IIEA Talks

On Monday, 27 February 2023, the UK Government and the European Commission announced the new Windsor Framework, which aims to facilitate trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain while maintaining the region’s access to the European single market, a situation which, according to the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, could make Northern Ireland “the world’s most exciting economic zone.” The Windsor Framework may also mark the beginning of a new phase in UK-EU relations, and, if accepted by all parties, could put an end to the current political impasse in Northern Ireland. In this keynote address to the IIEA, Tony Connelly discusses what the Windsor Framework means for Northern Ireland and for future UK-EU relations. About the Speaker: Tony Connelly is Europe Editor for RTÉ News. He has reported extensively on Brexit, and has been covering European affairs since 2001, most recently reporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr Connelly is the recipient of two ESB National Media awards, a European Journalism Award and a New York Festivals radio award. He was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in journalism award by UCD Smurfit Graduate School and an Irish Law Society award for his coverage of the Brexit negotiations. Mr Connelly is the author of Brexit and Ireland.

The newly agreed Windsor Framework has the potential to open a new chapter of UK/EU relations. In his address to the IIEA, Dr Andrew McCormick discusses the implications of the new agreement for Northern Ireland. About the Speaker Dr Andrew McCormick is the former Director General of International Relations for the Northern Ireland Executive.  He was the NI Executive’s lead official on Brexit, and represented the Executive at the Specialised Committee on the Protocol until May 2021.

Full title 'In search of state: what Scottish independence would mean for Scotland and its neighbours' In the latest episode of IIEA Insights, IIEA Chief Economist, Dan O’Brien, sits down with Stewart McDonald, Scottish National Party MP for Glasgow South, to discuss the potential implications of Scottish independence and what it would mean for Scottish foreign and defence policy

The 2023 International Women’s Day theme is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. In her address to the IIEA, Tara Sepehri Far outlines how women in Iran have employed digital activism to amplify their voices in the face of oppression. Social media and the internet have proven to be extremely powerful tools for the women of Iran who, despite being subject to significant censorship and surveillance, have made effective use of these tools to document and spread digital evidence of protests, to spotlight symbolic acts of defiance, and to demand fundamental rights. About the Speaker: Tara Sepehri Far is a researcher in the Middle East and North Africa Division, where she investigates human rights abuses in Iran and Kuwait. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, she was the Deputy Director of the Human Rights in Iran Unit at the City University New York, where she worked on a project supporting the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran. Tara graduated from Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and holds M.A. and LL.M degrees in international law from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

In September 2022 the EU opened its new office in San Francisco, California, headed by Gerard de Graaf, the new Senior Envoy for Digital to the U.S. and Silicon Valley. In his address to the IIEA, Mr de Graaf discusses the importance of digital policy diplomacy and how the EU can engage with the U.S. and with leading digital technology companies in order to identify and address common challenges. Mr de Graaf particularly focuses on how these relationships can help contribute to the success of the EU’s Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts. About the Speaker Gerard de Graaf has worked for more than 30 years in the European Commission across a wide range of policy areas. Until his recent appointment, he was a director in DG CNECT, responsible for the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts (DSA/DMA). Previously, Gerard de Graaf oversaw the EU’s telecommunications and audiovisual policy, cyber security and ICT standardisation policy. He has been co-chairing two of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council Working Groups, on greentech, and on data governance and technology platforms.

In this questions and answers session at the IIEA, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană discusses how the Alliance has responded to Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, what the conflict means for NATO and how the war has fundamentally affected the international order. About the Speaker: Mircea Geoană became NATO Deputy Secretary General in October 2019, after a distinguished domestic and international career. Mr Geoană is the first Deputy Secretary General from Romania, and the first from any of the countries that joined the Alliance after the end of the Cold War. Mr Geoană has served as a diplomat and a politician in Romania as minister of Foreign Affairs (2000-2004). He holds a PhD from the Economic Studies Academy of Bucharest. In 2000, he was made a Commander of the National Order, The Star of Romania.He has also been awarded the French Legion d’Honneur and the Italian Stella della Solidarieta.

In his address, Evgeny Afineevsky discusses his documentary Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom which covers Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and Ukrainian efforts to defend their country. The companion piece to Afineevsky’s Academy Award nominated documentary Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, his latest work takes a sweeping look at a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine using footage taken during the invasion and exclusive interviews with both those who have fled the conflict as well as those who stayed in Ukraine. The opening and closing remarks at this event were delivered by Larysa Gerasko, Ambassador of Ukraine to Ireland, and Claire Cronin, Ambassador of the United States to Ireland. About the Speaker: Evgeny Afineevsky was born in the Russian city of Kazan when it was part of the former U.S.S.R. As a documentarian and activist, he has directed numerous documentaries such as Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (2015), Cries from Syria (2017), Francesco (2020) and Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (2022) which premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival. His works has received nominations for an Oscar, a PGA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and four News & Documentary Emmy Awards. He has also received a People’s Choice Award for Best Documentary from the Toronto International Film Festival, a Critics’ Choice Documentary Award for Best Director, an Overseas Press Club Award, and a Television Academy Honors award.

The EU is facing unprecedented challenges to the rule of law and democratic legitimacy from both inside and outside of the Union. In this first event in a series of three webinars co-organised by the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland and the IIEA, a panel of expert speakers considers how to build democratic resilience in the European Union in the face of internal and external threats. Speakers: - Daniel Freund MEP, Member of the European Parliament, Alliance 90/The Greens, Germany - Billy Kelleher MEP, Member of the European Parliament, Fianna Fáil, Ireland South - Professor Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Chair in Global Affairs at the School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute, Florence, Italy

In December 2021, the ‘Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy’, Ireland’s first national circular economy strategy, was published. It is clear that we are at a turning point in this transition however, with Ireland consistently underperforming in circularity material use rate, and there is significant progress yet to be made. In his address to the IIEA, Mr Iain Gulland outlines the circular economy model, discusses how the circular economy model can be made to work in practice, and offers insights into the work of Zero Waste Scotland. About the Speaker: Iain Gulland is Zero Waste Scotland’s founding Chief Executive and was the Programme Director of the predecessor programme, WRAP Scotland. Prior to this, Mr Gulland worked with initiating recycling systems in the public, private and third sectors and led the Community Recycling Network, Scotland until 2008. Mr Gulland has recently been appointed President of the Association of Cities and Regions for Resource Management (ACR+) and is a member of several Scottish Government Programme Boards including those covering low carbon and manufacturing activities. Mr Gulland was named the ‘most influential person in the UK waste and resource efficiency sector’ by Resource Magazine (2014) and was granted a fellowship of the Chartered Institution of Waste Management in 2016.

In the latest podcast episode of IIEA Insights, IIEA Chief Economist Dan O'Brien, sits down with Alicia García-Herrero, Hong Kong-based Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis Bank and Brad Sester, Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations and former US Treasury Economist, to discuss the range of factors driving a global trend towards greater government intervention in economies, particularly in the strategically significant industry of manufacturing.