A little background by way of explaining more about this blog. Earlier this year, knowing that I’d be coming on a study tour of with the 21st Century Trust and the John Smith Memorial Trust, I had the bright idea of organising a group blog to coincide with the trip. The idea was to create another forum to extend the discussions beyond the meeting rooms, and to involve other people in them. We’ll be meeting some very well placed and informed people here in , and I thought it would be a good idea to share some of what we learn. The main idea behind the study tour is to create and strengthen international links, so what better way to continue that than with a blog?
Two great and complementary UK non-profits have put this study tour together. First is the 21st Century Trust which organises eight day conferences on globally important topics of about twenty five people under the age of forty from governments, business, academia, media and other sectors. The conferences are run under the Chatham House rule, and you eat and work together for at least a full week. They’re each run by a Senior Fellow who is generally a heavy hitter on the conference topic. For human rights they’ve had Michael Ignatieff, on globalisation; Dominique Moisi, on genetics and identity; Ronald Dworkin, on culture and imperialism; Edward Said. The Trust then runs shorter weekend events that anyone who’s been to a full conference can come along to. Which all sounds very serious and high-minded. And it is, but somehow Trust events are generally great craic. People take the issues seriously, but not themselves.
I’ve made several of what I hope will be life-long friendships with other Trust fellows. In the five years I’ve been a Trust fellow I’ve often found it to be a lifeline. It’s given me a way to channel and develop my interests in policy areas far outside my field, and to meet people who run refugee camps, newspapers and NGOs in authoritarian regimes. When you’re toiling as a policy flunky away writing minutes, organising conference calls and massaging egos, it’s good to be reminded of the bigger picture.
The John Smith Memorial Trust was set up in 1996 following the sudden death of Labour Party leader, John Smith, in 1994. It runs the John Smith Fellowship Programme which brings people working in six former Soviet countries to the UK for a six week programme. The John Smith fellows - future leaders from government and civil society – attend seminars with senior academics and practitioners and have a two week attachment to an appropriate organisation, for example shadowing a politician or working in a TV station or NGO. It’s run with the Dept. of Constitutional Affairs and the British Council. The idea isn’t to indoctrinate people, but to give them a thorough understanding of democratic models that they may apply in their own country. The programme operates in Armenia, Azerbaijan,Georgia,Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,Russia and Ukraine.
How it all fits together is that several 21st Century Trust Fellows and UK people who’ve come through the John Smith Memorial Trust have travelled to Kiev, led by Baroness Smith (a trustee of both Trusts) and John Lotherington, Director of the 21st Century Trust. Amongst the many people we’ll be meeting this week will be John Smith Fellows based in Kiev and elsewhere.
What a terrific idea!
I also like the idea of a 'study tour.'
Posted by: David Sucher | September 28, 2006 at 06:11 PM