17th December 2024, 6:00pm to 7:30pm GMT
Denis Nowlan, Executive Director of Initiatives of Change UK, will be in conversation with Monica Spooner, founder of the Balfour Project, and Andrew Whitley, its Chair. This is an opportunity to hear how a bold individual initiative can have national and international implications. We are marking the publication of Monica’s book; ‘Why Didn’t I Know? Britain’s Legacy in Palestine’. It charts her journey of discovery about Britain’s record in the Middle East which led to the formation of the Balfour Project, in a bid to change public opinion and policy on Israel and Palestine. Andrew Whitley will take up the story of the Project in the context of the current catastrophic conflicts.
‘Why Didn’t I Know? Britain’s Legacy in Palestine’ is available to purchase from our Online Shop.
This event is only available to attend via Zoom.
Dr Monica Spooner graduated in Medicine from London University and practised Community Paediatrics in Edinburgh. She was Trustee of Initiatives of Change for 18 years. After her first visit to Israel and Palestine in 2008 she asked the question ‘How will Britain mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration?’ This question led to the establishment of the Balfour Project in 2011 which became a charity in 2017. Monica served as the first Chair of Trustees until 2018.
Andrew Whitley became Chair of the Balfour Project on 1 June 2022. He has been a Trustee since 2018. In 2017 he founded GeoPolitical Advisory Services, a conflict mediation consultancy working in the Middle East. A retired senior United Nations official, Andrew spent much of his working life in the Middle East, including seven years in Israel and Palestine. He is also a former journalist with the BBC and Financial Times.
