19-21 September, Liverpool

The Foreign Policy Centre will be hosting a programme of five fringe events at this year's Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Liverpool, with speakers including: Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP, Rt Hon Michael Moore MP (tbc), Jo Swinson MP, Tim Farron MP and Andrew Duff MEP, amongst others. Please see the flyer below for more detailed information about speakers, themes and venues. The events are open to all and there is no need to pre-register.

Download FPC Fringe Programme - Liberal Democrat Party Conference (240 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

26-29 September, Manchester

The Foreign Policy Centre will be hosting a programme of four fringe events at this year's Labour Party Conference in Manchester, with speakers including: Gareth Thomas MP, Shadow DfID Minister; Emily Thornberry MP, Shadow DECC Minister; and Rt Hon Lord Paul Boateng, amongst others. Please see the flyer below for further details about speakers, themes and venues. The events are open to all (though some venues may need Conference accreditation - please check the flyer) and there is no need to pre-register.

Download FPC Fringe Programme - Labour Party Conference 2010 (200 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

3-5 October, Birmingham

The Foreign Policy Centre will be hosting five fringe events at this year's Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, with speakers including: Lord Jonathan Marland, DECC Minister and Stephen O'Brien MP, DfID Minister, amongst others. Please see the flyer below for further details of speakers, themes and venues. The events are open to all (though some venues may need Conference accreditation - please check the flyer). There is no need to pre-register.

Download FPC Fringe Programme - Conservative Party Conference 2010 (260 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

By Josephine Osikena. Source: This is Africa

Africa is feeling the full impact of the global economic slowdown. The downturn provides invaluable opportunities for the UK, especially in the context of the recent G20 summit, to drive action on three fronts - social protection, IMF reform and tax justice - that will benefit poor countries.

Full text 

By Niall Ahern.

After 26 years and with over 70,000 deaths, the war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has ended. Footage of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the Tiger's dead leader across news channels and the internet has initiated street parties across the capital Colombo as some citizens, who have previously only known war, ponder the prospect of peace at last. In President Rajapaksa's victory speech to Parliament, he declared: 'Today we have been able to liberate the entire country from the clutches of terrorism. We have been able to defeat one of the most heinous terrorist groups in the world.' What President Rajapaksa says is true. The Tigers have been carrying out attacks over land and sea since the war began in 1983. In more recent years, suicide bombings have become a notorious feature of the Tigers' strategy. Over the course of the war, they successfully set up and ran a separate administration in the north and east of the island which we only got some glimpse of when the army liberated Kilinochchi earlier this year.

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By Thiago de Aragao.

Nobody should be surprised at the result of the referendum on autonomy held on Sunday, May 04, in the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The highly anticipated "Yes" victory, to be confirmed by the end of the week when the vote's official results are due to be released, has led to reactions by Bolivia's central government and by the Santa Cruz government too, which did not expect a different result.

Full text 

in 'US Strategy in Africa' Ed. D.Francis

Josephine Osikena

Download 'Geopolitics beyond Washington?' by Josephine Osikena (310 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

The US Government launched Africa Command (AFRICOM) on 1 October 2008. But how relevant is AFRICOM for Africans and Africa? To what extent is Africa's response to AFRICOM and broader US strategic interests, influenced and challenged by Africa's alliances with new global centres of power beyond Washington, who have competing motives and approaches to development and security? What are the implications of all this for US policy-makers?

This new article by FPC Democracy and Development director Josephine Osikena, published in 'US Strategy in Africa: Africom, Terrorism and Security Challenges' edited by Prof David J Francis of Bradford University, explores the challenges associated with AFRICOM's predominant focus on the militarisation of African security, by surveying examples of African partnerships with non-OECD actors, including: Brazil in the sphere of social development; India in terms of self-determination, sovereignty and global governance; China with regard to economic growth, particularly in the areas of commodities and infrastructural development; and finally, the emerging role that Africa has begun to play regarding food security in the Middle East.

In conclusion, the article raises a number of questions for US policymakers to consider, including: how, in a changing world with the rise of new centres of power, might US-Africa policy better connect with African people and African governments? How might a more informed and coherent US approach better serve Africa's own development and security agendas, as well as secure strategic US interests on the continent? And, indeed, it asks if this is even possible.

• Purchase 'US Strategy in Africa' by Prof David J Francis
• More from the Routledge Global Security Studies series
• University of Bradford - Department of Peace Studies

Josephine Osikena

Download Women & Children First: Leadership and the HIV & AIDS Crisis (470 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

Throughout 2008, the Foreign Policy Centre, with the support of Abbott, hosted a series of three expert roundtable discussions. The series brought together small groups of experts and specialists from government, the media, academia, the medical profession, local and international civil society, public bodies and institutions, the private sector and representatives from the diplomatic community in London. Together they explored the challenges faced by women and children, who often experience the effects of the HIV & AIDS epidemic more severely than men, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara. The areas of discussion included: building sustainable healthcare systems, child survival and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and overcoming the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV & AIDS.

This new FPC report brings together some of the key findings and conclusions drawn from the roundtables, as well as from the relevant literature, and makes some concrete recommendations for action.

Feng Zhang

In association with Coca-Cola Great Britain

Download the background paper (140 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

This is an initial background paper to accompany the FPC project on Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Markets in association with Coca-Cola Great Britain.

Date: Tuesday 16 March

Time: 12.00-1.30PM

Venue: Committee Room 18, House of Commons, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA (use Cromwell Green visitors' entrance)

Speaker: His Royal Highness Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, South Africa

Chair: Rt Hon Paul Boateng, Former British High Commissioner to South Africa

2010 represents a momentous year for the Republic of South Africa. It is marked by the twentieth anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela and the ambassadorial role the country will play as it becomes the first African nation to host the FIFA World Cup. Beyond the fanfare and euphoria of these important historic events, what significant legacies does this provide as a launch pad to continue to build ongoing transformation and renewal domestically and across the wider continent? What is the impact of ancient African tribes and nations whose cultures, customs and values have had a longstanding role in shaping local governance and community advocacy? How do these ancient traditions co-exist in South Africa's young democracy? In an FPC public lecture to be addressed by His Royal Highness Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation in South Africa, these and many other issues will be explored.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by email to: events@fpc.org.uk

Download Invitation: Governance and leadership in Africa - Tue 16 Mar (220 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

Date: Saturday 13 June at 11.15am

Venue: Institute of Education, London

Speakers:

• Richard Howitt MEP, Labour MEP for the East of England
• John Evans, General Secretary, Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• Claire Melamed, Head of Policy Coordination, ActionAid
• Mark Ashurst, Director, Africa Research Institute

This year's Compass National and Robin Cook Memorial Conference took place on Saturday 13 June at the Institute of Education and was themed around building a new political and economic settlement for the 21st century with democracy, equality and sustainability at its heart. The key purpose of the event was to make the case that there can be 'No Turning Back' to the failed ideas of the free market consensus.

The Foreign Policy Centre hosted a break-out session entitled 'Tax justice: The missing link in the fight against poverty?'

Date: Tuesday 5 May 2009, 6.00-8.00pm

Venue: Committee Room 11, Palace of Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

Speaker: Ivan Lewis MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development

Chair: Stephen Twigg, Director, Foreign Policy Centre

The Foreign Policy Centre, with the support of Abbott, hosted a series of three expert roundtable discussions during 2008, to discuss and identify concrete and practical ways in which the lives of African women and girls affected by HIV & AIDS could be transformed. The areas of discussion and analysis included: building sustainable healthcare systems, the prevention of mother-to-child transmission and child survival, and overcoming stigma and discrimination.

This event acted as the launch for a new FPC report which brings together the discussions and conclusions from all three roundtables, and provided an opportunity to discuss the findings. Ivan Lewis MP, the DFID Minister provided a keynote speech and contributions were also supplied by some of the roundtable participants.

The report can be found at: http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/1042.pdf

Download Ivan Lewis MP - Keynote speech (30 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)