Past events

CIMARC is a hub for events related to Africa and the Middle East. Events include conferences, visiting scholars' talks, PhD talks, and research seminars. Past seminars included:

Tackling Hate Speech, 26 April 2018: As part of the university's engagement with the local and regional community, Prof Jon Silverman and Prof Noha Mellor, co-directors of CIMARC (Centre for International Media Analysis, Research and Consultancy) organised a highly successful seminar in the Vice Chancellor’s Beds Talks programme entitled “Tacking Hate Speech”. The event was introduced by the CATS dean, Professor Jan Domin, and brought together academics, a member of the leading think-tank Demos, and community participants, including two Luton councillors, to discuss the issue of hate speech. About 50 people debated trolling, verbal harassment, cyber-bullying and so-called ‘no platforming’ and ‘safe spaces’. In tandem with the event, Radio LaB’s student manager, Jack Wilson, interviewed Prof. Silverman, the VC and some of the seminar participants for a special programme on hate speech.

Education Transforms Lives, 28 January 2016, a screening of "6 Cup Chai", a documentary about slum children in India and their longing for education, directed by the British filmmaker Laila Khan. The screening was followed by a panel discussion about the role of education in transforming lives, focusing on children in difficult environments. The event was introduced by the Vice Chancellor, Bill Rammell, and chaired by Prof Jon Silverman. The panellists included Dr Nazia Khanum (the UN Association), Laila Khan (filmmaker), Dr Helen Connolly and Dr Aisha Hutchinson (Institute of Applied Social Studies).

Screening of Shadow in Baghdad, March 2015 See media release and the report (in Arabic) about the screening in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper from London: aawsat.com

Young Arab Voices, Nov. 2014. The event is organized in partnership with BBC Arabic and the Anna Lindh Foundation and the British Council, who funded the travel expenses of a group of young Arab debaters representing six Arab countries. The BBC Arabic filmed an episode of its Talking Point programme, a series debating topical issues and current affairs in Arabic society, providing an intelligent and civilised debate amongst the young Arab debaters and a number of our postgraduate students. Watch the BBC Arabic programme (in Arabic) www.youtube.com

A Talk by the former cabinet minister, Jack Straw, about his political career and his time as former Foreign and Home Secretary, the decisions to go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, 2013 (arranged by Prof J Silverman).

One-day seminar in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on March 13, 2013, on the role and legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (led by Prof J Silverman).

Two-day seminar in Monrovia, Liberia on April 10/11, 2012 on media, democracy and good governance, attended by journalists, NGOs and public policy groups (led by Prof J Silverman).

Previous visiting speakers have included:

• Kate Adie (BBC Foreign Correspondent)
• Torin Douglas (BBC Media Correspondent
• Harriet Sherwood (The Guardian Foreign editor)
• Phil Shaw (The Independent, football writer)
• Andrew Shields (Sports Editor, Time Out)
• Mirko Petric (Department of Visual Communication Design
• Angela Devas (Art Design and Communication Subject Centre Learning and Teaching Support Network - ADC-LTSN)
• Professor John Sugden (Chelsea School, University of Brighton)
• Dr David Rowe, University of Newcastle, Australia