Global Politics Guest Speaker Series

In the last month, my students and I at Halcyon London International School have been incredibly privileged to hear from three speakers around topics relating to history, politics, international law and norms, and how the idea of justice and freedom play out in the real world. 

First, Dr. Eva Thorne guided us through the Namibian-Icelandic Fishnet Scandal that is ongoing. She spoke of the complexity of the various stakeholders involved in the scandal, the role of whistleblowing, the civil justice mechanism that can be, and are being pursued, to hopefully bring financial restitution, and the problems of exploitation for developing states. Crucially for me as the teacher, she brought the ideas of global politics to life in a very real sense as students had to consider the types of decisions they would make. 

Our second speaker, Professor Faten Ghosn from the University of Essex, delved into transitional justice post-conflict, using data and clear evidence to examine the success and relative failures of actions taken by the international community. It was particularly telling to see how much is spent on international trials and have students examine if those measures actually lead to greater change or a sense of justice and restoration in the country. Furthermore, asking students to grapple with the idea that the line between victim and perpetrator is not always clear-cut helped them to understand the nuance and challenges of international politics.

Our final speaker, Jinhyuk Li, defected from North Korea and made his way to the UK, where he now speaks with Civic Square, sharing the importance of protecting democracy and fighting for freedom. Not only for the students, but also for the teachers in the room, we were blown away to learn of what the process was like to defect and of life under an oppressive, authoritarian state - it’s one thing to teach authoritarian states, but to actually have someone explain daily life under the regime was eye-opening and harrowing, and was a significant reminder of why personal testimony is paramount in building empathy and understanding. 

I am grateful to connect with these incredible individuals in London and look forward to fostering even more partnerships as our Global Politics and History curriculum continues to grow.

Hannah Austin

Teacher of History and Global Politics