Tales from Copenhagen

Hosted by: AIIA ACT

The event will start on: Tuesday, 18 May 2010 5:30 PM

And will end on: Tuesday, 18 May 2010 7:00 PM

At Stephen House, Canberra

32 Thesiger Court, Deakin , Canberra ACT

6232 4978     act.branch@aiia.asn.au

Posted by: act   

Louise Hand PSM

The United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009 is said to have been the largest intergovernmental conference in history. Over 30,000 people were there with representatives of every imaginable interest group as well as heads of government and their officials. Logistics and diplomacy were tested to their limits, or perhaps beyond.

What is an international conference on this gargantuan scale really like? Was Copenhagen the culmination of a trend to inclusive diplomacy that has taken us past the limits of the possible or does it represent the diplomacy of the future? What can a country like Australia contribute to processes of this scale and complexity?

Louise Hand was a senior member of the Australian delegation at Copenhagen and has a crucial role in Australia's diplomacy around an issue that is of the utmost importance to the future of humankind. As the world gears up for the next round of UN climate negotiations, Louise will give some of the flavor of Copenhagen and reflect on what we can learn from it.

Louise Hand is a career officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade currently seconded to the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. As Ambassador for Climate Change she was a senior member of the Australian delegation which the Prime Minister took to Copenhagen. Ms Hand has previously served Australia overseas as Ambassador to Cambodia, as Deputy Head of Mission in Jakarta (in which role she earned the Public Service Medal) and in the Australian Embassy in Vienna. In Canberra, her assignments have included head of the Arms Control Branch in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Admission is free for AIIA and AFTE members, $10 for guests, payable at the door. Please RSVP by 17 May by emailing act.branch@aiia.asn.au or calling 6232 4978.