Luncheon

June 16th, Dr Peter Singer, Special Advisor to the Director General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Assistant Director General of the World Health Organization will speak on how COVID19 has shone a harsh light on the pre-existing social and economic inequities among and within countries. It has also used in the defining challenge of our time: vaccine equity. This can be addressed with dollars, dose sharing, and domestic manufacturing. Ultimately COVID-19 vaccine sustainable equity and regional security will depend on domestic production supported by sharing of technology, know how and intellectual property. This is the world’s Mandela moment: it always seems impossible until its done!

The Taliban are advancing in Afghanistan; Libya remains in a state of chaos; and NATO enlargement has heightened tensions on Europe's eastern borders - NATO's record in the past two decades is not looking particularly good. Nonetheless, at its most recent summit, the alliance broadened its horizons, speaking in terms of containing China - a state far removed from the North Atlantic. In light of these developments, Professor Paul Robinson of the University of Ottawa will discuss whether NATO is a solution to problems of international security or whether it is itself one of the problems.