2003 Fellowship Programme
2003 Conference Programme

1. Global Civil Society: expectations, capacities, and the accountability of international NGOs

2. The Future of Higher Education: dilemmas and opportunities

3. History, Policy, and Identity

1. Global civil society: expectations, capacities and the accountability of international NGOs

Dr Michael Williams' Introductory Paper

Merton College, Oxford 28 March - 5 April 2003

Senior Fellow

Speakers

Advertised Synopsis
The rise of NGOs both international and national was a marked feature of the closing decades of the 20th century. Especially following the collapse of the Soviet system, much faith was placed in a renewal of civil society and the capacity of voluntary associations to express aspirations and deliver services more creatively and responsively than governments. This conference will examine how far NGOs have met these expectations and how they might develop in the future. The different types of NGOs will be assessed alongside their changing relationships, both co-operative and antagonistic, with governments, inter-governmental organisations and corporations. How far are NGOs leaving governments behind in responding to the challenges posed by globalization, in terms of their flexibility and a growing sense - nurtured by ever more sophisticated communications technologies - of international responsibility for issues such as the environment, sustainable development and human rights? Conversely, how far are some NGOs encroaching on the proper sphere of democratically elected governments, or, as a result of their proliferation or zeal, thwarting the co-ordination necessary in an emergency or a conflict zone? What is the impact of NGOs on international business practices? How far might NGOs themselves need to become more business-like in their operations? How do funding concerns shape an NGOs mission? How can the creative potential of NGOs, and their accountability, be best maximized?

Back to Top

2. The Future of Higher Education:
dilemmas and opportunities
(in collaboration with Cumberland Lodge)

Baroness Warwick's Introductory Paper

Cumberland Lodge, Windsor 28 July - 3 August 2003

Senior Fellow

Speakers

Advertised Synopsis
Research, innovation, scholarship, international competitiveness, as well as the underpinnings of a prosperous society populated by intelligent well-informed citizens: the university is expected to deliver all of these. Can it? Or are these demands driving higher education in many places into crisis? This conference will examine some of the tensions, real or apparent, which this sector experiences around the world, and which affect the very nature of the university in individual countries. These dilemmas include the debate over broadening access as against the quality of teaching for a select group of students; the distribution of academic resources, or even entire institutions, between research and teaching; the search to be bodies of global importance while also serving national or local needs; the problem of differentiation between universities in a given country while maintaining some notion of equality; the difficulty of maintaining academic freedom in the face of even well-disposed governments seeking to advance policy objectives through higher education; the assessment of the best mix of public and private institutions (the latter running from traditional universities to those run by corporations) for a country; and questions relating to resources allocation between science, technology, and the humanities. Underlying all of these quandaries are the vexed questions of funding, of what knowledge will be important in future, of the best way to teach it, and of what students and employers expect of the university. Technological innovation increases uncertainty on the latter scores. In particular, how will it impact on the work place for which universities prepare so many, and how will it change the nature of teaching itself. On the other hand, what place remains for the ideal of the rounded, critical thinker, traditionally common to both the humanities and the sciences, when universities are under such pressure to provide those with the training to cope with our complex, technological world. Is the university an institution or an idea?

Back to Top

3. History, Policy, and Identity
(in collaboration with British Council Seminars)

Neal Ascherson's Introductory Paper

Madingley Hall, Cambridge 7-15 October 2003

Senior Fellow

Speakers

Advertised Synopsis
"Official History" could describe the dominant view of a country's past expressed in various public ways. A central one of these is prescribed school history curricula, which can affect students' world views for decades. Particular understandings of the past also inform and justify a host of policies in most states. It is thus no surprise that historical debates revolve around political, ethnic and other conflicts within a given society at least as much as around what actually happened in the past, and play a key role in the creation and evolution of defining national and sub-national myths. This conference will look at issues surrounding how a democratic society forms and changes its views about its history and, frequently therefore, of itself, including: the impact of history education and curricula; the effects of contending views of history on divided and post-conflict societies; self-conscious attempts to create unifying national historical records, such as truth and reconciliation commissions; active inculcation of new identities, such as the teaching of European history in a way to encourage a sense of European citizenship; and limits on how far individuals, asserting freedom of speech, may contradict views which have broad academic, public, and official sanction, such as laws in various countries on Holocaust denial. Whatever the integrity of historical scholarship, the perception of history in the public domain is often about the present as much as it is about the past.

Back to Top

Summary of all Conferences

2003 Fellowship Programme
Go to 2003 Conference Programme

1. Europe and the War on Terrorism
2. Russia and the West
3. Globalization: rhetoric, reality and international politics

Europe and the War on Terrorism

Speakers

Brief Description
The war on terrorism has so far largely been shaped by the United States, but it poses a series of specific challenges to European policy makers which will test both the strength and the flexibility of the European Security and Defence Policy.  This seminar will explore scenarios for the development of ESDP, examining the adapted or new forms of co-operation which will be needed to counter a pervasive but indistinct threat, and assessing its impact on the relationship between Europe and the United States and on the responsibilities Europe may take on in other parts of the world.  The balance between European states and their citizens has also been brought into question, with regard to surveillance and privacy, and civil liberties more generally.  The seminar will question how far Europe is likely to be changed by the war on terrorism.  The Trust is grateful to the UK Foreign Office for its support of this event.

Back to Fellowship Programme 
Back to Top 

Russia and the West

Speakers

Brief Description
Since the time of Peter the Great there has been a tension between the idea of Russia as part of the West and that of Russia as a distinct entity. During the momentous changes of the last decade, Russia has been moving towards integration, with membership of the G8, a new relationship with NATO, and the prospect of membership of the WTO. Until the recent conflict over Iraq, this movement seemed to be symbolized in the close personal co-operation between Presidents Putin and Putin. What may be the lasting effects of the present crisis, and what new directions are likely be taken?  How will security policy develop in connection with defence reform, the relationship with NATO, and the war on terrorism? What will be the salient issues in connection with governance and human rights? What are the prospects for the Russian economy and how far will these depend on an evolving relationship with the European Union and membership of the WTO?

Back to Fellowhsip Programme
Back to Top

Globalization: rhetoric, reality and international politics

Speakers

Brief Description
For a number of years in the last decade, the processes loosely labelled "globalization" were trumpeted as an unstoppable dynamo bringing greater wealth to all, and in particular solutions to long standing problems of poverty and underdevelopment in many parts of the world. Now the phenomenon seems to be equally frequently portrayed as an out-of-control juggernaut responsible for exacerbating these problems, as well as adding to many of the world's other ills. This conference will try to look at who really is winning and losing through globalization, the effects of the anti-globalization movement, the fate of the Washington consensus and its impact on international financial institutions, and, finally, the compatibility of globalization and social justice.

Back to Fellowship Programme 
Back to Top