The Frontline Club

Strictly by invitation only. Please contact the organisers for inquiries or view the website here. On Wednesday 17 April, the editorial teams of the top 40 student publications in the country are coming together for an evening at the Frontline Club. The evening will begin with a reception before moving to panel debates and talks with speakers, including: John Witherow, editor ofThe Times; Sarah Baxter, editor of The Sunday Times Magazine; Ian Katz, deputy editor at The Guardian and Steve Richards at The Independent. The event will be an opportunity to meet the other students running the best campus papers, with publications from the LSE, Imperial, UCL, Birmingham, Oxford, Durham, York, Cambridge, Warwick and Bristol among those attending.

The screening will be followed by a debate with Barney Afako, Mugambi Kiai and Geoffrey Robertson, moderated by Matthew McAllester. For more than 20 years, the Ugandan government has been fighting the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. While his army of child soldiers roams Sudan and the DR Congo, The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague hopes to try Kony one day. Director Klaartje Quirijns filmed crucial moments in the occasionally painful process at the ICC and managed to lay her hands on rare recordings of the peace negotiations with Kony in the jungle. She explores the different views of Western values in other countries, illustrated by the situation in Uganda. Peace vs Justice reveals the tension created by the justice offered by the International Criminal Court and the people’s desire for peace. Directed by Klaartje Quirijns Duration: 64′ Year: 2012 This screening is supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands and TIME

Monday 15 April 2013,For more than 20 years, the Ugandan government has been fighting the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony. While his army of child soldiers roams Sudan and the DR Congo, The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague hopes to try Kony one day.Director Klaartje Quirijns filmed crucial moments in the occasionally painful process at the ICC and managed to lay her hands on rare recordings of the peace negotiations with Kony in the jungle.She explores the different views of Western values in other countries, illustrated by the situation in Uganda. Peace vs Justice reveals the tension created by the justice offered by the International Criminal Court and the people’s desire for peace.

Charles Glass is a veteran broadcaster, journalist and writer. His latest book Deserter explores the widely untold stories of the British and American deserters in the Second World War. He follows a group of soldiers into the heat of battle and explores what motivated them to take their fateful decision to run away. Jake Wood is a former soldier who worked in parallel as a business analyst. In Among You he tells the story of his time serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the battle he faced upon his return when diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Through his own experiences he examines the harsh reality of front-line combat, the courage of the troops and the devastating after-effects of service that some suffer. They will be joining us in conversation, chaired by Frontline Club founder Vaughan Smith, to talk about their respective works and the comparisons in the trauma suffered by soldiers from World War Two to Afghanistan.

Wednesday 20 March 2013, 8:15 PM Despite hundreds of thousands of people having taken to the streets of London and elsewhere to voice their opposition to military action in Iraq, on 19 March 2003, air strikes on the Presidential Palace in Baghdad began. What followed was a US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein’s government, and marked the start of years of violent conflict. Ten years on, in a debate chaired by Channel 4 News’Jon Snow, we will ask: have lessons been learned? The legacy of the Iraq War changed Western foreign policy, but with talk of Northern Africa becoming a new front in the war on terror, have the mistakes of Iraq been sufficiently ingrained on the consciences of populations and governments? To what degree is the impact on relations between the Middle East and the West still felt? We will also be examining what has been heard at the Chilcot Inquiry and why we are still waiting to hear the findings. Chaired by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow. The panel: Caroline Wyatt has been BBC defence correspondent since October 2007, covering the work of British Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2003 she was embedded with British troops reporting on the war and its aftermath in and around Basra. Previously she has been BBC correspondent covering Paris, Moscow, Berlin and Bonn. Rt Hon Jim Murphy is Labour Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire. He is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Defence and has previously served as Secretary of State for Scotland. Jack Fairweather is the author of A War of Choice: Britain in Iraq 2003-9. The Daily Telegraph’s Baghdad and Gulf correspondent for five years, he was an embedded reporter during the Iraq invasion, winning the British equivalent of the Pulitzer prize for his reporting. Most recently he has been the Washington Post’s Islamic world correspondent. He is a fellow of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, and is working on a history of the Afghan war. Peter Oborne, the Daily Telegraph‘s chief political commentator and author of The Rise of Political Lying and The Triumph of the Political Class. Sir Jeremy Greenstock is chairman of the UN Association in the UK, the strategic advisory company Gatehouse Advisory Partners Ltd and Lambert Energy Advisory Ltd. He was a career diplomat from 1969 to 2004, developing specialisations in the Middle East, Transatlantic Relations and the United Nations. He served as UK Ambassador to the UN in New York from 1998 to 2003 and as UK Special Envoy for Iraq, based in Baghdad, from 2003 to 2004.

Over the last five years, photojournalist Jo Metson Scott has photographed The Grey Line, a reflection on war told from the perspectives of American and British soldiers who have spoken out against the invasion of Iraq. Their voices have been met with varying consequences, from being outcast to imprisoned, shunned to celebrated. To mark 10 years since the invasion of Iraq, Metson Scott will be joined by Ben Griffin, a former SAS soldier, to present The Grey Line, in a talk chaired by Victoria Brittain. Metson Scott’s work has been exhibited around the UK and commissioned by a variety of organisations including The New York Times, The Telegraph, and The Photographers’ Gallery. The Grey Line was the recipient of the inaugural Fire-Cracker Grant and will be published in book form in March 2013. Former SAS soldier Ben Griffin was discharged from the Army in 2005 after refusing to return to Iraq. Gagged in 2008 for revealing Britain’s involvement in the torture of detainees he is now an organiser for Veterans for Peace in the UK. Victoria Brittain has worked as a journalist in Vietnam, Southern Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Palestine for the Guardian, BBC, ITN and various French publications. In the last ten years her work has been mainly concerned with the fallout of the ‘war on terror’. She was co-author on Moazzam Begg’s Guantanamo memoir, Enemy Combatant.

Despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, on Saturday Uhuru Kenyatta won election as Kenya’s new President. Join us as we discuss what Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory means for Kenya? Kenyatta’s running mate William Ruto, also indicted by the ICC, is likely to become Deputy President. The turnout was high, a reported 86%, but with a marginal victory and the count plagued by delay and hundreds of thousands of spoiled ballots Kenyatta’s main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has already said he will fight the outcome. We will be examining the choices made in this crucial election and what they mean for the future of Kenya. Since the last election, a new constitution has come into force which has divided Kenya into 47 new counties, each with its own governor and parliament. The overarching idea of the new constitution is that the people will decide. We ask if this has been effective or has resulted in further division. Chaired by Audrey Brown, a producer and presenter on BBC Focus on Africa and Network Africa. The panel: Daniel Branch is an associate professor of African history at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Kenya: Between Hope and Despair and Defeating Mau Mau, Creating Kenya: Counterinsurgency, Civil War and Decolonization. Natznet Tesfay is head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Mathias Muindi is currently an editor with the BBC Monitoring office in Nairobi, which covers the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined Monitoring in July 2002 after working with Kenyan media since graduating from Nairobi’s Daystar University in 1998.

Despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, on Saturday Uhuru Kenyatta won election as Kenya’s new President. Join us as we discuss what Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory means for Kenya?Kenyatta’s running mate William Ruto, also indicted by the ICC, is likely to become Deputy President. The turnout was high, a reported 86%, but with a marginal victory and the count plagued by delay and hundreds of thousands of spoiled ballots Kenyatta’s main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has already said he will fight the outcome. We will be examining the choices made in this crucial election and what they mean for the future of Kenya.Since the last election, a new constitution has come into force which has divided Kenya into 47 new counties, each with its own governor and parliament. The overarching idea of the new constitution is that the people will decide. We ask if this has been effective or has resulted in further division.Chaired by Audrey Brown, a producer and presenter on BBC Focus on Africa and Network Africa.The panel:Daniel Branch is an associate professor of African history at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Kenya: Between Hope and Despair and Defeating Mau Mau, Creating Kenya: Counterinsurgency, Civil War and Decolonization.Natznet Tesfay is head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.Mathias Muindi is currently an editor with the BBC Monitoring office in Nairobi, which covers the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined Monitoring in July 2002 after working with Kenyan media since graduating from Nairobi’s Daystar University in 1998.

Despite being wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, on Saturday Uhuru Kenyatta won election as Kenya’s new President. Join us as we discuss what Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory means for Kenya?Kenyatta’s running mate William Ruto, also indicted by the ICC, is likely to become Deputy President. The turnout was high, a reported 86%, but with a marginal victory and the count plagued by delay and hundreds of thousands of spoiled ballots Kenyatta’s main rival, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, has already said he will fight the outcome. We will be examining the choices made in this crucial election and what they mean for the future of Kenya.Since the last election, a new constitution has come into force which has divided Kenya into 47 new counties, each with its own governor and parliament. The overarching idea of the new constitution is that the people will decide. We ask if this has been effective or has resulted in further division.Chaired by Audrey Brown, a producer and presenter on BBC Focus on Africa and Network Africa.The panel:Daniel Branch is an associate professor of African history at the University of Warwick. He is the author of Kenya: Between Hope and Despair and Defeating Mau Mau, Creating Kenya: Counterinsurgency, Civil War and Decolonization.Natznet Tesfay is head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.Mathias Muindi is currently an editor with the BBC Monitoring office in Nairobi, which covers the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. He joined Monitoring in July 2002 after working with Kenyan media since graduating from Nairobi’s Daystar University in 1998.

Join us for a panel debate, chaired by Clive Jones, Chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee (and ITV News) with: Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme; Sarah Whitehead of Sky News; DFID’sDylan Winder; and Ross Preston, head of operations for international disaster relief charity, ShelterBox. Inspired by ShelterBox, a growing emergency shelter provider in international disaster relief, we are offering a debate on how the media covers disasters, how journalists are selected, briefed and operate once in the field, and the value of their coverage. The panel is chaired by Clive Jones CBE, the chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee. He is a former chairman of GMTV and ITV News, and an honorary visiting professor at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies at the University of Wales. The panel: Sarah Whitehead, international affairs editor, Sky News. Dylan Winder, head of humanitarian response, Department For International Development (DFID). Ross Preston MBE, head of operations, ShelterBox International. Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

A year after Marie Colvin was killed in Homs, the war in Syria is still raging and has cost the lives of more than 60,000 people. Following new US Secretary of State John Kerry’s first foreign tour, we ask if he can deliver on his vow not to leave the Syrian opposition “dangling in the wind”. His trip has included meetings with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and Friends of Syria in Rome. “We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind wondering where the support is or if it’s coming,” Kerry said at a news conference in London. “And we are determined to change the calculation on the ground for President Assad.” We will be joined by a panel of experts to reflect on this latest effort by the US to engage with the crisis. Does this hint at a change in US policy toward Syria? Will this lead to any action? We will be looking at the groups and governments Kerry has met with and what their role may be in bringing the crisis in Syria to an end. As the SNC announces plans to form a new transitional government, we ask if it is time the international community throws its weight behind them. Chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House. The panel: Julien Barnes-Dacey is a policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations. He was based in Syria from 2007 to 2010 as a journalist, writing for the Christian Science Monitor, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Firas Abi Ali is the Head of Middle East and North Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis, recently acquired by IHS. Sakhr Al-Makhadhi is an award-winning journalist who has covered Syria for the past decade. Formerly based in Damascus, he regularly contributes to the BBC, Foreign Policy magazine, Channel 4 News, Al Jazeera and the Guardian among others. Dr Rim Turkmani is a founder member of Building the Syrian State movement, and is co-chair of the Damask Rose Trust, a charity that supports development and education in Syria. She is an Astrophysicist at Imperial College London, and is a specialist in the history of Arabic/Islamic science and its influence on the west.

A year after Marie Colvin was killed in Homs, the war in Syria is still raging and has cost the lives of more than 60,000 people. Following new US Secretary of State John Kerry’s first foreign tour, we ask if he can deliver on his vow not to leave the Syrian opposition “dangling in the wind”.His trip has included meetings with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and Friends of Syria in Rome. “We are determined that the Syrian opposition is not going to be dangling in the wind wondering where the support is or if it’s coming,” Kerry said at a news conference in London. “And we are determined to change the calculation on the ground for President Assad.”We will be joined by a panel of experts to reflect on this latest effort by the US to engage with the crisis. Does this hint at a change in US policy toward Syria? Will this lead to any action? We will be looking at the groups and governments Kerry has met with and what their role may be in bringing the crisis in Syria to an end.As the SNC announces plans to form a new transitional government, we ask if it is time the international community throws its weight behind them.Chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House.The panel:Julien Barnes-Dacey is a policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations. He was based in Syria from 2007 to 2010 as a journalist, writing for the Christian Science Monitor, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.Firas Abi Ali is the Head of Middle East and North Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis, recently acquired by IHS.Sakhr Al-Makhadhi is an award-winning journalist who has covered Syria for the past decade. Formerly based in Damascus, he regularly contributes to the BBC, Foreign Policy magazine, Channel 4 News, Al Jazeera and the Guardian among others.Dr Rim Turkmani is a founder member of Building the Syrian State movement, and is co-chair of the Damask Rose Trust, a charity that supports development and education in Syria. She is an Astrophysicist at Imperial College London, and is a specialist in the history of Arabic/Islamic science and its influence on the west.

Organised by ShelterBoxJoin us for a panel debate, chaired by Clive Jones, Chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee (and ITV News) with: Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme; Sarah Whitehead of Sky News; DFID’s Dylan Winder; and Ross Preston, head of operations for international disaster relief charity, ShelterBox.Inspired by ShelterBox, a growing emergency shelter provider in international disaster relief, we are offering a debate on how the media covers disasters, how journalists are selected, briefed and operate once in the field, and the value of their coverage.The panel is chaired by Clive Jones CBE, the chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee. He is a former chairman of GMTV and ITV News, and an honorary visiting professor at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies at the University of Wales.The panel:Sarah Whitehead, international affairs editor, Sky News.Dylan Winder, head of humanitarian response, Department For International Development (DFID).Ross Preston MBE, head of operations, ShelterBox International.Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Organised by ShelterBoxJoin us for a panel debate, chaired by Clive Jones, Chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee (and ITV News) with: Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme; Sarah Whitehead of Sky News; DFID’s Dylan Winder; and Ross Preston, head of operations for international disaster relief charity, ShelterBox.Inspired by ShelterBox, a growing emergency shelter provider in international disaster relief, we are offering a debate on how the media covers disasters, how journalists are selected, briefed and operate once in the field, and the value of their coverage.The panel is chaired by Clive Jones CBE, the chair of the Disasters Emergency Committee. He is a former chairman of GMTV and ITV News, and an honorary visiting professor at the School of Journalism, Media and Culture Studies at the University of Wales.The panel:Sarah Whitehead, international affairs editor, Sky News.Dylan Winder, head of humanitarian response, Department For International Development (DFID).Ross Preston MBE, head of operations, ShelterBox International.Mike Thomson, foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

A year ago, in the midst of the uprisings across the Arab world, when the news agenda was moving at a relentless pace, we brought together a group of journalists to talk about thepracticalities of life as a freelance foreign correspondent. One year on, we take stock of the opportunities, challenges and risks that we have seen for freelancers. Should inexperienced freelancers be deterred from heading straight to conflict zones, or should training, insurance and guidance be more freely available? In a recent piece for BBC College of Journalism Stuart Hugheswrites about the risks being taken by inexperienced freelancers. As more and more choose to cut their teeth in the field rather than in local newsrooms, Hughes will be joining us with a panel of journalists and editors to discuss what precautions need to be taken to keep them safe. Chaired by Stuart Hughes is a senior world affairs producer with BBC News. He has worked in international news for more than a decade. Working alongside some of the BBC’s most respected correspondents, he has covered major news events around the world, including the 9/11 attacks, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Middle East conflict and the Arab Spring. The panel: Aris Roussinos is a freelance journalist, filmmaker and television news producer. Over the past two years, he has reported from Libya, Bahrain, Tunisia, Greece and Sudan. Julia Macfarlane is a freelance journalist working in Asia and the Middle East, having most recently freelanced in Lebanon for an independent documentary and BBC News as well as blogging on the Middle East for the Independent. Hannah Storm is the director of the International News Safety Institute (INSI). Before joining INSI she worked as both a freelancer and a staff journalist for a number of broadcasters and news organisations, including ITN, Reuters, the BBC and The Times. 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.