Frontline Club
Part 2: Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential elections and blood minerals
Watch the event here. By Thomas Lowe Many of the challenges facing Congo stem from its size, mineral wealth and its social complexity. The result of the Congo elections says Mary Harper, Africa Editor at BBC World Service will not be known for months, yet an incredible 18,000 candidates have put themselves forward. One key question […]
Part 1: Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential elections and blood minerals
Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Natricia Duncan As we see landmark election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the discussion at the Frontline Club turned to the way forward for this troubled nation. Chaired by Mary Harper, Africa Editor at the BBC World Service, who opened by asking: “Why a […]
FULLY BOOKED Democratic Republic of Congo: Presidential elections and blood minerals
The Presidential Elections of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are due to take place at the end of November and current President, Joseph Kabila, is standing again for what could end up being a 15 year presidency. Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the possible outcome of the Presidential election and what it might mean for the country
Frontline watches the rise and fall of Yugoslavian film in Cinema Komunisto
By William Turvill The end of the Frontline Club’s screening season was marked, on Sunday 27 November, with the showing of Cinema Komunisto, featuring a subsequent question and answer discussion led by one of the film’s producers, Iva Plemic. The film, created by a group of young filmmakers from Serbia, documents the creation and collapse […]
Frontline Club Annual Party and Awards – MEMBERS ONLY
As another year comes to a close we warmly invite our members to join us to celebrate our eighth anniversary.
An opportunity to enjoy the company of the Club’s members and also a great night to introduce friends and colleagues who are interested in joining, so please bring a guest. Complimentary drinks will be available courtesy of our generous sponsors, Chivas.
During the evening there will be a presentation of the Frontline Journalism Awards recognising excellence in journalism, which for the first time have been nominated by Frontline Club members. An auction will also be held in aid of the Fixers’ Fund.
Kashmir: South Asia’s Palestine?
The former Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, is seen by many as South Asia’s Palestinian counterpart. Bordered by Pakistan, India, China and Afghanistan, each country has laid claim to the territory that lies in the foothills of the Himalayas. It has been caught between continuous contestation of borders and autonomy since the partition of British India.
Join us at the Frontline Club with an expert panel to discuss where Kashmir stands in its fight for freedom and the options that lay before it.
Announcing the winners of the Frontline Club journalism awards 2011
The Frontline Club has announced the winners of the Frontline Club Award and the Frontline Memorial Tribute Award for excellence in journalism, to be presented by Allan Little on Wednesday 23 November at the Annual Party and Awards.
Reflections: Alex Crawford
Download this episode View in iTunes Watch the event here. By Thomas Lowe Three time winner of the Royal Television Society Journalist of the year award, Sky special correspondent Alex Crawford spoke on trauma, risk, the tools of her trade and why she would rather eat her own liver than be a presenter. The […]
FULLY BOOKED Reflections: Alex Crawford
Alex Crawford‘s coverage from Libya won her widespread praise after she travelled into the conflict with rebel forces. The first journalist to make it into the city of Tripoli after it fell to rebel forces, she coloured her career further with the occasional arrest, detainment, bullet, IED, tear-gassing and mortar shell.
She will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with former BBC executive Vin Ray to take a look back over her career as a foreign correspondent.
Part 2 – Jonathan Steele on 30 years in Afghanistan and the foreign correspondent’s craft
By Thomas Lowe Arriving in the Deep South of the United States in 1964, Jonathan Steele witnessed the appalling treatment of black Americans. Almost five decades on, The Guardian‘s foreign correspondent says that ‘bearing witness’ to happenings in places as disparate as El Salvador, Russia and Afghanistan still drives his journalism. With Tom Finn, the […]
Jonathan Steele on a career that began with ‘an enormous dose of luck’
Watch the event here. By Olivia Heath Award-winning journalist Jonathan Steele discussed his views on the war in Afghanistan and the changing role of the foreign correspondent on Tuesday night at the Frontline Club. In conversation with freelance journalist Tom Finn, The Guardian correspondent recalled his reportage of memorable global events covered for the Guardian. His first […]
Insight with Jonathan Steele: The craft of the foreign correspondent
Jonathan Steele has been covering global events for the Guardian for over forty years. From the civil rights movement in Mississippi and Alabama to his extensive coverage of the past 30 years of Afghan history, his work has won him recognition as one of the greatest foreign correspondents of his generation.
He will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with freelance journalist Tom Finn who is currently based in Sana’a, Yemen to reflect on his 40-year career, which has taken him to Eastern Europe, Washington correspondent and Kabul, Afghanistan throughout the Soviet period until 1992.
Screening – Africa Investigates
Africa Investigates launch event with award winning African journalists and investigators Sorious Samura and Anas Aremeyaw Anas together with Diarmuid Jeffreys of Al Jazeera and Ron McCullagh of Insight News TV.
FULLY BOOKED First Wednesday: #Occupy – What do they want?
What began in the financial district of New York City in mid September under the name Occupy Wall Street has become a movement that is spreading across the globe. But what do they want and how do they intend to achieve their goals? Are their aims realistic? Can they have any impact?
Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the aims and objectives of the Occupy movement and to discuss whether it can bring about any change.
POSTPONED The Arab Spring: Have the torturers been stopped?
The brutal torture and murder of Khaled Said by Egyptian police in June 2010 and the Facebook page We Are All Khaled Said served as a catalyst to the uprising that eventually ousted president Hosni Mubarak in February this year.
The message the Egyptian people were sending was that they were no longer prepared to live under a regime that used torture as a weapon against dissent.
A panel of experts will be discussing the importance of resistance to the use of torture by authoritarian regimes in the protests of the Arab Spring.
FULLY BOOKED Russia – A mafia state?
In 2007 Luke Harding arrived in Moscow to take up a new job as a correspondent for The Guardian. Not long after, mysterious agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB, broke into his flat. He was followed, bugged, and even summoned to Lefortovo, the FSB’s notorious prison.
Luke Harding will be joined by a panel at the Frontline Club to discuss his experiences as The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent and what they tell us about Russia today.
THIRD PARTY EVENT: Is Blue the New Green?
Overfishing and dying oceans are in the media spotlight as never before. Will it change anything?
‘End of the Line’, the film about overfishing, has been screened across the globe. Channel 4’s “Fish Fight’ series this year prompted a huge public response in the UK. London department store Selfridges’ “Project Ocean” event mixed scientists and royalty in discussing ocean issues. Celebrity chefs have taken up the cause, and stories about the dying oceans now seem to dominate environmental reporting by the media.
Will the increased spotlight on marine damage bring real change? Or is the ocean just the latest ‘fad’, as climate change issues fall out of favour with editors and politicians? Media, campaigning and policy experts will discuss the growing focus on ‘blue’ issues.
FULLY BOOKED THIRD PARTY EVENT: Inside Unreported World
To mark the launch of this Autumn’s Unreported World series, Channel 4 invite you to join Siobhan Sinnerton, Commissioning Editor for News & Current Affairs for an exclusive talk. With reporters Evan Williams, Seyi Rhodes, Jenny Kleeman, Oliver Steeds, Peter Oborne and Ramita Navai as they reveal the highlights, challenges and dangers of their extraordinary jobs.
FULLY BOOKED: Insight with Nawal El Saadawi
The internationally renowned Egyptian writer, novelist and activist Nawal El Saadawi will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with special correspondent and presenter for BBC News, Razia Iqbal on her 80th birthday to discuss her life’s work and the launch of a foundation that will embody the themes, ethos and characteristics that have shaped it.
Reporting conflict: competition, pressures and risks
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM
After the headlines trumpeting that Alex Crawford and Sky News were clear winners of the battle for reporting Tripoli, we will be taking stock of this recent chapter in covering modern warfare.
With a panel of newsroom executives and frontline journalists we will discuss how the conflict in Libya was reported and what its legacy is likely to be.
#FCBBCA: Should Israel fear the Arab spring?
Download this episode View in iTunes By Eva Dumontet Should Israel fear the Arab spring? When asked the same question, the majority of the audience agreed that Israel should be concerned about the changes that were taking place across the region. Yitzhak Lior stressed the “physical and psychological vulnerability” of Israel, while Miri Weingarten argued that […]
#FCBBCA Israel and the Arab Spring: will democracy bring peace?
By Thomas Lowe The focus of this lively and at times tempestuous debate was whether democracy would be the endpoint of the Arab Spring and how this would impact Israeli relations in the region. “Who could speak against democracy”? asked former Israeli Ambassador, Yitzhak Lior, it’s “easy” to deal with dictatorships” but despite the dangers “we will […]
#FCBBCA: Israel and the Arab spring
EXTERNAL EVENT HELD AT THE ROYAL INSITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC ARABIC
With leaders toppled in Tunisia and Egypt, continuing uprisings in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, the Arab world has seen tumultuous change in recent months. Where does all this upheaval leave Israel? We will be focusing on the response of Israel to the revolutions sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa.
With a panel of Israeli experts and journalists we will explore how Israel and its people view the demands for democracy which are ousting friends in the region such as President Hosni Mubarak.
Abdulnasser Gharem: Saudi Arabia – art and war
As both a conceptual artist and lieutenant colonel in the Saudi army, Abdulnasser Gharem is somewhat of an unusual figure. Described as the “rock star of Saudi contemporary art”, he recently made history when his installation Message/Messenger sold for a record price at auction in Dubai.
Abdulnasser Gharem will be joining us at the Frontline Club to discuss the inspiration behind his work, which is now in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture & Information. He will also reflect on how he reconciles being a soldier and an artist, shedding light on Saudi’s secretive society and culture.
First Wednesday: Where has war left the people of Afghanistan?
How do the Afghan people view the last ten years since the US-led invasion and how have their lives have been changed?
Is it just another chapter in nearly half a century of conflict and instability? Is civil war avoidable? Is there any hope for the future and what might that future look like?
Another opportunity to join in a lively public meeting, hosted by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House, bringing together experts and commentators and mixing their views with contributions from our audience.
Insight with Robert King: The Angola 3 and their fight for justice
Robert King the only free member of the Angola 3 will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with founder and director of Reprieve, Clive Stafford Smith to tell his story and discuss his life’s focus; to campaign against abuses in the criminal justice system and for the freedom of Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox who are now serving their 40th year in solitary confinement.
REACTIVE: The battle for press freedom in Iran
Almost two weeks after their arrest, little has been heard about the fate of the six Iranian filmmakers who are currently being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison with no access to their lawyers.
Accused of collaborating secretly with BBC Persian and illegally supplying content portraying Iran in a negative light, they have been condemned as “a group of terrorists, Bahais, communists and devil worshippers” by Iran’s Minister of Intelligence.
Join us at the Frontline Club for this reactive briefing to discuss the detainment of the filmmakers, the battle for press freedom in Iran and the regime’s relationship with foreign media.
Reflections: Martin Bell at the Frontline Club
Veteran war correspondent and winner of the Royal Television Society’s Reporter of the Year Award, Martin Bell has reported from over 80 countries and 11 wars in his time as a BBC journalist. Making his name in journalism for his work during the Vietnam war, and later on as an Independent MP for Tatton in 1997 during a landslide win against the Conservatives.
He will be joining former BBC executive Vin Ray to take a look back at his career as a journalist, MP and UNICEF Ambassador.
Bang Bang Bang: a special preview reading at the Frontline Club
A seasoned human rights defenders and her idealistic young colleague embark on a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. For Mathilde it’s an induction into a life less ordinary. For Sadhbh it’s back to madness and chaos away from her lover and London – exactly as she likes it.
A special preview reading of Bang Bang Bang, which is coming to the Royal Court Theatre in October.
David Carr in conversation with Richard Gizbert: The media machine
Drawing on their experiences working with two very different global media players, David Carr of the New York Times and Richard Gizbert of Al Jazeera English will be discussing the future of the news industry.
From the future of newspapers like the New York Times and whether they can adapt quickly enough to survive to the emergence of new business models offering alternative sources of funding. They will be addressing some of the big questions that are exercising many minds within the media.
A remarkable opportunity to debate the future of the news industry with two of its key players.