Next Century Foundation

The Next Century Foundation
Formation 1990
Type Non-profit organization
Legal status Foundation
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Region served
Worldwide
Secretary-General
 William Morris (Next Century Foundation)
Website www.nextcenturyfoundation.org

The Next Century Foundation (NCF) is a think tank and track II diplomacy organisation that operates in various conflict zones, primarily the Middle East. Established in 1990 to provide a forum for off-the-record discussions between Palestinians and Israelis, the organisation has expanded its remit by focusing on and operating in Iraq, Kashmir, [1] Kosovo, Sudan, Egypt, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Libya.

Activities

The NCF electoral monitoring team in Red Zone Iraq: setting out for Nineveh Province in 2006.

The Foundation describes itself as a 'think and do tank' which produces policy papers as well as facilitating dialogue between various different factions across the Middle East. Thus, most NCF work is second track and behind the scenes. Examples are wide ranging. For instance the NCF has:

  • Produced a series of policy reports on the political and security situation in Iraq, Iraq's regional relationships and the disputed territories (including Kirkuk). These usually follow extensive fact-finding missions throughout Iraq, carried out since 2003 and in some of Iraq's most dangerous and volatile areas.[2]
  • Monitored provincial and parliamentary elections in Iraq since 2005 (NCF election monitoring delegates have been the only international monitors to operate in both the Green and Red zones of Iraq).[3]
  • Hosted and participated in a number of conferences on issues such as conflict resolution, counter-extremism and migration.[4]

International media awards

Since 2005, an annual awards ceremony has been held by the International Council for Press and Broadcasting, a subsidiary body of the Next Century Foundation, in London to celebrate high standards of Middle East journalism.[5] The Awards acknowledge journalists and broadcasters who, through the consistently high standard of their work, promote better understanding of the people and politics of the world.[6] Though certainly not limited to the region, the Awards have historically had a special focus on the Middle East and South Asia.[7]

In September 2013, the International Council for Press and Broadcasting merged with The International Communication Forum in a move that will eventually see the Council dissolve with all of its activities, including the annual Media Awards, moving under the banner of the ICF.

In June 2017, the Next Century Foundation hosted the International Media Awards again. The event took place on Wednesday the 28th of June.[8]

Organization

The founding members were businessmen, politicians, journalist and diplomats including Claud Morris, Lord Arnold Weinstock, David Alliance, Baron Alliance CBE, Mr Jaweed al-Ghussein and Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman and Haim Yosef Zadok.

The Secretary General is William Morris. The Co-ordinator is Maggie Tomkinson. The trustees are Hon Mark Gregory Hambley (USA), David Alliance, Baron Alliance of Manchester (UK), Mrs June Jacobs (UK), George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews (UK) and Alastair King-Smith.

The Advisory Board of the Next Century Foundation includes: Andrew Stone, Baron Stone of Blackheath; the Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Hanley KCMG; HE Dr Mohamed Shaker; HE Nasser Bin Hamad M. Al-Khalifa; Michael Binyon OBE; Saad Bin Tefla; Walid Khalid Issa Taha; Jane Kinninmont; Rev. Larry Wright; Col. Richard T. Ryer; Vivian Wineman and Claudia Shaffer.

In April 2017, the Next Century Foundation was granted special consultative status by the United Nations[9] and was in attendance at the Seventy-second session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2017 to discuss issues such as 'Women's Rights in Bahrain.'[10]

References

  1. ↑ Little, R. and Wickham-Jones, M. (2000). New Labour's foreign policy. Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press.
  2. ↑ NCF Iraq Blog
  3. ↑ NCF Election Monitoring in Iraq 2005
  4. ↑ Initiatives of Change Conference on Migration
  5. ↑ "Next Century Foundation Media Awards". The Times. 7 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Donald Macintyre, The Independent's Jerusalem correspondent, has been given the Next Century Foundation's Peace Through Media Award". The Independent. 12 April 2011.
  7. ↑ "International Media Awards 2012 Introduction and Memorium". Youtube. 10 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "International Media Awards 2017 - Opening Remarks". Youtube. 11 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "The Next Century Foundation granted special consultative status with ECOSOC" (PDF). United Nations. 27 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "Written statement submitted by The Next Century Foundation" (PDF). United Nations. 11–29 September 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.