Event Details

The first in our 2023/24 public lecture series sees Baroness Catherine Ashton join us to talk about her experiences in diplomacy in the 21st Century.

Baroness Catherine Ashton, author of And Then What: Inside Stories of 21st-Century Diplomacy, served as the European Union’s first High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy from 2009 to 2014. Ashton faced the challenge of representing the views and values of 28 nations during one of the most turbulent periods in living memory, leading historic negotiations such as the Serbia-Kosovo Accord of 2013 and the Iran nuclear negotiations. She encountered dictators and war criminals, and witnessed the aftermath of natural disasters, military action and political instability.

In conversation, Ashton will take us behind the scenes to show us what worked and what didn’t, and how it felt to play a part in tackling some of the major international crises of our times. She will offers insight into how modern diplomacy works, examining the tools needed to find our way through the many challenges we face today.