2021

December 4, 2021

Rhodes Must Fall in South Africa. The removal of Confederate memorials in the United States. The toppling Edward Colston’s statue into Bristol harbor. Calls for historic figures to be “canceled” and injustices to be acknowledged. But how can these struggles for control of the past be more democratic, engaging communities and charting more creative, civil outcomes amidst the sound and fury?

Delivering the 2021 Palliser Lecture in December 2021, Neil MacGregor, former director of the British Museum and National Gallery, together with an expert panel, addressed the ongoing culture war, examine how communities have addressed their contested histories to help guide future action, and explore how to bring communities together around monuments and public spaces rather than drive them further apart.

The 2021 Palliser Lecture was a collaboration between Salzburg Global and 21st Century Trust, hosted by the Aga Khan Centre in London.

Watch the 2021 Palliser Lecture

Wednesday, November 3, 2021 between 14:30 and 20:30 GMT
There is a perfect storm of challenges now facing live performance of classical music. The aim of this meeting was to chart its possible futures along with a group of young musicians in conversation with established leaders in the field. The relevant challenges – such as a rapidly evolving digital landscape and the impact of Brexit - have of course been brought into sharp relief by the pandemic, both in the damage it has caused and the innovation it has stimulated.

To generate better understanding and collaboration around these challenges, around 40 participants were convened, including well-known individuals involved in live music, including musicians, musical promoters, educators, and broadcasters, along with representatives of government, philanthropies, and digital innovators, as well as young performers.  The latter are particularly our focus.  A half-day discussion concluded with a live concert giving a platform to some of the young performers.

We are most grateful to Bob and Elisabeth Boas who hosted the event at their home, 22 Mansfield Street, London W1, where they have done so much to support live performance over the years.
Listen to highlights from the program below, available on Anchor and Spotify.

Session One
In the first of three episodes, we hear introductory words from 21st Century Trust trustee Jill Pellew and the first panel discussion titled, "Why is live performance so important? Has that changed in the digital age? Speakers include:

• Marshall Marcus, Secretary General of the European Union Youth Orchestra, President of Sistema Europe, and Trustee of Sistema England
• Nina Kaye, Director and Trustee of Sistema England
• Ian Cross, Professor and Director of the Centre for Music and Science, University of Cambridge
• Ian Page, founder and artistic director of Classical Opera and The Mozartists Roddy Williams, baritone and composer

Session Two
In the second of three episodes, we move onto the second panel discussion which tried to answer the following questions: How has music best been kept alive during the pandemic and how have performers been affected, especially those just starting out? What have been the most promising innovations during the crisis which could be built on in the future? Speakers included:

• Orlando Jopling, conductor, cellist and artistic director of Roman River Festival.
• Kate Blackstone, music psychology researcher and musician, Young Classical Artists Trust
• Isabella Pitman, Founder, the National Student Opera Society
• Tamar Geist, singer and choir director, Goodenough College; doctoral student, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
• Lucy Maguire, CEO, The Nucleo Project

Session Three
In the third and final episode of our coverage from this program, we move onto the last panel discussion of the day which tried to answer the following question: Given the pandemic and Brexit, how can policy-makers, funders and fans best support the restoration and sustainability of live performance and particularly younger performers’ careers? Speakers included:

• ​Sir Nicholas Kenyon, formerly Managing Director, the Barbican Centre ​Dame
• Liz Forgan, Chair, Aurora Orchestra   ​
• Alasdair Tait, CEO and Artistic Director, Young Classical Artists Trust

This episode also features closing remarks from 21st Century Trust chair Peter Wilson-Smith.

Edward Mortimer, Chair of the 21st Century Trust since 2012, and a key supporter and collaborator of the Trust for over 30 years, died on Friday 18th June 2021. Edward’s leadership of the Trust was invaluable. He brought terrific intellectual range and insight, along with deep integrity and humanitarianism. He was devoted to public reasoning – addressing complex issues in the round, taking diverse viewpoints seriously, listening as well as speaking with unfailing thoughtfulness. And he undertook all this with a ready sense of humour.

Edward was first involved with the Trust in 1991 as a Senior Fellow leading conferences on topics such as religious revivalism, self-determination, and the West and Islam, while he was foreign policy editor for the Financial Times.  He also served at that time on the Trust’s Executive Council. While in New York from 1998 to 2006, first as chief speechwriter for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and then director of communications, Edward kept closely in touch with the Trust as a supporter and adviser. Then, following his return to Europe as senior vice president and chief program officer of Salzburg Global Seminar, he brokered the enduring partnership between our two organizations.

Following his formal retirement from Salzburg Global, Edward became the Trust’s Chair in 2012. He continued to play a leading role in the Trust’s programme, including his delivery of the inaugural Palliser Lecture in 2014, Europe’s Future: 1814, 1914 – Or Something Completely Different? His insight, connections, and enthusiasm inspired the recent virtual events the Trust has been involved in on key themes such as contested histories and the future of democracy in a digital age. Up until the week of his death he was at the forefront of planning events for the autumn and beyond. Those events, and our work in times to come, will bear his imprint.

Thursday, February 25, 2021 between 17.00 - 18.30 CET
Contested monuments and memorials have hit headlines around the world in recent years. These pillars of the public landscape can reinforce historical legacies and trauma, and are increasingly disputed by people working to end oppression and build just and equitable societies. Yet campaigns in public spaces have split opinion and created an easy target for politicization and media frenzy.  

Is rescripting the commemorative landscape essential to tackle underlying structural and historical injustices or could it divert attention from today’s inequities if seen as an end in itself? How can responsible leaders advance memory, healing and reconciliation in deeply-divided societies? Whose voices need to be heard, and what can we learn by sharing experience and innovation across borders?

This special webinar marked a major international collaboration and a landmark publication - Contested Histories in Public Spaces: Principles, Process, Best Practices – that brings together the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation, the International Bar Association and Salzburg Global Seminar (dedicated to conflict transformation since 1947).

This multi-year initiative addresses controversies over statues, memorials, street names and other representations of disputed legacies in public spaces and is creating practical tools for decision-makers, policy planners, educators, and other stakeholders.

Part of Salzburg Global’s Designs on the Future initiative, this debate brought together leaders on the frontline of community and systems change and explored case studies from South Africa and Korea. It was followed by open discussion with the virtual audience. 21st Century Trust was delighted to host this event in association with Salzburg Global.

Can Democracy Catch up with Technology?

Thursday 21 December 2020 between 5 pm and 6.15 pm GMT
In partnership with Salzburg Global Seminar, 21st Century Trust was delighted to present the latest Designs on the Future webinar featuring guest speaker Professor Stephen Stedman.

Kofi Annan once said, “Technology does not stand still; neither can democracy.” Is democracy in danger? Around the world polarization is increasing, trust is declining, traditional media is suspect, political parties are becoming more sectarian, and significant numbers of citizens appear to be ever more disengaged or hostile to democratic processes. Is social media the culprit or the scapegoat? Are technology and politics pulling in opposite directions? What can and should be done to uphold democracy?

This health check on global democracy took place one day after the US Presidential Inauguration, and one year after the Kofi Annan Commission’s seminal report on Elections and Democracy in the Digital Age. While the stress test for America’s Constitution dominated 2020 headlines, Kofi Annan was particularly concerned about the threats to newer democracies – and interested in creative responses across the global south to some of the challenges and opportunities accelerated by new technologies.

The Kofi Annan Foundation set up the Kofi Annan Commission shortly before Annan died in 2018 to examine the rapidly changing role of technology in elections around the world and recommend ways to ensure that digital tools strengthen – not undercut – democracy. Please join us to debate the report’s key findings with the Kofi Annan Commission’s Secretary-General, Professor Stephen Stedman.

Prior to the Kofi Annan Commission, Stephen Stedman served as Assistant Secretary General and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General. He directed the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change focused on international peace and security and is currently a Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.