Development
Funding Education for Syrian Child Refugees – with Gordon Brown, Julia Gillard & Kevin Watkins
More than 20 global leaders – including former presidents, prime ministers and Nobel Prize winners – will meet in London on 23 January to champion the world’s young people by bidding to reverse a dangerous decline in financing for education, particularly in conflict zones.
Following this meeting, the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, Rt Hon Gordon Brown; the chair of the Global Partnership for Education and former Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard; and the the head of the Overseas Development Institute, Kevin Watkins, will be in conversation at the Frontline Club. They will discuss how the international community must fund 1 million school places for Syrian refugee children. The event takes place just 10 days ahead of a major United Nations-sponsored Syria relief funding conference, also being held in London.
Spies, Secrets and Lies: How Do Yesterday’s and Today’s Censors Compare?
If you want to learn how bananas helped a journalist smuggle banned magazines into eastern Europe, or how information was passed around via lipstick in Pinochet’s Chile, then join Index on Censorship for the launch of Spies, Secrets and Lies – our latest magazine featuring stories of censorship and ingenious efforts to evade it.
The Cost of Corruption
Across much of the world people face a daily battle with corruption. We will be joined by Sarah Chayes and Tom Burgis, whose investigations have taken them deep into the workings of corrupt systems across Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere. From the local power brokers to the international corporations, they will be discussing what they discovered about how corrupt systems operate, the implications locally and globally, and what can be done to more effectively tackle them.
Embedding with Aid Agencies: Editorial Integrity and Security Risks
Shrinking editorial budgets have resulted in journalists increasingly turning to aid agencies to cover stories. In conflict and disaster zones, aid agencies often have the local knowledge and access to affected communities. Journalists need these stories, while aid agencies are equally in need of the media coverage. Although it appears to be an ideal partnership, this kind of embedded journalism raises significant editorial and security questions.
Documenting Disasters: Ten years on from the Indian Ocean tsunami
On Boxing Day 2004, a deadly tsunami originating in the Indian Ocean struck Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The results were devastating: almost 250,000 people died and scenes of the tsunami striking and the aftermath dominated the news. It became one of the most well-documented natural disasters in history. For a two-part evening, in partnership with Christian Aid and featuring work by Tim Hetherington, we will be reflecting on the developments we have seen since the Indian Ocean tsunami and how communication around natural disasters has evolved.
Modern Day Slavery: How to Tackle Human Trafficking
Desperate for a better life, men, women and children risk perilous journeys for the promise of prosperity in the UK, Europe or America. Those who manage to reach their destination will often find themselves sold into a life of sexual exploitation, forced labour, street crime and domestic servitude. Ahead of the Thomson Reuters Foundation Trust Women conference, at which this subject will be discussed extensively, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine how we can tackle the problem of human trafficking.
Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence in Conflict
On 10 June, world leaders and NGOs will gather in London for a global summit with the aim to create “irreversible momentum against sexual violence in conflict and practical action that impacts those on the ground”. Ahead of the summit, we will be joined by a panel of speakers who have been working towards this aim for many years. They will be discussing what needs to be done to make it a reality.
From the Frontline: Defending Women’s Rights from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe
This event is organised by Human Rights Watch.
Join The Guardian’s Liz Ford and members of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch in a discussion about their work and the challenges they face in working to protect the rights and improve the lives of women and girls around the world.
The Fog of Peace
In war there is rarely a single action or answer that will bring peace. As we are seeing with the conflict in Syria, the process of negotiation and resolution is incredibly complex. We will be joined by the authors of a new book, The Fog of Peace: The Human Face of Conflict Resolution, to offer an insight into psychological theories, geopolitical realities and first-hand peace-making experience.
Reconstructing Haiti
On 12 January 2010 the deadliest earthquake ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere hit Haiti, claiming between 230,000 and 300,000 lives. We will be joined by a panel of experts from the humanitarian aid community and reporters who covered the earthquake and the subsequent reconstruction efforts, to examine why – after three years and $15.3 billion – the country is still in crisis.
Is it a disaster if the cameras are not there?
Organised by ShelterBox
Join us for a panel debate, chaired by Clive Jones, Chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee (and ITV News) with Sarah Whitehead of Sky News, DFID’s Dylan Winder, and Ross Preston, Head of Operations for international disaster relief charity, ShelterBox.
Covering poverty in an indifferent world
Nearly 30 years on from Michael Buerk’s reporting from the famine in Ethiopia and the subsequent Live Aid, can a global audience be galvanised to act?
Nine years on is the UN still failing Darfur?
Since the start of the 2003 conflict in Darfur, questions have been raised about the role played by the United Nations and the viability of its mandate.
Join us at the Frontline Club to discuss the actions of the UN and whether they are still failing Darfur.
Aid and the Media
In the third of this series of events looking at aid and development we will be examining the often troubled relationship between the media and aid agencies. With an expert panel we will be discussing how the media and aid agencies work together and the problems that arise.
Aid and Accountability
Humanitarianism has become a multi billion dollar business, but who is holding it to account? Join us at the Frontline Club with an expert panel to discuss where the money goes. Is there a need for a greater level of transparency and accountability? What systems are in place for this and are they working? To what extent are there levels of corruption in the system and how can this be addressed? Is aid targeted to the greatest effectiveness?
What now for the international development budget?
In the first of a series of events looking at international development and the aid industry we will be examining the UK international development budget and the implications for foreign aid. What is the coalition government’s policy towards the development budget and what impact will the proposed changes have on countries around the world?