Mary Fitzgerald (photo, left), a journalist and political analyst, will be the keynote speaker during a debate on Libya. Organised by Kite Group and Leading Talks, ‘Libya. An unfinished revolution,’ will include a high-level panel debate session together with a number of keynote speakers.
Continued political fracture and rising militancy have resulted in state failure since the uprisings in 2011. As the political vacuum continues to widen, the growing power of international terrorist groups is further destabilising the country. In parallel, the peace talks in Geneva, spearheaded by the United Nations, have not yet resulted in tangible gains.
The event will feature a high-level panel debate which will give unique insights into what is happening in Libya and in Geneva. The debate session will feature Mary Fitzgerald; Deborah Jones (photo, right), U.S. Ambassador to Libya and Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, U.S. Ambassador to Malta. The debate will be moderated by Dr Joseph Cassar, former Ambassador to Libya and author of best-selling book Gonzi and Malta’s Break with Gaddafi. Recollections of a Premier.
With Mary Fitzgerald being based in Libya and considered to be an authority on the subject and Ambassador Jones coming straight from the Geneva talks, the panel debate will focus on the prospects for Libya.
The event will also feature a number of keynote speakers apart from Mary Fitzgerald. Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi will be delivering the opening speech focusing on his reflections on the current state and future of Libya, Shadow Minister Roberta Metsola and Parliamentary Secretary Ian Borg will close off the debate.
The debate will be held on Thursday 26th February 2015 at 09:15 at the Aula Magna, Old University in Valletta. Attendance is strictly by invitation and those interested in attending are asked to send an email on [email protected] or [email protected]
Mary Fitzgerald
Mary Fitzgerald is a journalist and analyst specialising in Libya. She began her career reporting on Northern Ireland. Since then she has worked across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. She spent seven years as the Irish Times foreign affairs correspondent, reporting from more than 40 countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Burma. She has reported from Libya since 2011. Her work has appeared in publications including the Economist, Foreign Policy, the New Yorker, the Washington Post, the Financial Times and the Guardian. Mary is a frequent contributor to international broadcast media including the BBC, CBS News, RFI, Monocle 24 and Ireland’s state broadcaster RTÉ. She has worked on a number of award-winning radio documentaries for the BBC, one of which won a Gold Sony Radio Academy Award. She has researched Libya’s Islamist landscape for a book on the Libyan revolution and its aftermath to be published in 2015 by Hurst/Oxford University Press.