UK Forum on Cultural Diplomacy 2026
“Strengthening Democracy, Women’s Leadership, Impactful Development and Security”
(HOC, HOL, Westminster-London; January 12-15th, 2026 - The event is taking place within the framework of the Scotland Forum)
| UK Forum on Cultural Diplomacy 2026 Agenda for January 12-15th, 2026 |
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| January 12th, 2026 |
| House of Lords – Committee Room 1 | 09:30 – 12:00 |
| 09:30 Registration 10:00 – Welcome, Opening Remarks / Baroness Manzila Uddin & Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE |
| Women in Politics and Diplomacy: Challenges & Opportunities |
| 10:10 – 10:20 Keynote Speech / Irina Bokova 10:20 – 10:35 Keynote Speech / Senator Sherry Rehman 10:35 – 10:45 Keynote Speech / Nihal Saad |
| 10:45 – 11:05 Baroness Young of Hornsey, Rajaa Yehia 11:05 – 11:35 Senator Quratulain Marri, Rumeysa Kadak, Tehreem Chaudhary 11:35 – 12:00 Natalia Gavralita, Asma Ounnas, Yasmina Kazitani |
| 12:00 – 12:45 Lunch Break |
| 12:45 – Meeting at the Central Lobby with Jim Shannon MP / Palace of Westminster |
| House of Commons – Committee Room 5 | 13:00 – 17:00 |
| 12:50 – 13:00 | Welcome – Jim Shannon MP and Yasmin Qureshi MP |
Cultural Diplomacy in Contemporary International Relations |
| 14:00 – 14:15 | Special Address – Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt.Hon. Caroline Nokes MP 14:15 – 14:30 | Special Address – Rt Hon. the Baroness Laing of Elderslie DBE, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons 2020-24 |
| 14:30 – 15:00| Women in Business and Politics 14:30 – 14:40 Marvi Memon 14:40 – 14:50 Veenoo Sharma 14:50 – 15:00 Irene Charalambides |
| 15:00 Keynote Speech - Lord Taylor |
| 15:15 – 16:45 - Frontier Technology, Innovation and Government Speaker’s list - Fateh Ullah Khan, Asim Razvi, Adel Alharbi, Saloi Benbaha, Nathan Jay, Matthew Dawson, Charlie Heather, Lisa Cameron, Corina Goetz, Korby Hayre |
| 16:45 – 17:00 | Round up – Building Global Networks |
| House of Commons – Attlee Suite - Portcullis House | 17:00 – 20:00 - (By Invitation Only) |
| Special Event - The All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in Collaboration with the UK Forum on Cultural Diplomacy and the British Muslim Trust Event |
| January 13th, 2026 |
| Church House Westminster | 09:00–17:00 |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Registration Welcome - Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh OBE & Lord Taylor |
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Keynotes: AI and Digital Assets – Regulation and Legislation; Where stands the UK? Baroness Uddin, Lord Taylor and Lisa Cameron |
| 10:15 - 10:45 | Panel Introduced by Lord Taylor Financial and Social Impact of Blockchain Technology; Chair –Matthew Dawson (Ethereum), Fahim Sachedina (Optimism), Geoffrey Kendrick (Standard Chartered), Gasper De Maere (Wintermute) |
| 10:45 – 11:00| Keynote: AI Strategy, Monetisation and Enterprise Value; Asim Razvi, President & CEO Coreintel |
| 11.00 - 11:10 Lord Layard |
| 11:00 - 11:30 | Panel: Bridging the Gap between Blockchain and AI - Chair – Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, Saloi Benbaha |
| 11:30 - 11:45 Coffee Break |
| 11:45 – 12:15 Presentation: boop – Digital ID - Nathan Jay and Jorik Schellekens |
| 12:15 - 12.45 Presentation: Mood Global Services – Gianluca Di Bella |
| 12:45 – 13:45| Lunch Break |
| 13.45 - 13:55 Keynote Speech - Lord Ranger |
| 13:55 – 15:30 Special Session with Opening Remarks by Ann Linde |
Finance, Resilience and Leadership in Governing Modern Economies 14:00 – 14:10 Irina Bokova |
| 15:30 – 15:45 - Coffee Break |
| 15:45 – 16:10 |Panel: Women in the Digital Economy; Chair – Lavinia D. Osbourne, Angelica Ortega, Zoe Dean, Deborah Cleary, Ania Spzak |
| 16:10 – 16:25 How Family Capital Really Moves: What Policymakers and Governments Get Wrong About Family Offices – Abbas Hashmi, Columbia Business School |
| 16:25 – 16:35 The Role of Islamic Finance in Shaping Ethical and Inclusive FinTech Solutions - Sharjil Ahmed |
| Concluding Session 16:35 – 16:45 Ali Imran 16:45 – 16:55 Larisa Yarovaya 16:50 – 17:05 Senator Manzoor Ahmed |
| The London Impact Finance & Blockchain Forum Initiative - Round Up and Outcomes |
| January 14th, 2026 |
| (By Invitation Only) House of Commons – Churchill Room | 7:45 –11:00 |
| Breakfast Session hosted by the Deputy Speaker, the Rt Hon Nus Ghani MP |
| (By Invitation Only) Park Plaza Waterloo Hotel | 14:00 –20:00 |
| The Nordic Initiative For a Diplomatic Accord in Israel and Palestine (Second Meeting & Dinner) |
| January 15th, 2026 |
| House of Lords – Committee Room G | 10:00 –13:00 |
| The Nordic Initiative For a Diplomatic Accord in Israel and Palestine |
| 10:00 – Welcome, Opening Remarks / Ville Skinnari & Johan Büser |
| Distinguished Guests of Honour: 10:15 – 10:30 Keynote Speech / Mohammad Shtayyeh 10:30 – 10:35 Keynote Speech / Rosie Winterton 10:35 – 10:40 Keynote Speech / Sharon Hodgson MP 10:40 – 11:45 Keynote Speech / Baroness Blower |
| Members of the Nordic Initiative: 10:45 – 10:50 Daniel Vencu Velasquez Castro 10:50 – 10:55 Nasima Razmyar 10:55 – 11:00 Timo Harakka 11:00 – 11:05 Pär Stenbäck 11:05 – 11:10 Inka Hopsu 11:10 – 11:15 Irene Charalambides 11:15 – 11:20 Artemi Vicent Rallo Lombarte 11:20 – 11:25 Ann Linde 11:25 – 11:30 Erkki Tuomioja |
| 11:30 - 11:45 Break |
| 11:45 – 12:30 Interactive Discussion, Coordination and Next Steps |
| The Institute for Historical Research, Wolfson conference suite, at the University of London, Senate House Malet Street London WC1E 7HU | 14:00–17:00 |
| Narratives of Power: Memory Politics in Europe and the Contemporary World |
14:00-15:30 Discussion: Speakers and Discussants:
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| 15:30-16:00 Coffee break |
16:00-17:00 Discussion: Speakers and Discussants:
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| 19:00 Farewell Dinner |
