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UCL Diary Notice: 2009 Global Citizenship Lectures

16 January 2009

Event: "Reforming International Institutions: An Agenda for the 21st Century" Date: Wednesday January 21st 2009, 6pm Location: UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1 EH 'Global citizenship' - the moral and ethical outlook which shapes how people understand their relative responsibilities in communities around the world - is the overarching theme of a series of lectures arranged by UCL (University College London) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The series begins on January 21st when a panel of speakers will explore the issues surrounding international governance and the reform of international institutions to meet the needs of 21st century nations.

Professor Richard Bellamy (Founding Head of UCL's Department of Political Science) will ask whether global citizenship could - or should - replace national citizenship, before Dr David Hudson examines recent calls for increased regulation of international institutions and asks whether the 1930s/'40s have any economic or political lessons to teach us during the current financial crisis. They will be joined on the panel by Professor Ngaire Woods from the Global Economic Governance Programme at the University of Oxford.

The subsequent lectures in the series will be:

- 'Development Policies for a Changing World', March 31st 2009, with Mr Ransford Smith (Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General), and Professor Orazio Attanasio (a UCL academic and Director of the Institute of Fiscal Studies Centre for the Evaluation of Development Policies)

- 'Civil Paths to Peace', June 2nd 2009, with Professor Amartya Sen (Harvard University's Nobel Prize-winning economist).

The topics have been chosen to reflect both UCL's research interests and the strategic priorities informing the international activities of the Commonwealth Secretariat. The lectures mark a new partnership between the two institutions and are intended to be provocative and stimulating - aimed at a level suitable for both the well-informed layman and a specialist in the field. They are one facet of UCL's strategy to provide education which equips graduates for global citizenship and leadership.

"Here at UCL we focus on tackling real-world problems and looking at theoretical issues in their global context," says Vice-Provost Professor Michael Worton. "We are committed to educating our students in the round - whether that's by internationalising the curriculum, by providing the opportunity to study abroad or by facilitating a myriad of voluntary and extra-curricular activities - and these lectures are a perfect fit with our wider concept of providing education for global citizenship and leadership.

"The way we plan our teaching and research helps us produce critical and creative thinking graduates who are ready to play leading roles in the family, the workplace and the global community at large."

- Ends -

Notes for Editors

1. Journalists who wish to attend any of the lectures, or interview any of the academics taking part, should contact Dave Weston in the UCL Media Relations Office on tel: +44 (0)20 7679 7678, mail: d.weston@ucl.ac.uk, out of hours: +44 (0)7917 271 364.

2. The first lecture will be held on Wednesday 21st January 2009, 6pm, at the Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH. A map is available here: http://www.gosh.nhs.uk/gosh_families/coming_to_gosh/get_here_map.html

3. Programme

6:00pm Registration

6:30pm Lecture

7:30pm Drinks reception

About UCL:

Founded in 1826, UCL was the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to admit students regardless of race, class, religion or gender, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. UCL is the seventh-ranked university in the 2008 THES-QS World University Rankings, and the third-ranked UK university in the 2008 league table of the top 500 world universities produced by the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. UCL alumni include Marie Stopes, Jonathan Dimbleby, Lord Woolf, Alexander Graham Bell, and members of the band Coldplay. UCL currently has over 12,000 undergraduate and 8,000 postgraduate students. Its annual income is over £600 million.

www.ucl.ac.uk

About the Commonwealth:

The Commonwealth is an association of 53 independent states consulting and co-operating in the common interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international understanding. The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965 is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation and co-operation among other member governments and countries. 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth.

www.thecommonwealth.org