A Meeting of Minds Gatekeepers - March 2024

Speakers

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  Darren Edwards

  Record-breaking Disabled Adventurer, Inspirational Speaker, and Author

  A soldier and avid mountaineer, Darren survived a devastating, life-changing climbing accident that very nearly claimed his life and left him permanently paralysed from the chest down. The accident and resulting Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) could so easily have destroyed his spirit, but instead, he used it as a catalyst for growth. Darren’s story is a living testament to the boundless capabilities of the human spirit to endure and overcome adversity. Now, he is a record-breaking Disabled Adventurer and Inspirational Speaker who has redefined the limits of what is thought possible for an individual with a Spinal Cord Injury. From becoming the first person with a disability to run seven marathons in seven days across seven continents in a wheelchair, to kayaking the length of Great Britain whilst leading a team of injured veterans, and then his ground-breaking expedition to sit-ski across Antarctica to the South Pole, Darren’s incredible story of overcoming adversity, adapting to change, and building a robust mindset is guaranteed to motivate, encourage change, and inspire.

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  Professor Anand Menon

  Motivational Political Speaker

  Professor Anand Menon is a leading analyst of British and European politics, and one of the UK’s foremost commentators on Brexit and the future of the EU. He is Director of UK in a Changing Europe, a think tank dedicated to high-quality, impartial research into the impact of EU policies, attitudes towards the EU, and the evolving relationship between the EU and Britain. In his latest book, Brexit and British Politics(October 2017), he makes the case that Brexit is the result of long-term trends that have been in motion for decades. To fully grasp the implications of Brexit for Britain and Europe, he argues it is crucial to place it in this wider context. Anand is currently Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London. Previously he was Professor of West European Politics and Founder of the European Institute at the University of Birmingham. Before that, he was University Lecturer in European Politics at Oxford University. He currently also holds the posts of Associate Fellow of Chatham House and Senior Associate Member of Nuffield College Oxford. Few people are as well-versed in the intricacies of British and European politics as Anand, and few can match his reputation for rigorous and impartial analysis. With exceptional clarity, he provides expert insights on the immediate issues surrounding Brexit, but crucially, by placing Brexit in the context of long-term political, economic and social trends, he helps us understand the bigger picture: what does it tell us about the direction Britain and the EU are headed? Indeed, what does it tell us about the prospects for “the West” and the international order as a whole?