Prime Minister David Cameron meets 2011 John Smith Fellows at Downing Street
On 7th July 2011, our 2011 Fellows spent the final day of their Fellowship Programme at No 11 Downing Street by kind permission of the Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon George Osborne MP. The day included a meeting with the Prime Minister, a series of discussions with leading experts on UK domestic policy and UK foreign policy, a Q & A with Justice Minister the Rt Hon Lord McNally, and an evening reception hosted by the Immigration Minister Damian Green MP.
The Prime Minister chats with Fellows about their Fellowship experiences
The purpose of the day was for the fellows to bring together their reflections in two particular areas: the Big Society as a means of delivering public services, and the role of mediation in peace building. To discuss the first issue, the Trust brought together an expert panel including Sir Stuart Etherington (Chief Executive, National Council for Voluntary Organisations), Nick Pearce (Director, The Institute for Public Policy Research), Julian McCrea (Director of Research, Institute for Government), Kate Blatchford (Researcher, Institute for Government), Juliet Mountford (Director of Programmes, Office for Civil Society) and David Cohen (Chief Feature Writer, London Evening Standard). With the Fellows, the experts debated the strengths and weaknesses of the Big Society approach. This was followed by a discuss with former Downing Street chief of staff, Jonathan Powell, and Chair of the Bar Human Rights Council, Mark Muller QC, on the role of mediation in conflict situations and in the current events unfolding in the Middle East and North Africa.Following these interesting discussions, the 2011 Fellows were privileged to meet the Prime Minister (pictured above) who spoke to a number of the Fellows, enquiring about their month in the UK and life in their home countries.
Lord McNally presents Armenian Fellow Lilit Gevorgyan with her Fellowship certificate
Representing the UK Ministry of Justice, Lord McNally (Minister of State and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords) presented each Fellow with a certificate of participation to honour their completion of the 2011 John Smith Fellowship Programme. Lord McNally also took part in a Question & Answer session with Fellows answering questions on issues such as internet access in UK prisons, reformation of the House of Lords, and the current political leadership in the UK. Lord McNally commented that it was a ‘personal honour’ to be associated with the John Smith Memorial Trust and the valuable work that it does.
The Downing Street events continued with an evening reception hosted by Immigration Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Trust Damian Green MP held in honour of the 2011 Fellowship Programme. Guests included Ambassadors of JSMT Fellowship countries, attachment hosts, Trust sponsors, and other friends of JSMT.
JSMT Director Brian Brivati and JSMT Deputy Chairman Damian Green MP welcome guests to the Downing Street reception
The day concluded with a farewell dinner at One Great George Street hosted by Trust Chairman Lord Falconer. The 2011 Fellows provided the dinner guests with entertainment during the evening including a 2011 Fellowship song, a photo slide show, and thank you speeches delivered by Fellows from all eight Fellowship countries.
The John Smith Memorial Trust would like to thank the Prime Minister, Lord McNally, Damian Green MP, George Osborne MP, and all at No. 11 Downing Street for making possible this special day for our 2011 Fellows.
July 2011
Photos courtesy of Jorge Dieguez