The Frontline Club

Egypt's 'day of rage' on Tuesday 25 January 2011 has been enshrined in Egypt's history after millions of people took to the streets to oppose the tyranny and oppression of President Hosni Mubarak's regime.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of that day we will be joined by a panel of Egyptians to discuss their hopes for revolution in Egypt a year later.

Since 11 February, when Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down, Egypt has been governed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. In this time there have been a growing number of military trials, new anti-protest laws and protesters have been detained. In response, protests have continued in Tahrir Square.

With elections underway, we will be discussing how the future looks for the Egyptian people and the challenges that lie ahead.

Chaired by Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor at the Observer. He has reported extensively from conflict zones including Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East, and has written widely on human rights issues and the impact of conflict on civilians. The winner of the George Orwell Prize for his reports from Iraq he is the author of The Secret Life of War: Journeys Through Modern Conflict.

With:

Hossam Abdalla, a leading Fertility Consultant and a political activist, he was one of the leaders of the student movement in the 70’s in Egypt. He is also father of actor, producer and activist Khalid Abdalla.

Ahdaf Soueif, Egyptian author, political and cultural commentator. Her most recent book is entitled Cairo: My City, Our Revolution;

Tarek Osman, Egyptian writer and author of Egypt on the Brink: From Nasser to Mubarak.

Abdel Latif El Menawy, author and journalist. As head of the news at the Egyptian Radio and Television Union he oversaw all news content, founded Radio Misr, and pioneered documentary broadcasts. Author of Tahrir: The Last 18 Days of Mubarak.

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With uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa setting a relentless pace in this year's news agenda, media outlets have frequently turned to freelances to cover events in countries where they are without staff bureaus and wire services.

The Frontline Club, in association with the BBC College of Journalism,  will be bringing together a panel of freelancers who will discuss the practicalities of life as a freelance foreign correspondent from setting up in a country to finding and pitching stories and dealing with the realities of conflict.

In contrast to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the recent fighting in Libya was not subjec to embedding restrictions and freelances were able to descend on the country and compete to get to the frontline.  Join us to discuss the issues working in a war zone raise for freelances.

Chaired by Paddy O'Connell of BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House.

With:

Tom Finn, a freelance journalist currently based in Sana’a, Yemen. He moved to Sana’a in August 2010 to work as an editor at the Yemen Times. He has been covering Yemen's Arab uprising since January writing mainly for The Guardian but also for TIME, Foreign Policy Magazine, The Economist and Christian Science Monitor. In May his blog was selected by Foreign Policy Magazine as “recommended reading” for Barack Obama about the Persian Gulf. He is Al-Jazeera English's correspondent in Yemen. He also blogs on Yemen for the Frontline Club. Twitter: @TomFinn2

Portia Walker, a freelance journalist who spent the past year covering the Arab Spring. After three years working for Al Jazeera English in London, she moved to Yemen, where she was the stringer for the Economist, the Washington Post, and briefly the Daily and Sunday Telegraph. After being deported from Yemen in March while reporting on the increasingly violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, she went to Libya where she covered the war and its aftermath for the Washington Post, the Independent, USA Today and Foreign Policy, among others. Twitter: @portia_walker

James Longman, freelance journalist working as an online producer between Sky News and CNBC. After having spent the past four or five years traveling, working and studying in the Middle East, he headed to Syria to spend time with opposition groups involved in the country's uprising. Between June-July and September-October 2011, he spent time in hiding with groups in Zabadani, Homs, Rastan, Qabon, Madaya and Damascus where he wrote for the Times and the Telegraph and set up interviews for Sky News, NPR and PBS. Twitter: @JamesReport

Ruth Sherlock, a freelance journalist who has spent the year chasing the Arab Spring. She moved to the Middle East in 2009, living and working in Israel and the West Bank. On 23 January she packed her bag for a three day trip to see the protests in Cairo, and didn't come back for six months. Writing primarily for the Daily Telegraph she covered the Egyptian revolution, then the Libyan civil war, and now focuses on the escalating conflict in Syria. Other outlets include Foreign Policy, Sunday Times, The LA Times, The Scotsman, and Al Jazeera English (web).

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Since the Leveson Inquiry hearings began on 14 November some of the worst of British journalism has been laid bare by the victims of phone hacking, politicians, journalists and editors who have spoken.

As revelations from the phone hacking investigation continue, join us for the first event of 2012 to discuss what has been revealed about the workings of the tabloid press and what the fall out will be for the journalism industry.

A lively public meeting hosted by Paddy O'Connell of BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House.

With:

Tom Latchem, freelance journalist, writer, broadcaster and former TV editor for News of the World. Twitter: @theboylatch

Anne Diamond, a journalist who for the past 25 years has been working in daily TV, radio and national newspapers. She is a regular panelist for The Wright Stuff on Channel 5 and a regular columnist for the Daily Mail. She hosts The Anne Diamond Show daily on BBC Radio Berkshire. She gave evidence at the Leveson inquiry on Monday 28 November.

Peter Wilby, who writes a weekly column for the New Statesman, the magazine he edited between 1998 and 2005. A former education correspondent for both the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, he was editor of the Independent on Sunday from 1995 to 1996.

Ben Fenton, chief media correspondent at the Financial Times. Twitter: @benfenton

George Brock, Professor and head of journalism at City University. A journalist at The Observer from 1976 to 1981 he moved to The Times in 1981 and held positions from foreign correspondent to managing editor before leaving in 2009. He is a board member of the World Editors Forum, and a member of the British committee of the International Press Institute. Twitter: @georgeprof

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EXTERNAL EVENT HELD AT THE ROYAL INSTITUTION 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.

What happens to the peace process now? We will be discussing Israel's position on Gaza and the West Bank in the light of changes taking place in the Arab world and of recent events.

Chaired by Samir Farah, one of BBC Arabic's leading presenters and interviewers. He is the lead presenter of Nuqtat Hewar, BBC Arabic television’s flagship interactive programme and one of the most important interactive programmes in Arabic media. He has led a pioneering series of live interactive interviews with leading personalities across the Arab world, putting politicians and decision-makers directly before a live audience to answer questions and defend their policies. He is also the Deputy Head of Programmes for BBC Arabic TV. Twitter: @Samir_Farah

With:

Ambassador Yitzhak Lior joined Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1964. In 1967 he was a member of Israel's Delegation to the Middle-East Peace Conference in Geneva. From 1968 – 81 he did four tours of duty in the U.S: Chicago, New York, Houston and Washington. In Beirut from 1982 – 84 he was head of Israel's mission to Lebanon  (peace negotiations). In 1987 he was appointed deputy director general of the Foreign Ministry for Middle East Affairs. He served as the ambassador to the UN in Geneva from 1990 – 95 and the ambassador to Tokyo from 2000 – 04.

Daphna Baram worked in Jerusalem as a human rights lawyer, and later as a reporter, news editor and deputy editor in chief of the Jerusalem Based weekly Kol Hair. During fellowships with the Reuters Foundation and a period as a senior associate member at St Antony College, Oxford, she had written her book Disenchantment: The Guardian and Israel (published 2004). Her articles on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were published by the Guardian, the Independent and the New Statesman, among others. She provided commentary for Al Jazeera, the BBC and other news outlets. She works for GRNlive in London as an editor. Twitter: @DaphnaBaram

Eldad Beck, the Berlin-based Europe Correspondent for Israel’s most widely circulated newspaper Yedioth Ahronot.  He is a former foreign affairs editor for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper.  He has also worked as a Vienna based Correspondent for Israel’s Maariv newspaper.  He has served as a Paris-based Correspondent for Israel’s Channel 2 Television station, The Jerusalem Post, Globes; Hadashot and The Jerusalem Report. In Paris, he worked as the Editor and Moderator at Radio Shalom and a Journalist at „L´Arche“. Beck studied at the Sorbonne University, majoring in Arabic and Islamic studies.  During the Oslo process, he served as a correspondent for Arabic affairs on Gali-Zahl Radio Station in Israel. Most recently, Beck has published a book entitled Behind the Border documenting his visits to places such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Miri Weingarten, a Jewish Israeli, has worked for Israeli human rights group Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-Israel) since 1999. Based in London since 2009, she currently conducts advocacy/lobby for a coalition of three Israel-based human rights groups - PHR-Israel, Adalah and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, in the EU (Brussels) and the UN (Geneva). She also directs a British media initiative called JNews, which aims to provide alternative Jewish perspectives on Israel and Palestine to British media and the public.

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A decade ago, photographer Jocelyn Bain Hogg got under the skin of organised crime for his book The Firm which portrayed the lives of the gangsters, pimps and prostitutes who roam Britain's shadowy underworld.

The VII photographer has revisited the UK's gangland to complete his recent three-year project The Family looking at a younger, more chaotic generation and the decaying empire of the British mob. By providing an intimate window on their criminal lives, Bain Hogg gives a rich picture of the UK's crime scene and the new characters who orchestrate it.

Jocelyn Bain Hogg started his photography career as a unit photographer on film sets after studying Documentary Photography at Newport Art College. He shot publicity for the BBC and photographed fashion before moving into documentary projects and editorial assignments. His work has been included in numerous publications, including Vogue, Vanity Fair, the Sunday Times, The Independent, The Observer, GQ and Le Monde. He is a member of the VII photo agency.

He will be in conversation with journalist and documentary filmmaker Sean Langan.

The Family is available to pre-order from the Foto8 website.

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Third party event organised by Humanitarian Policy Group, Overseas Development Institute.

From the popular uprisings in the Middle East, to the intervention in Libya, and now the tragedy unfolding in the Horn of Africa, many of this year’s top stories have been dominated by humanitarian issues.

In this end of year debate, leading figures from the humanitarian world gather to discuss the main challenges to protecting and assisting people caught up in conflict and disaster. They will also explore prospects for principled humanitarian action in 2012.

Chaired by Jonathan Rugman, Channel 4 News foreign affairs correspondent.

With:

Sara Pantuliano, head of the Humanitarian Policy Group at the Overseas Development Institute;

Dennis McNamara,  senior humanitarian adviser at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue;

Leslie E Norton, the director general of the Canadian International Development Agency’s International Humanitarian Assistance Directorate;

Manuel Aranda da Silva, director of Policy, Planning and Strategy, World Food Programme.

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Presidential elections are due to take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the end of November and current President, Joseph Kabila, is standing again for what could end up being a 15- year presidency.

We will be examining the prospects of the DRC which has suffered so much violence and where rape is used as a weapon by rebel forces fighting for control of valuable mineral resources such as Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten that are used in everyday electronics such as mobile phones.

Recent election reforms mean that candidates can now win with only 15 - 20 per cent of the vote. Political speeches and broadcasts in the run-up to the election are using tactics that run along ethnic lines and violence has already broken out in some areas.

Can Vital Kamerhe the leader the Union pour la Nation Congolaise party (UNC) present a viable challenge to Kabila and if so, could he fulfill his pledges of freedom, justice and tolerance? What can be done to  address issues of corruption, abuse and extortion in the country?

Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the outcomes of the Presidential elections and to address the challenges that the people of a country with such vast resources face.

Chaired by Mary Harper, the Africa Editor at the BBC World Service. She has reported on Africa for the past twenty years, reporting from many conflict zones, including Sudan, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Algeria, and has done special investigations into Islamist extremism in Africa. She has written for several publications including The Economist, The Times and The Washington Post.

With:

Natznet Tesfay, 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.

Mike Davis, campaign leader of Global Witness' Conflict Minerals campaign, that is calling on the DRC to demilitarise their mining sector and for electronic companies to clean up their supply chains.

Jean-Roger Kaseki, Human Rights campaigner in the UK and DRC and Labour councillor for Tollington Ward, Islington. He is originally from the Congo.

Fiona Lloyd-Davies, award winning flm maker, she has been making flms about human rights issues in areas of confict since 1992; working in Bosnia, Iraq, Pakistan and extensively in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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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.  A set menu will be offered in the restaurant from 5.30-8pm or from 9pm, view the menu here. Space is limited so please indicate when booking if you would like to dine and at what time.

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. The Awards are sponsored by Canon. An auction will also be held in aid of the Fixers' Fund.

The Frontline Club Award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding body of work or series of contributions over a one-year period. Work nominated for the Frontline Club Award should be for the period 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011.

The Memorial Tribute Award is given in honour of front line journalists killed in the course of their work and can be awarded to recognise lifetime achievements or work that has not received the acclaim it deserves.

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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.

With India unwilling to acknowledge the demands of the people for freedom, and therefore avoiding debate on resolution, Kashmir's future looks like it will remain in limbo for years to come. But with the recent Jan Lokpal protests and the Arab Spring, will India take note and give the people of Kashmir the right to self autonomy? Or will it continue to arm itself with Israeli weapons and training in the name of counter-terrorism? The Jan Lokpal protests were carried out in support of social activist Anna Hazare and his continuing pressure on the Indian government to push forward an anti corruption bill that would see the establishment and enforcement of legislation against endemic corruption.

Recently discovered unmarked graves of over 2000 bodies, of insurgents and local Kashmiris, have brought to the surface the horrific extent of the conflict that has left thousands of women widowed and subsequently abandoned by the Indian state with no knowledge of the fate of their husbands. An often forgotten and unreported conflict, in the name of diplomacy, Kashmir is slowly voicing itself onto the international agenda. But will Western powers support Kasmiri freedom, or will Indian diplomatic relations be put first?

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.

Chaired by Victoria Schofield, journalist and author of Kashmir in Conflict. She is an independent analyst and commentator on the Kashmir conflict for news agencies such as BBC World, Al Jazeera, CBS and CBC. She was also an independent rapporteur for the 4th Global Discourse on Kashmir that was sponsored by the International Council for Human Rights.

With:

Mirza Waheed, journalist and novelist. Born and brought up in Kashmir he joined the BBC’s Urdu Service in London in 2001. His first novel, The Collaborator, is set in his hometown during the early 1990s, and depicts the conflict between India and Pakistan and its effects on a border village in Kashmir.

Subhash Chopra, former The Times journalist and author of Partition, Jihad and Peace: South Asia after bin Laden.

Ashis Ray, Times of India journalist and former CNN South Asia Bureau chief and consultant editor.

Imran Khan, correspondent for Al Jazeera English. He has reported extensively from Pakistan, Afghanistan and from across the Middle East.

Lawrence Sáez, Senior Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) with expertise in Pakistan and India. Chair of the Centre for South Asian Studies.

Image Credit: Kashmir Global courtesy of Flickr

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Alex Crawford's coverage in Libya won her widespread acclaim 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.

One of the most decorated journalists in the field, Alex Crawford, is the only person to be awarded three Royal Television Society journalist of the Year awards and has recently been presented the James Cameron Memorial Award 2011 for her coverage of the fighting in Libya and the Middle East.

Brought up in Nigeria and Zambia she began her journalistic career working on the Wokingham Times and later joined Sky News in 1989 where she has worked ever since, and is now their Special Correspondent.

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.

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Over the past century, in common with many capital cities, Cairo's population has increased exponentially. In recent years luxury private developments have popped up in the desert surrounding Cairo, making room for Egypt’s business elite with backing from the Mubarak regime. The boom in the construction of wealthy suburbs away from the chaos of the over-crowded city is sharply underlining the vast gap between rich and poor in Egypt.

Photojournalist Jason Larkin chose these desert construction sites as the subject for his latest project, Cairo Divided. His two-year collaboration with journalist Jack Shenker has produced a long-form essay, accompanied by Larkin’s pictures, which has challenged traditional publication methods. Larkin will be speaking at the Frontline Club about photographing Cairo Divided and the means through which it was published.

Released just before the much-anticipated November elections in Egypt, the publication is a free paper supported by academic institutions, cultural centres, architectural organisations and Panos PICTURES. Its production is a novel attempt to bring long-form journalism and photojournalism to a wider audience.

The talk will be moderated by Max Houghton, Course Leader of the MA in Photojournalism at the University of Westminster and co-editor of 8 magazine. Larkin was one of Houghton's first students at the University of Westminster and she takes a particular interest in photographic projects that combine images with the written word.

Jason Larkin is a British photojournalist who specialises in under-reported issues in the Middle East and Africa. He was recently awarded the Arnold Newman New Portraiture Award.

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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.

Twice winner of the International Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards, Jonathan Steele has, among others, also picked up the James Cameron award, the London Press Club's Scoop of the Year award and Martha Gellhorn special award.

Join us to hear Jonathan Steele draw on his years of experience to talk about the craft of the foreign correspondent and discuss how the role has changed.

Steele will also be discussing his new book Ghosts of Afghanistan: Hard Truths and Foreign Myths.

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Overfishing and dying oceans are in the media spotlight as never before. Will it change anything?

With:

Will Anderson, double Bafta winner and producer/director of Keo Films and Channel 4's Fish Fight

Quentin Clark, head of sustainability and ethical sourcing at Waitrose

Ian Campbell, OCEAN2012 UK co-ordinator working on the 2012 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy

Mike Kaiser, professor of ocean sciences at the University of Bangor

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This Autumn Unreported World's intrepid reporters welcome a formidable new colleague, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, the Channel 4 News presenter, as they investigate stories from some of the most difficult and hidden parts of the world.

In this series they reveal official corruption in South Africa's townships, capture the astonishing lifestyle of Nigeria's 'millionaire pastors', follow Paralympians in Gaza hoping to get to London 2012 and in Uganda they profile a hospital offering pioneering surgery, saving babies from a deadly brain condition. This latest run of Unreported World will continue to deliver compelling investigate reports that reveal remarkable characters living extreme lives.

To mark the launch of the 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.

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