The Frontline Club

Political apathy may be on the rise in the UK, but no one can say the 2010 General Election campaign has been the predictable two-party race of old.

After his strong performance in the televised leaders’ debates, opinion polls now consistently put Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats in second place, making this the first genuine three-horse race election in living memory, perhaps marking the end of the Labour-Tory dominance at Westminster.

With polls pointing to a hung parliament, the Lib Dems could form part of a government – making a radical shake-up of our voting system almost certain. But is this really a watershed moment in British political history or are we getting carried away with Cleggmania? And whatever the outcome of Thursday’s poll, will claims of change really be made when women’s representation is likely to have made so little progress?

Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4’s Broadcasting House will be in the chair for another of our First Wednesday discussions, lively public meetings that bring together experts and commentators and mix their views with contributions from our audience.

With: Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at the University of Oxford and one of Britain’s foremost constitutional experts; Kat Banyard, director, UK Feminista and author of The Equality Illusion: The truth about women and men today (Faber and Faber); Ivor Gaber, professor of political campaigning at City University London; Ashok Viswanathan, deputy co-ordinator, Operation Black Vote.

Join us at the Frontline Club, where, in association with Sky News, we will be broadcasting the second leaders’ debate live in HD, followed by a panel discussion with leading commentators and experts.

After the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg emerged as winner of the first of these historic debates in Manchester, all eyes will be on the three leaders as they go head to head on Sky News to debate international affairs.

A great opportunity to discuss the politicians’s performance, body language and policies with journalists, experts and commentators.

With: Bronwen Maddox, chief foreign commentator of the Times; Toby Dodge, consulting senior fellow for the Middle East, the International Institute for Strategic Studies; Andres Ilves, Afghanistan and Iran analyst, BBC World Service and Professor Michael Cox, co-director of LSE IDEAS and Professor of International Relations at LSE.

Join us at the Frontline Club, where, in association with Sky News, we will be broadcasting the second leaders’ debate live in HD, followed by a panel discussion with leading commentators and experts.

After the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg emerged as winner of the first of these historic debates in Manchester, all eyes will be on the three leaders as they go head to head on Sky News to debate international affairs.

A great opportunity to discuss the politicians’s performance, body language and policies with journalists, experts and commentators.

With: Bronwen Maddox, chief foreign commentator of the Times; Toby Dodge, consulting senior fellow for the Middle East, the International Institute for Strategic Studies; Andres Ilves, Afghanistan and Iran analyst, BBC World Service and Professor Michael Cox, co-director of LSE IDEAS and Professor of International Relations at LSE.

What was behind the violence around the city of Jos in recent months and what impact has it had on the country? What are the prospects of the violence continuing and how effective is acting President Goodluck Jonathan likely to be in preventing it?

We will be discussing these questions and looking at the wider political instability since President Umaru Yar’Adua disappeared from the public eye due to illness, and looking ahead to Nigeria’s elections next year.

While the recent attacks put Nigeria in the media spotlight, we will also be examining how well the Western media has been able to make sense of the country’s difficulties. How much do we know about this oil-rich country where oil has permeated all aspects of life and exploitation, injustices and abuses of power are commonplace, and the role played by its largest customers, the US and the UK.

We will be joined by Dr Khataza Gondwe, CSW’s Sub Saharan Africa team leader; Michael Peel, legal correspondent and former West Africa correspondent for the Financial Times and author of A Swamp Full of Dollars, which examines the impact of our dependence on its oil on Nigeria; Dr Abdul Raufu Mustapha, University Lecturer in African Politics and Kirk-Greene Fellow at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford and Jamilah Tangaza, head of BBC Hausa Service for Africa.

Moderated by Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News.

What was behind the violence around the city of Jos in recent months and what impact has it had on the country? What are the prospects of the violence continuing and how effective is acting President Goodluck Jonathan likely to be in preventing it?

We will be discussing these questions and looking at the wider political instability since President Umaru Yar’Adua disappeared from the public eye due to illness, and looking ahead to Nigeria’s elections next year.

While the recent attacks put Nigeria in the media spotlight, we will also be examining how well the Western media has been able to make sense of the country’s difficulties. How much do we know about this oil-rich country where oil has permeated all aspects of life and exploitation, injustices and abuses of power are commonplace, and the role played by its largest customers, the US and the UK.

We will be joined by Dr Khataza Gondwe, CSW’s Sub Saharan Africa team leader; Michael Peel, legal correspondent and former West Africa correspondent for the Financial Times and author of A Swamp Full of Dollars, which examines the impact of our dependence on its oil on Nigeria; Dr Abdul Raufu Mustapha, University Lecturer in African Politics and Kirk-Greene Fellow at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford and Jamilah Tangaza, head of BBC Hausa Service for Africa.

Moderated by Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News.

The devastation in Port-au-Prince following January’s earthquake sent harrowing images of its victims around the world.

Inigo Gilmore and David Levene were among the scores of journalists whose job it was to document the suffering and chaos in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Following an exhibition of his work from both before and after the earthquake in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Haiti Earthquake Appeal, David Levene, Guardian photographer and video-journalist, will be joined on the Frontline stage by Inigo Gilmore via video link from Haiti. These two accomplished journalists will be in conversation with Roger Tooth, head of photography for the Guardian.

The discussion will focus on the role of photographers and videojournalists in such tragedies and the decisions that are made about what is published.

The devastation in Port-au-Prince following January’s earthquake sent harrowing images of its victims around the world.

Inigo Gilmore and David Levene were among the scores of journalists whose job it was to document the suffering and chaos in the aftermath of the earthquake.

Following an exhibition of his work from both before and after the earthquake in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Haiti Earthquake Appeal, David Levene, Guardian photographer and video-journalist, will be joined on the Frontline stage by Inigo Gilmore via video link from Haiti. These two accomplished journalists will be in conversation with Roger Tooth, head of photography for the Guardian.

The discussion will focus on the role of photographers and videojournalists in such tragedies and the decisions that are made about what is published.

Neil MacFarquhar, United Nations bureau chief for The New York Times, will be at the Frontline Club talking about life in the Middle East as told in his book The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday.

Having grown up in the Middle East and spent more than 13 years as a correspondent in the region, Neil MacFarquhar gives his personal cultural investigation into life and thought in a variety of countries from Lebanon to Beirut, Kuwait and Cairo.

With wit and insight, Neil MacFarquhar covers a wide range of subjects from al Jazeera, satellite television, jihad, fatwas, and the Lebanese singer Fairuz, introducing us along the way to dissidents and diplomats, Saudi sitcom writers, liberal religious sheikhs, and a Kuwaiti woman with a sex-advice column.

The book’s title is itself a dig at Hezbollah’s practice of sending birthday greetings to foreign correspondents and the book is packed with wry insights into the issues and debates that matter to to people in the Middle East.

Join us at the Frontline Club to hear Neil MacFarquhar discuss his insights into life in the Middle East and his criticisms of US policy towards the region.

This event will be moderated by Roxanna Shapour, publicist, BBC Persian Service

Neil MacFarquhar, United Nations bureau chief for The New York Times, will be at the Frontline Club talking about life in the Middle East as told in his book The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday.

Having grown up in the Middle East and spent more than 13 years as a correspondent in the region, Neil MacFarquhar gives his personal cultural investigation into life and thought in a variety of countries from Lebanon to Beirut, Kuwait and Cairo.

With wit and insight, Neil MacFarquhar covers a wide range of subjects from al Jazeera, satellite television, jihad, fatwas, and the Lebanese singer Fairuz, introducing us along the way to dissidents and diplomats, Saudi sitcom writers, liberal religious sheikhs, and a Kuwaiti woman with a sex-advice column.

The book’s title is itself a dig at Hezbollah’s practice of sending birthday greetings to foreign correspondents and the book is packed with wry insights into the issues and debates that matter to to people in the Middle East.

Join us at the Frontline Club to hear Neil MacFarquhar discuss his insights into life in the Middle East and his criticisms of US policy towards the region.

This event will be moderated by Roxanna Shapour, publicist, BBC Persian Service

It’s one of the world’s oldest surviving democracies, but just how free is the British media? Law firms can and do serve newsdesks with so-called superinjunctions banning all mention of their client or of the writ itself.

Lawyers acting for footballer John Terry and oil trader Trafigura both tried this tactic to stop unfavourable coverage – only for the facts to eventually trickle into the public domain.

Are these strong-arm tactics a threat to press freedom? Or simply an inevtiable response to the irresponsible, scandal-obsessed British newspapers? And more importantly, how can lawyers and judges expect to keep allegations secret when it only takes one person and a broadband connection to publish them around the world in seconds.

To debate this and more, the Frontline Club is delighted to welcome Guardian investigations editor David Leigh, Carter Ruck partner Nigel Tait, science writer Simon Singh and David Hooper, a media law specialist and partner at Reynolds Porter Chamberlain. The event is chaired by Clive Coleman, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Law in Action programme, and a former barrister.