User:Internationalaffairs

The International Affairs Society, is a Bristol University society whose mission is to promote debate and understanding of major international issues and current affairs. The Society is non-profit, non-organisational and non-partisan.

The International Affairs Society was founded in 2004 by Meena Singelee, Julian De Jonquieres and Julian Strong. The three founders were all final year Politics students at the University of Bristol.

Role
Through events with distinguished speakers, a magazine, an outreach programme, and organised trips IAS hope to enable students at the University to engage in current international affairs. The magazine is a forum for students to write on issues that matter to them, as well as interview leading thinkers. Committee members visit neighbouring schools as part of an outreach programme to lead debates on current issues with younger students.

Committee
There are 17 committee members, comprising of Bristol University students from different fields. The current president is Meena Singelee. She has held this position since the society was founded in 2004. The Vice Presidents are David Young and Sara Karnas. Jack Worth is the society's Treasurer.

Past Events
IAS are non-partisan are therefore invite a broad range of speakers on various issues to discuss an issue. Past speakers have included:

Jon Snow, Broadcaster Channel 4 News - November 2006; Dame Margaret Anstee, former UN Under-Secretary General - October 2006; Scott Ritter, Former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq - October 2005; Senor Francisco Santos, Vice President of Colombia - March 2005; Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, Financial Times and Author of 'Why Globalisation Works' - February 2005; David Alexander, International Director, British Red Cross - January 2005

A full list is available on the website.

Trips
The Society has made established links with institutions and fellow students interested in global affairs through organised trips. Past trips have included New York and Washington DC, where students visited the United Nations, the Pentagon, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Other trips have included a visit to Vienna and IAEA; Geneva and the UNHCR and Red Cross; and Paris.

Controversies
Because of the highly controversial nature of some of the society's talks and some of the speakers, there have been several incidents that have caused unwanted attention on the society.

In March 2005, after addressing an audience on Colombian politics, the Vice President of Colombia Senor Francisco Santos was attacked with red paint by a student. The student was never caught, but the incident has blighted the society's mission since. Speakers invited by IAS are now subject to considerable screening and vetting by the University. This has made it a harder task to invite speakers, but nonetheless the society remains committed to its mission.

External Links

The International Affairs Website www.international-affairs.org.uk

Chatham House