The Frontline Club

Tuesday 5 February 2013

This event is organised by Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Followed by a drinks reception.

Egypt’s revolutionary uprising in 2011 raised important questions about the kind of journalism that would be viable in the country’s changing political dynamics.

Suddenly the output of bloggers, online radio and social media news operations, which had all formed part of the groundswell of action against dictatorship and repression, posed an explicit challenge to journalists in state-run and commercial media companies who were more directly subject to government controls.

In this launch event for her new book, Naomi Sakr looks at recent transformations in Egyptian journalism, exploring diverse approaches to converged media and the place of participatory cross-media networks in expanding and developing the country’s body of professional journalists.

Naomi Sakr will present her new book Transformations in Egyptian Journalism: Perspectives on News Work after the January 25 Revolution.

With:

Naomi Sakr, Professor of Media Policy at the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI), University of Westminster, and Director of the CAMRI Arab Media Centre.

Dr Walter Armbrust, Hourani Fellow and University Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. He is a cultural anthropologist whose research interests focus on popular culture and mass media in the Middle East. He is the author of Mass Culture and Modernism in Egypt, and editor of Mass Mediations: New Approaches to Popular Culture in the Middle East and Beyond. Dr Armbrust is currently working on a cultural history of the Egyptian cinema.

Mustafa Menshawy, formerly the Cairo-based BBC Arabic Service correspondent from the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution. He also reported from Libya before the fall of the Gaddafi regime. Menshawy won the Lorenzo Natali Prize for the best worldwide investigative journalism articles in 2006 and was shortlisted for the Kari Blackburn New Talent Award in 2008. He reported from areas far afield such as India and Thailand. He produced two documentaries from the BBC including a controversial one on the Financial Crisis in Dubai. Menshawy is now in London finishing his PhD on cultural claims of collective memory.

At what stage are peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and what role is the international community playing?

Following recent reports of talks to discuss peace proposals aimed at ending the fighting in London we will be looking at the peace process and examining what the price will be for people in Afghanistan.

What are the demands of the Taliban and what will it mean for the people of Afghanistan, including women who have until now been left out of the peace process?

Chaired by David Loyn, BBC international development correspondent.

With:

Rachel Reid, Afghanistan researcher fro Human Rights Watch;

Shaykh Abdullah Anas Bashir, founder of The TARUF Association and a veteran of the Afghan Jihad;

Karen Pierce, FCO Director for South Asia and Afghanistan and UK SRAP;

Emal Pasarly, multimedia editor for the BBC Pashto-Persian service.

At what stage are peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban and what role is the international community playing?

Following recent reports of talks to discuss peace proposals aimed at ending the fighting in London we will be looking at the peace process and examining what the price will be for people in Afghanistan.

What are the demands of the Taliban and what will it mean for the people of Afghanistan, including women who have until now been left out of the peace process?

Chaired by David Loyn, BBC international development correspondent.

With:

Rachel Reid, Afghanistan researcher fro Human Rights Watch;

Shaykh Abdullah Anas Bashir, founder of The TARUF Association and a veteran of the Afghan Jihad;

Karen Pierce, FCO Director for South Asia and Afghanistan and UK SRAP;

Emal Pasarly, multimedia editor for the BBC Pashto-Persian service.

February 21, 2012

Over 40 journalists were killed during a tumultuous year of political unrest last year. Hundreds more remain imprisoned, censored, suppressed and exiled around the world.

Increasingly pressured into self-censorship through intimidation, fear and legislation, journalists are facing increasingly dangerous times. Such danger are compounded by repressive governments and violent criminal groups.

Join us at the Frontline Club for the first in a series of events, screenings and workshops examining the challenges to safety faced by journalists around the world.

We will be discussing the dangers faced by journalists today and the impact on journalism of a world more and more people are demanding their rights to equality and justice. What more can be done to protect journalists in their work?

The event will also mark the launch of the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Attacks on the Press report which will be presented by CPJ executive director Joel Simon.

Chaired by Award-winning journalist and reporter, Jenny Kleeman, has been working with Channel 4′sUnreported World since 2007, reporting from locations as diverse as the Amazon rainforest, the slums of Liberia and most recently Afghanistan. She writes regularly for the Guardian, Sunday Times and Independent.

With:

Joel Simon, executive director of the CPJ, under which they launched the ‘Global Campaign Against Impunity’ and established the ‘Journalist Assistance program’ which provides help to journalists in distress.

Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari who was detained in Iran during the uprising following the 2009 disputed election. He is author of Then They Came for Me: A story of injustice and survival in Iran’s most notorious prison.

(via Skype) Libyan contractor turned fixer, Suliman Ali Zway who was recently awarded the Martin Adler prize alongside Osama Alfitory for their dedication and bravery in reporting the conflict in Libya. They are known to international journalists as ‘The A-Team.’

Colin Pereira, head of safety and security at ITN, he is responsible for the security of ITN operations in high risk environments. Previously he was deputy head of the BBC High Risk Team. He has advised on thousands of deployments around the world, ranging from the London riots to deploying crews to downtown Mogadishu. He is also head of high risk for 1st Option Safety, specialising in production and freelance safety.

In association with CPJ

February 15, 2012

On 15 February 2011, inspired by their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbours, the people of Libya took to the streets in Benghazi calling for the end of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal regime.

They clashed with Gaddafi’s security forces who responded with brutal violence. What followed was a civil war that cost the lives of an estimated 30,000 people and ended eight months later with Gaddafi’s death in his birthplace of Sirte.

Join us at the Frontline Club to discuss the task of rebuilding Libya a year after the uprising began. We will be looking at the work of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and the tensions that remain. What are the prospects of a peaceful future?

Chaired by Ian Black, the Guardian’s Middle East editor. In more than 25 years on the paper he has also been its European editor, diplomatic editor, foreign leader writer and Middle East correspondent

With:

Ahmed Gebreel, deputy head of the Libyan embassy in London, he was a political advisor to the chairman of the NTC and the spokesperson for the MOFA during the revolution.

Dr Faraj Najem, Libyan writer and historian.

Rana Jawad, of British-Lebanese nationality, she is married to a Libyan and resident in Tripoli where she has been reporting for the BBC for seven years. Author of Tripoli Witness.

Khaeri Aboushagor, media researcher, political activist, and human rights defender; calling for the establishment of a secular state in Libya.

Carsten Jurgensen, Libya researcher for Amnesty International.

February 15, 2012

On 15 February 2011, inspired by their Tunisian and Egyptian neighbours, the people of Libya took to the streets in Benghazi calling for the end of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal regime.

They clashed with Gaddafi’s security forces who responded with brutal violence. What followed was a civil war that cost the lives of an estimated 30,000 people and ended eight months later with Gaddafi’s death in his birthplace of Sirte.

Join us at the Frontline Club to discuss the task of rebuilding Libya a year after the uprising began. We will be looking at the work of the National Transitional Council (NTC) and the tensions that remain. What are the prospects of a peaceful future?

Chaired by Ian Black, the Guardian’s Middle East editor. In more than 25 years on the paper he has also been its European editor, diplomatic editor, foreign leader writer and Middle East correspondent

With:

Ahmed Gebreel, deputy head of the Libyan embassy in London, he was a political advisor to the chairman of the NTC and the spokesperson for the MOFA during the revolution.

Dr Faraj Najem, Libyan writer and historian.

Rana Jawad, of British-Lebanese nationality, she is married to a Libyan and resident in Tripoli where she has been reporting for the BBC for seven years. Author of Tripoli Witness.

Khaeri Aboushagor, media researcher, political activist, and human rights defender; calling for the establishment of a secular state in Libya.

Carsten Jurgensen, Libya researcher for Amnesty International.

May 17, 2011

With a panel of experts and journalists we will be examining the political realignment taking place in the Middle East and North Africa.

We will be asking what the shifts in Arab world mean for Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia: What is Israel’s likely response to the emerging democracies that are replacing autocrats who held onto power in the name of “stability” in the region. How will countries like Egypt respond to Israel in the future and how will the balance of power change?

We will be looking to at how Iran and Saudi Arabia respond to the changes taking place and the role of the Arab League in the future.

In association with BBC Arabic

Chaired by Sam Farah, the lead presenter of BBC Arabic’s flagship interactive programme Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point).

With:

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst;

Abdel Bari Atwan, since 1989 he has been the editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a major independent pan-Arab daily newspaper published in London and author of The Secret History of al-Qa’ida and A Country of Words, his memoir.

William Morris, Secretary General of the Next Century Foundation, formerly a journalist and publisher he has been involved in the Middle East for more than 30 years. As Chairman of the International Media Council he has led press delegations to Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Syria.

May 17, 2011

With a panel of experts and journalists we will be examining the political realignment taking place in the Middle East and North Africa.

We will be asking what the shifts in Arab world mean for Israel, Iran and Saudi Arabia: What is Israel’s likely response to the emerging democracies that are replacing autocrats who held onto power in the name of “stability” in the region. How will countries like Egypt respond to Israel in the future and how will the balance of power change?

We will be looking to at how Iran and Saudi Arabia respond to the changes taking place and the role of the Arab League in the future.

In association with BBC Arabic

Chaired by Sam Farah, the lead presenter of BBC Arabic’s flagship interactive programme Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point).

With:

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst;

Abdel Bari Atwan, since 1989 he has been the editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, a major independent pan-Arab daily newspaper published in London and author of The Secret History of al-Qa’ida and A Country of Words, his memoir.

William Morris, Secretary General of the Next Century Foundation, formerly a journalist and publisher he has been involved in the Middle East for more than 30 years. As Chairman of the International Media Council he has led press delegations to Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Egypt and Syria.

September 11, 2012

What do the recent deadly attacks in Iraq tell us about the country today?

It has been nearly ten years since the US-led invasion and nearly a year since the last foreign troops withdrew. But is there anything about the state of the country they left behind that can begin to explain this recent wave of violence?

Although al-Qaeda forces appeared to have been pushed back, there has been an increase in violence that culminated on 23 July in the bloodiest day since US troops left Iraq. Coordinated bombings and shootings in 15 cities left over 100 people dead and many more injured.

What impact will al-Qaeda’s mission to regain ground have on political tensions among the main Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions?

Join us with a panel of experts to discuss the situation in Iraq today and what impact the conflict on its doorstep in Syria might have on the country.

Chaired by Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News correspondent.

With:

Tom Hardie-Forsyth, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister’s office, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Northern Iraq. He is a former Chairman of the NATO Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee at its Brussels HQ, and is now a Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He was commissioned in The Royal Signals Regiment, where he saw active service in the Gulf and Northern Iraq.

Charles Tripp, professor of Middle East politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Among his books are A History or Iraq, Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism and The Power and the People: Paths of resistance in the Middle East.

Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He is an experienced commentator on Iraq and has written several books on the country including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq.

Kamran Karadaghi, former senior political correspondent for the London-based daily Al-Hayat from 1988 to 1998. He has worked as a journalist, interpreter, diplomatic correspondent, and editor for more than 40 years. From 1998 to 2004 he was deputy director and chief editor of Radio Free Iraq at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From 2005 to 2007 he served as the chief of staff and the official spokesperson for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

September 11, 2012

What do the recent deadly attacks in Iraq tell us about the country today?

It has been nearly ten years since the US-led invasion and nearly a year since the last foreign troops withdrew. But is there anything about the state of the country they left behind that can begin to explain this recent wave of violence?

Although al-Qaeda forces appeared to have been pushed back, there has been an increase in violence that culminated on 23 July in the bloodiest day since US troops left Iraq. Coordinated bombings and shootings in 15 cities left over 100 people dead and many more injured.

What impact will al-Qaeda’s mission to regain ground have on political tensions among the main Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions?

Join us with a panel of experts to discuss the situation in Iraq today and what impact the conflict on its doorstep in Syria might have on the country.

Chaired by Elizabeth Palmer, CBS News correspondent.

With:

Tom Hardie-Forsyth, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister’s office, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Northern Iraq. He is a former Chairman of the NATO Critical Infrastructure Protection Committee at its Brussels HQ, and is now a Fellow of the Atlantic Council. He was commissioned in The Royal Signals Regiment, where he saw active service in the Gulf and Northern Iraq.

Charles Tripp, professor of Middle East politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Among his books are A History or Iraq, Islam and the Moral Economy: The Challenge of Capitalism and The Power and the People: Paths of resistance in the Middle East.

Patrick Cockburn, senior Middle East correspondent since 1979 for the Financial Times and, presently, The Independent. He is an experienced commentator on Iraq and has written several books on the country including The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq and Muqtada: Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq.

Kamran Karadaghi, former senior political correspondent for the London-based daily Al-Hayat from 1988 to 1998. He has worked as a journalist, interpreter, diplomatic correspondent, and editor for more than 40 years. From 1998 to 2004 he was deputy director and chief editor of Radio Free Iraq at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. From 2005 to 2007 he served as the chief of staff and the official spokesperson for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.