debate
Ethics and the Law: Journalists and International Criminal Tribunals
Debating the legal and ethical issues encountered by journalists when they are asked, sometimes ordered, to testify in international criminal tribunals.
Thinking Allowed 2: Good vs Bad Nationalism
Our second in the series ‘Thinking Allowed’ 2 speakers debate over 1 question, this time can there be ‘good’ and ‘bad’ nationalism?
Kleptoscope Two: The Alchemy of Making Money from Sand
The second evening in the Kleptoscope series explored the illicit wealth originating from the Middle East that flows through the capital’s economy.
Breaking Point: The EU Referendum and its Aftermath
There are some things about Brexit that we simply can’t know. No amount of opinion pieces, panel discussions, or leaked memos will change that. As Iain Macwhirter, a political commentator for the Herald and Sunday Herald, quipped, ‘We all know that Brexit means Brexit, but nobody knows what Brexit means!’ So, what does Brexit mean?
Groundtruth: 0% of US TV coverage of the election had to do with policy
Just days before the result of the 2016 US Presidential Election, Boston-based foreign news organisation GroundTruth took part in a panel debate on the question of media credibility. In town for a team meeting, Charles Sennott and Gary Knight, founders of GroundTruth, shared their commitment to training up-and-coming talent in global correspondents in an age when […]
The Frontline Club and Monocle 24 present: Crisis in the Mediterranean
War, economic crisis, political repression and environmental degradation are pushing increasing numbers of people to make the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. We will be bringing together a panel of experts to answer your questions about the unfolding crisis. We will be examining the root causes of the crisis and looking at the measures that need to be taken to avoid the 30,000 deaths the IOM predicts.
UK’s Laws for Foreign Fighters Returning from Syria Need Nuance
By Graham Lanktree At the Frontline Club on 14 January, Shiraz Maher, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ISCR) at King’s College; Moazzam Begg, a former Guantánamo Bay prisoner turned activist with the UK group Cage; and former MI6 director of global counter-terrorism Richard Barrett, now […]
First Wednesday: Africa’s Islamic State?
Last month, when the world’s attention was focused on the attacks in France, reports emerged that as many as 2,000 people had been killed in the northeast Nigerian town of Baga. This attack comes as part of an increased surge in violence linked to Boko Haram.
As Nigeria gears up for a presidential election on 14 February, we will be exploring what is being done to combat Boko Haram and why these efforts seem to be failing.
Dirty Truths: Exploring “messy cinema” with the True/False Film Fest
Every year, the True/False Film Festival explores films that cross borders, break the existing rules and push the form forward. This so-called “messy cinema” experiments with re-enactments, highlights complicated filmmaker/protagonist relationships and challenges assumptions about ‘truth’. Join festival co-founder David Wilson, and past True/False filmmakers Sarah Gavron, Kevin Macdonald and Beadie Finzi, as we will thrust our hands in the muck and get a little dirty as we debate the complexities of nonfiction and imagine a messier future.
First Wednesday: The Fight Against Ebola
The World Health Organisation has described the Ebola epidemic in West Africa as “unparalleled in modern times”. In the largest and most complex outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976, more than 3,000 people have died. We will be joined by a panel of experts to take a view of the situation on the ground, how Ebola is being combated and what more needs to be done. We will also be looking at the stigma that surrounds the virus and the long-term impact this outbreak will have on the region.
Syrian Snapshots: We started with hope and ended with despair
By Greta Hofmann At the screening of Syria – Snapshots of History in the Making on Thursday 29 May at the Frontline Club, host Vaughan Smith was joined by Abounaddara Films producer Charif Kiwan, former Le Monde editor and founder of the WARM Foundation Remy Ourdan, and photographers Patrick Chauvel and Paul Lowe, for a pre-screening discussion as well as a […]
First Wednesday: The Hunt for Nigeria’s Missing Schoolgirls
The recent abduction by militant Islamist group Boko Haram of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls sparked global outrage, leading to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and military assistance from Britain, the US, France and China. With attacks in northern Nigeria on the increase we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the emergence of Boko Haram and what is being done to combat them.
First Wednesday: Has NSA spying “reached too far”?
The latest revelations from whistleblower Edward Snowden have further exposed the extent of the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance. As pressure mounts on Washington and the release of information continues, join us to explore what the files reveal and the consequences of this diplomatic storm. We will be examining the actions of the intelligence services and asking whether they are aligned with protecting national security or as US Secretary of State John Kerry has said, that in some cases their “actions have reached too far”.
First Wednesday: Kenya’s fight against al-Shabaab
On 21 September Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab launched a devastating attack on a shopping centre in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. For October’s First Wednesday we will be joined by a panel of experts and journalists to discuss how the Kenyan government will respond and what the implications will be in the region. We will be examining the threat posed by al-Shabaab in the neighbouring countries and further afield, and exploring their origins and motivations.
First Wednesday: Crossing the Red Line
As the rhetoric about intervention in Syria escalates, we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the arguments for and against, and the implications of action or inaction.
Interested in the Iranian election? Make sure you’re at the Frontline Club in June
On 14 June Iranians will go to to the polls to vote for a new president. The last presidential election in 2009 saw mass protest on the streets, resulting in a violent crackdown. Throughout June, in association with BBC Persian, we will be joined by experts, journalists and commentators to make sure you are up […]
First Wednesday: Who will be the next president of Iran and why does it matter?
On 14 June Iranians will go to to the polls to vote for a president to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but what significance does this election hold? Join us to analyse the approaching election, the main players and what the result will mean for the future of Iran.
Afghani children held hostage in the drug trade
By Nishat Ahmed Children pay the heaviest price for Afghanistan’s drugs trade – according to a powerful account by journalist Najibullah Quraishi and producer Jamie Doran in their documentary Opium Brides. Opening to a packed screening at the Frontline Club on Friday 7 March, the film exposed the failure of the Afghan government and its […]
First Wednesday: Pakistan goes to the polls
As Pakistan gears up for critically important elections, we are joined by a panel of experts who will be discussing the significance of this election and analysing the candidates, their alliances and policies.
A pattern of bloodshed
By Nishat Ahmed Syria’s continually deteriorating situation set the tone for January’s First Wednesday – the first panel debate of the year. The group, chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, included Melissa Fleming, spokesperson of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); Ausama Monajed, the executive director the the London-based Strategic Research […]
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: Will 2013 see an end to the conflict in Syria?
March 2013 will mark two years since the conflict in Syria began. The UN has said it believes the fighting has now cost the lives of at least 60,000 people. We will be bringing together an expert panel to update you on the situation in the country, and to look ahead at the prospects for 2013.
Leveson’s legacy and the future for the British press
As Lord Justice Leveson reports we will be bringing together a reactive debate to discuss the findings of the report and what it will mean for the future of the British press.
Cruel Britannia: A Secret History of Torture
Discussing Britain’s record on involvement in the use of torture and asking whether it is to time to challenge the official line that the UK does not ‘participate in, solicit, encourage or condone’ torture.
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?
#FCBBCA Cyber snooping: In whose hands should internet governance be entrusted?
By Doug Brown A packed audience filled the Frontline Club forum on 23rd October to hear a panel tackle the question: In whose hands should internet governance be entrusted? Chaired by the Chief Executive of Index on Censorship Kirsty Hughes the event, in association with BBC Arabic, featured: Icelandic MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir; developer for The Tor Project, Jacob Appelbaum; independent media technology […]
#FCBBCA Cyber snooping: In whose hands should internet governance be entrusted?
In Iran it is reported that the government are building a national intranet that adheres to Islamic values and is isolated from the World Wide Web, in the UK the government is proposing a communications bill that will see an increase in monitoring of emails and social media by the police and intelligence agencies’.
With companies’ interests lying in the commercial gains of data and governments’ in the ability to monitor populations, join us as we ask to whose hands internet governance should be entrusted.
What does the Marikana massacre mean for South Africa?
The Marikana miners’ strike in South Africa which resulted in the shooting dead of 34 workers by police is becoming a pivotal moment in South Africa’s post-apartheid history. We will be joined by a panel of experts to discuss the root causes in society and politics in South Africa that lead to the Marikana massacre.
FULLY BOOKED Communicating about Syria – A humanitarian perspective
The humanitarian situation in Syria has dramatically worsened over the past weeks and the plight of the Syrian people has drawn international attention and concern as well as condemnation of the Syrian regime.
Join us to discuss the humanitarian efforts being made in Syria and the many challenges that are faced. How do journalists and humanitarian agencies share information in such a complex conflict situation? We will analyse the balance between openness and the ability to continue to provide vital assistance on the ground in a conflict such as that in Syria.
Videos and violence – Defending Islam and free speech
By Nigel Wilson The online publication of the Innocence of Muslims video was the catalyst for violent and at times deadly protests in some countries. In the UK the series of events has pushed debates on freedom of expression and cultural sensitivity into the mainstream. For October’s First Wednesday an expert panel took to the […]