Yesterday, our students put on another captivating and thought-provoking virtual conference, this time about the foreign policies of the United States and their influences in regions such as the UK, China, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa. A multitude of schools nationwide, including fellow GDST schools and local state schools, joined us as we got to hear from nine superb speakers.
OHS students are not afraid to be heard, and with the ever-changing political situations not just in the US but across the globe, this conference was the perfect spark to ignite a discussion among young people. The conference’s student organisers – Georgia, Meghana, Aisling, Eleanor D, Eleanor V, and Hannah – along with the support of their teachers and peers, have worked incredibly hard to invite nine amazing expert speakers:
- Professor Peter Trubowitz (Professor of International Relations, and Director of the Phelan US Centre at LSE)
- Dr Jonathan Monten (Associate Professor in Political Science and Director of the International Public Policy Program at UCL)
- Professor Michael Cox (Emeritus Professor of International Relations at LSE, and co-founder of LSE’s foreign policy think thank, LSE IDEAS)
- Dr Leslie Vinjamuri (Associate Professor in International Relations at SOAS)
- Professor Michael Moodie (Assistant Director at the Congressional Research Service)
- Professor Yossi Mekelberg (Associate Professor of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House)
- Sir Peter Westmacott (former British Ambassador to the United States)
- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (leading journalist and Senior Research Associate at the Foreign Policy Centre)
- Matthew T. Page (security expert on Africa, former expert on Nigeria for the US’ Intelligence Community)
There was an incredible variety of topics and discussions that were had, such as Biden’s foreign policy, US foreign policy on Russia and China, human rights and global governance, US-UK relations in the Biden and Brexit era, and what is good about the USA? Students were able take part in a Q & A session following each talk, and we were very impressed with the mature and well-thought-out questions that were put forward.
Congratulations to our Year 13 Politics students for organising and hosting such a remarkable event. Given the success of the past two student-led OHS conferences, we cannot wait to see what’s in store for the upcoming law conference next week!