UK Premiere: Banking Nature + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Sandrine Feydel and Denis Delestrac.
Protecting our planet has become big business, with companies like Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase promoting new environmental markets. Investors buy up vast swathes of land, full of endangered species, to enable them to sell ‘nature credits’. Companies whose actions destroy the environment are now obliged to buy these credits and new financial centres have sprung up, specialising in this trade. In Banking Nature, directors Sardine Feydel and Denis Delestrac investigate the commercialisation of the natural world.
Erdogan lined up for victory in presidential polls
By Richard Nield Turkey’s prime minister Racep Tayyip Erdogan will win next month’s presidential elections and become the country’s first directly elected president, according to a panel of experts assembled at the Frontline Club on 22 July 2014. The Frontline Club event was chaired by Murat Nisancioglu, the head of Turkish Service at BBC Global […]
Tough road ahead for Egypt
By Richard Nield In the aftermath of victory for Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in recent presidential elections, Egypt’s government faces a huge challenge to unite a fragmented society behind difficult economic reforms, agreed a panel of experts speaking at the Frontline Club on 10 June 2014, chaired by Rasha Qandeel, presenter and journalist at BBC Arabic.
In Hock to the Oligarchs?
Standpoint magazine brings together a distinguished panel to debate Britain’s response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Iran: A New Chapter?
In June 2013, Hassan Rouhani was elected president of Iran, running with a mandate of “moderation and wisdom”. He promised to free political prisoners and guarantee civil rights, to return “dignity to the nation”. As dialogue with the US and other world powers continues to improve, we will be exploring the changes this new leader is enacting both on the international stage and within Iran.
Screening: The Queen of Versailles + Q&A
With the epic dimensions of a Shakespearean tragedy, The Queen of Versailles began as a documentary chronicling the excesses of America’s super-rich, but when in 2008 the global recession hit it became a disastrous riches to rags story. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Lauren Greenfield.
Four Horsemen – The Debate
Revealing the fundamental flaws in the economic system, new documentary Four Horsemen argues that although change has never been more urgently needed the conditions for it have never been more favourable. Join us with the film’s director Ross Ashcroft, co-author of the accompanying book Four Horsemen: The Survival Manual, Mark Braund, contributors and others to map out the argument for change.
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 29 August – 4 September
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 29 August to Sunday, 4 September from ForesightNews By Allan Williams Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega has until Monday to appeal against his extradition to Panama. The 77-year-old is currently serving a prison sentence in France after being convicted of money laundering in July 2010. On Tuesday […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 22- 28 August
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 22 August to Sunday, 28 August from ForesightNews By Jasper Smith As eurozone leaders continue efforts to counter turmoil in the financial markets, a team of inspectors from the IMF and EU are due to arrive in Athens on Monday to assess Greek efforts to sort […]
ForesightNews world briefing: upcoming events 15 – 21 August
A weekly round up of world events from Monday, 15 August to Sunday, 21 August from ForesightNews Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak returns to court on Monday. Along with his sons Alaa and Gamal he appears charged with premeditated murder in connection with the deaths of protesters during the 25 January revolution. Monday also sees the […]
Paul Mason in conversation with Sir David Hare: Has capitalism learned its lesson?
Join us for what should prove to be a fascinating discussion between BBC Newsnight’s Paul Mason and acclaimed playwright Sir David Hare, whose recent play The Power of Yes wrestled with the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.
POSTPONED: From budget cuts to riots in the street: How will Britain react to government spending cuts?
After the recession, now come the cuts. The UK is facing some of the most stringent public sector budget cuts since the Second World War. Will the UK population accept the austerity measures being ushered in or take to the streets to oppose them? Are scenes similar to those in Greece likely in our cities?
6,000 new jobless since December 2008
Fineko/abc.az reports that according to Arif Veliyev, the chief statistician of Azerbaijan 6,000 people have lost their jobs since December 2008. The report continues that "as of 1st February 2009 five registered unemployed persons claimed per vacancy in Azerbaijan against four ones in December and three ones in September of 2008." Keep in mind that […]