Announcements
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Celebrating 75 Years of Cultural Relations
The British Council was founded in 1934. In 2009, people across the world celebrated its 75th anniversary through a number of events and lectures. They were also able to read up on its history, be inspired by personal stories from its programme beneficiaries, and try out delicious global recipes compiled for the occasion.
Image left: Frank Auerbach, Head of Ken Garland, (c) The Artist - from the Thresholds exhibition.
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'I am so much more optimistic than I was six or eight years ago.'
The director of human rights organisation Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, gave an inspirational lecture in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on 17 December 2009. Prominently optimistic, the talk discussed the position of human rights campaigning in democracies, its dangers and opportunities in a fast-paced world and the value of the Human Rights Act.
View the lecture in videos (including highlights) on our Youtube channel or download a transcript and read about the lecture on the Shami Chakrabarti lecture page.
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'It is going to be a very major security issue'
On the eve of the Copenhagen Climate Conference, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai gave a British Council lecture at the Royal Society of Arts, London. Her talk made clear how the precariousness of our resources will affect peace and security on a global scale.
View a video of highlights on the left. You can find links to more audiovisual material, as well as a transcript, on the Wangari Maathai lecture page.
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'All-inclusive and with no proven exceptions’
In a celebratory lecture on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, multi-awarded scientist Professor Edward O. Wilson assessed the impact of the classic work as follows: 'Evolution by natural selection has taken on the solidity of a mathematical theorem.' Links to the transcript and video respectively can be found on the E. O. Wilson lecture page.
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"Commerce has infected every institution."
In his lecture at the Barbican on 04 November 2009, Benjamin Barber urged democratic institutions to promote alternatives to a heavily commercialised, monochrome artistic climate. With contributions from Grayson Perry and Natalie Haynes, among others.
View videos and read more on the Ben Barber lecture page.
Past Events
Lecture Series: Talking without Borders
High-profile lecture series with Nobel laureates Desmond Tutu, Amartya Sen, Muhammad Yunus, Wangari Maathai and others. The series covers a variety of topics from the political to the scientific and artistic.
Stories from Beneficiaries: First Hand
Learn more about our work from the people who describe it best: those who have benefited from British Council programmes over the past years.
Anniversary Activities
Read about our work in cultural relations during the anniversary year. This section also includes stories by staff members from the early days of the British Council.
What's on
British Council Collection at the Whitechapel
The British Council is collaborating with the Whitechapel Gallery and leading British artists to curate a series of five exhibitions featuring works from the British Council Collection. Free admission.
Featured Events
Take a look at a selection of events in the UK and worldwide during our anniversary year.
Download Global Reach, Local Benefits (Acrobat PDF)
