Michael Binyon
Journalist; leader-writer and foreign correspondent for The Times

9 March 2011, Kyiv
‘Ye’ Bookstore
Talk subject: ‘How free is Britain’s press?’

10 March 2011, 19:00, Kharkiv
‘Ye’ Bookstore (3 Sumska Street)
Talk subject: ‘Social media, new IT and journalism’

Michael Binyon has been a leader-writer, columnist and foreign correspondent for The Times since 1971. For 15 years he was based overseas, reporting for the paper as a correspondent in Moscow, Bonn, Washington and Brussels. He returned to London to be Diplomatic Editor in 1991, and then became the chief foreign leader-writer in 2000.

He speaks French, German, Russian and some Arabic and is a frequent broadcaster on BBC radio and television, and appears regularly on Canadian, French, German, Russian and Middle Eastern radio and television stations, as well as on NBC and Al Jazeera television.

He formally retired from The Times in November 2009 after 38 years with the paper, but has continued to write regularly for the paper, especially on foreign affairs, the arts, transport, religion and as a regular leader-writer still. He also lectures to business seminars, the Royal College of Defence Studies, New York University seminars and international conferences on foreign affairs, journalism and contemporary British politics.

Christine Forrester,
Civil Society and Social Enterpreneurship Expert

17 February 2011

Talk subject: ‘Business with a human face: social entrepreneurship in the UK and Ukraine’.

Christine is a consultant on a wide range of questions concerning the development of social society, cooperation between NGOs and local communities, and social entrepreneurship. She worked as a consultant since 1993 in counties of Central and Southern Europe, the Baltics, and the Middle and Far East.

She took part in many programmes including: Democratising Ukraine (2003–2008), undertaking scoping work for the British Council in Crimea, researching the needs for social enterprise development in Ukraine.

Currently Christine works as the Strategic Advisor to ‘The Citizen and The State: Developing Partnership for Good Governance in Ukraine’ EU funded programme managed by the British Council in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

Elyse Dodgson,
Head of International Department at Royal Court Theatre (London, UK)

Natalka Vorozhbyt,
Ukrainian playwright

23 February 2011

Talk subject: ‘Royal Court and the new world drama’.

Elyse Dodgson has been a member of the Royal Court artistic team since 1985 – first, as Director of the Young People’s Theatre and, since 1995, as an Associate Director and Head of the International Department. She was the first director of the International Summer School (now the Royal Court International Residency) which she started in 1989, and has produced the Royal Court Young Writers Festival (1986–91) and the International Season since 1997.

Elyse has co-ordinated play development in many parts of the world including Cuba, Nigeria, Uganda, Mexico, Palestine, Russia, Syria, India and Brazil. She has also edited five anthologies of international plays, all published by Nick Hern Books, from Germany, Spain, Mexico and the Arab World. She was the recipient of the 2004 Young Vic Award and, in 2010, received an MBE (Member of the Order of British Empire) for her contribution to ‘international theatre and young writers overseas’.

Meeting with the famous British political scientist and researcher Brian Brivati
30 November 2010

http://www.johnsmithmemorialtrust.org/web/site/home/home.asp

Talk subject: ‘E-Governance: Myths or Realities?’

An open meeting with Professor Brian Brivati, Director of the John Smith Memorial Trust, renowned expert on the UK political history, was held in Ye Bookstore.

In his talk, Mr. Brivati explored the extent to which e-government and the general field of digital technology is a force for democratic consolidation. There are highly significant ways in which e-government and digital democracy can be used to hold governments to account, to increase transparency and to build opposition coalitions. From the government side, e-governance is a vital tool for measuring the performance of civil servants and reaching citizens unmediated by the press.

Brian Brivati also presented this year’s John Smith Fellowship Programme for the citizens of Ukraine, which has been administered by the British Council in Ukraine since 1998. The programme aims to strengthen and deepen awareness of good governance through a four-week programme in the UK and placements that show the workings of organisations within a long established democracy.

General media partner – Ukrainian Week magazine.