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What is the Foreign Policy and Security Conference?
The conference seeks to democratize access to thought leaders and provide a forum for both practitioners and students to come together and discuss the challenges faced in the international arena. From cyber-warfare to climate change, the conference aims to be the first comprehensive conference at King’s to provide such an expansive array of events and speakers on foreign policy and security.
Where and when?
The Foreign Policy and Security Conference 2023 will be held from 22-24 February.
The conference will take place at King's College London's Strand Campus, with individual venues to be confirmed. Pre-conference events will also be organised throughout the year, including talks, seminars and visits.
How to purchase your ticket
Click here to purchase your one-day or full conference ticket. Please note, tickets must be purchased by 16.00 on 20 February.
Conference programme
The conference will take place over three days with each day being centered around a specific theme. The first day will explore topics within the field of security, ranging from immigration to cybersecurity. The second day will focus on climate-related challenges. The final day will be a careers day, aimed at providing conference attendees a chance at networking and exploring the diversity of careers present within the field of foreign policy engagement.
Day 1
- Session 1: The Age of Cyber Warfare: Spotlight on Ukraine
- Session 2: South Asian Immigration Crisis and The Weaponisation of Rohingya Refugees
- Session 3: TBC
- Session 4: Should States Negotiate with Terrorists?
Day 2
- Session 1: Introduction to Climate Change Politics
- Session 2: Inside the negotiation room: COP26 & COP27
- Session 3: Developing Countries Perspective on Climate Change
- Session 4: Gender, Education, and Climate Change
Day 3
- Session 1: Masterclass in Diplomacy
- Session 2: Introduction to the UK Foreign Office
- Session 3: Diversity of Careers in Foreign Affairs
Our keynote speakers
Sir John Everard, Former UK Ambassador to North Korea.
Dr Ammeenah Gurib-Fakim GCSK, Former President of Mauritius.
Professor Ciaran Martin, Founding Chief Executive of the UK National Cybersecurity Center.
Jonathan Powell, Former Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair; Former Chief Government Negotiator on Northern Ireland; CEO of Inter Mediate.
*Further speakers will be announced in due course*
Organising committee
The conference is being organised by a team of eleven undergraduate students in addition to two supervising staff based at the School of Politics and Economics at King’s College London. As a student-run initiative, the conference benefits from the diversity present in its team with committee members studying for degree courses across various departments at King’s. A full list of founding committee members and their respective roles can be seen below:
- Professor Andrew Blick - General Chair
- Chloe Humphreys - General Vice-Chair
- Arushi Agarwal - Co-Speakers Relations Director; Executive Secretary.
- Mohamed Elhag - Co-Program Director; Conference Founder.
- Gayatri. G - Co-Program Director
- Clara Luz- Co-Finance Director
- Rasmus Hertz - Co-Finance Director
- Lara Muhieddine - Co-Marketing Director
- Augustin Agabriel - Co-Marketing Director
- Nandini Saini- Co-Logistics Director
- Thea Turton - Co-Logistics Director
- Thomas Noonan - Co-Speakers Relations Director
- Zuzanna Hebdzynska - Co-Speakers Relations Director
For questions, please contact: fps.conference@kcl.ac.uk
Past events
In conversation with Libya's foreign minister
On 30 November, in partnership with the KCL Diplomacy Society, UCL IRS Society, Oxford Diplomacy Society and Grimshaw Club LSE, the FPS conference organised a talk with Libya’s Foreign Minister, Najla Mangoush
Najla is Libya’s first female Foreign Minister. Najla was the Libyan representative at the USIP. She has served as the program officer for peace-building and traditional law at the Centre for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and headed the National Transitional Council’s public engagement unit in 2011.
Iran: A perspective on recent developments
On 16 November, the FPS conference, in collaboration with the KCL Diplomacy Society, welcomed Nicholas Hopton, former British ambassador to Iran, Lybia, Qatar and Yemen, to discuss and offer his perspective on the recent developments in Iran.
Ukranian ambassador to the UK
We held a talk with Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's Ambassador in the UK, on the future of Ukraine. This event was co-organised with the Ukrainian Society, the KCL International Relations Society and the National Ukrainian Society.
Libyan Embassy Visit
We organised a visit of the Libyan embassy on 4 November 2022 and had the opportunity to exchange with the Libyan ambassador to the UK, his excellency, Salah Ahmed Mrehil.
Cultural Diplomacy and Soft Power in the 21st Century
As part of our pre-conference event series, we hosted Carla Dirlikov Canales, US Department of State arts envoy, on 6 October.
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