On 22 March, a series of deadly terror attacks shook the de facto capital of the European Union – with supporters of Daesh claiming responsibility.

As the date of the referendum rapidly approaches, when the British people will vote on whether to remain in the EU, the prospect of Brexit is one of many problems Europe currently faces. The continent is deeply divided on how to deal with the refugee crisis. While the Schengen agreement, one of the fundamental principles of the EU, hangs in the balance.

In light of the recent attacks in Brussels, and ahead of the 23 June EU referendum, we will be joined by journalists who cover the continent to discuss the crisis it faces on all sides – and what Brexit would mean for the future of Europe.

Chaired by Gavin Hewitt, the BBC’s chief correspondent and former Europe editor.

Annalisa Piras is a director, producer and journalist. She edited, produced and co-wrote the documentary Girlfriend in a Coma and wrote, directed and produced The Great European Disaster Movie. She is the Director of the Wake Up Foundation.

Joris Luyendijk is a journalist and author of Swimming with Sharks: My Journey Into the World of the Bankers. He used to write the Guardian‘s Banking Blog, which looked at the world of finance from an anthropological perspective

Natalie Nougayrède is a columnist, leader writer and foreign affairs commentator for The Guardian. She was previously executive editor and managing editor of Le Monde.

Toby Young is a journalist, columnist and associate editor of The Spectator. He is author of What Every Parent Needs to Know: How to Help Your Child Get the Most Out of Primary School and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People.

Since the Paris attacks on 13 November, world leaders have seemingly put grievances aside to unite in a newly energised fight against Daesh – but what can be achieved by bombing the already bombed-out cities of Syria?

If Daesh is pushed back militarily then what comes next? Who fills the void and how do you stop from merely driving them elsewhere? Even if military gains are made, the ideology remains. Those involved in the attacks in Paris were French and Belgium citizens – how do we tackle radicalisation both online and on the streets of Europe, and prevent rising fear and the polarisation of communities?

The recent downing of a Russian jet by Turkish forces highlights the perils of combat aircraft from different countries operating in the same theatre. How can this be managed logistically without causing another major diplomatic incident?

For the first First Wednesday of 2016 we will be bringing together a panel to answer these questions and to discuss the diplomatic, logistical and ideological challenges of the fight against Daesh.

Chaired by

David Loyn, foreign correspondent for the BBC for over 30 years, most recently Afghanistan correspondent.

The panel

Richard Spencer is Middle East editor of The Daily and Sunday Telegraph. He moved to the Middle East from China in 2009, based in Dubai and then Cairo. Since then, he has reported regularly from Egypt, Libya, Syria and Iraq, and was in Aleppo when Jabhat al-Nusra split to give birth to Daesh.

Shiraz Maher is a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, King’s College London and is currently coordinating the centre’s research on the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts.

Robin Yassin-Kassab is a journalist, author of the novel The Road From Damascus and co-author with Leila al-Shami of Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War.

Azadeh Moaveni is a journalist, writer and lecturer in journalism at Kingston University. She was TIME magazine Middle East correspondent and is author of Lipstick Jihad and Honeymoon in Tehran.

In the autumn of 1995 at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio, the then presidents of the Yugoslav federal states, Slobodan Milošević, Alija Izetbegović and Franjo Tuđman, came together to negotiate an agreement that would see the end of the most violent conflict in Europe since World War II.

The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement, stopped the fighting – but 20 years on have the divisions been bridged? Have the wounds healed?

We will be joined by a panel of those who were involved in the negotiations along with those who covered the war to reflect on the events of 20 years ago, the process of peace and reconciliation that followed, and whether the country today is reconciled.

Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Allan Little. In a career spanning over three decades at the BBC he has served as correspondent in Johannesburg, Moscow, Paris and the former Yugoslavia among others.

The panel:

Paddy Ashdown was the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union special representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina from May 2002 until January 2006.

Anthony Loyd is a senior foreign correspondent for The Times. His career began in 1993 when he started reporting from the war in Bosnia. He is author of My War Gone By I Miss It So and Another Bloody Love Letter.

Kemal Pervanic was born in Prijedor, Bosnia-Herzegovina, one of the regions most severely affected during the Bosnian War. A survivor of the Omarska concentration camp, he has since dedicated his work to education, reconciliation and peace-building.

Zrinka Bralo was a radio journalist in Sarajevo and ended up working with leading international war correspondents during the siege of Sarajevo in the 90’s. Since she came to London in 1993 she has become one of the leading campaigners for social justice and rights of migrants and refugees.

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT WILL BE FILMED AND STREAMED LIVE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

One year on from the Islamic State’s (IS) seizure of Mosul, the coalition’s chances of recapturing the city seem further away than ever. The Pentagon’s optimistic hopes of a spring 2015 assault on the city have been dashed by the failure of the Iraqi Army further south in Anbar province. The Kurdish Peshmerga fighters who have almost surrounded the city in a 1000km long front line will now have to defend their trench positions against IS counterattacks until the Iraqi Army is finally fit for battle, at some unknown future date.

With rare access to the Peshmerga on the front lines of the war against the IS, The Road to Mosul unveils the reality of the Kurds’ war against the group, providing a portrait of ordinary volunteers, poorly trained and equipped, locked in stalemate against a powerful enemy. The film also captures the impact of the war on the civilians caught in between.

Chaired by Kevin Sutcliffe, the head of news programming for VICE EU.

The panel:

Frederick Paxton is a filmmaker and photographer for VICE News. He has worked in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and other locations.

Professor Toby Dodge is director of the Middle East Centre at LSE and author of Iraq: From War to a New authoritarianism.

Anthony Loyd is roving foreign correspondent for The Times and author of My War Gone By I Miss It So and Another Bloody Love Letter.

Patrick Cockburn is an Irish journalist who has been a Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times and, since 1991, The Independent.

Directed by Aris Roussinos and Frederick Paxton

Duration: 45′
Year: 2015

Edit for Monocle 24’s flagship global-affairs show The Foreign Desk:

War, economic crisis, political repression and environmental degradation are pushing increasing numbers of people to make the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.

Since the beginning of the year alone it is believed that 1,700 people have perished at sea. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) believe that number might reach 30,000 by the end of the year if the current rate continues.

For May’s First Wednesday we will be bringing together a panel of experts to answer your questions about the unfolding crisis. We will be examining the root causes of the current situation and looking at the measures that need to be taken to avoid the 30,000 deaths the IOM predicts.

Chaired by executive editor of Monocle and host of Monocle 24’s The Foreign Desk, Steve Bloomfield.

The panel:

Maurice Wren is the chief executive of the Refugee Council, one of the leading organisations working with refugees and asylum seekers in the UK. Previously he was director of Asylum Aid and held senior management roles at Shelter and the Housing Associations Charitable Trust.

Patrick Kingsley is The Guardian’s Egypt correspondent. For 2015, he is also the paper’s acting migration correspondent. He’s the winner of the Frontline award for print journalism. And he was named young journalist of the year at the 2014 British Press awards, new journalist of the year at the 2013 British Journalism awards, and new voice of the year at the One World media awards.

Cathryn Costello is Andrew W Mellon Associate Professor of International Human Rights and Refugee Law, and a fellow of St Antony’s College. From 2003 – 2013, she was Francis Reynolds Fellow and Tutor in EU and Public Law at Worcester College, Oxford, during which time she also completed her DPhil studies on EU asylum and immigration law.

Quentin Peel is Mercator senior fellow at the Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House, and a freelance commentator for the Financial Times. In a long career at the FT he was correspondent in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels and Moscow. He was also Africa editor, correspondent in Johannesburg, foreign editor and chief foreign affairs columnist.

This event is in partnership with

Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi/MOAS. MOAS rescue 105 migrants in rubber dinghy – October 2014.

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT WILL BE FILMED AND STREAMED LIVE ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

In 2012, the brutal gang rape on a Delhi bus of a 23-year-old medical student, who later died from her injuries, made international headlines and ignited protests. India’s Daughter is an impassioned plea for change and a tribute to a remarkable and inspiring young woman. The film explores the compelling human stories behind the incident and the political ramifications in India.

BAFTA winning filmmaker Leslee Udwin, herself a victim of rape, went to India inspired by the protests against sexual assault. With an all Indian crew, she got exclusive, first time on camera interviews with the rapists and defence attorney.

This month India’s government banned the film while the BBC moved their planned broadcast up by days and ignited a new controversy.

Following the screening we will be joined by director Leslee Udwin and others to discuss the international reactions to the film, the aftermath of the Indian broadcast ban, and the greater issue of gender based violence.

Yasmin Ali Bhai Brown is a journalist who has written for The Guardian, Observer, The New York Times, Time Magazine, Newsweek, The Evening Standard, The Mail and other newspapers and is now a regular columnist on The Independent and London’s Evening Standard. She is also a radio and television broadcaster and author of several books exploring immigration, feminism, and race relations.

Directed by: Leslee Udwin
UK/India 2015
Runtime: 62 minutes

This screening is presented with the help of iProbono.
iProbono is a non-profit network connecting lawyers to civil society organisations and activists. The network’s global outreach enables the legal community to engage in projects from around the world and allows organisations to source assistance both locally and across jurisdictions.

As part of its free speech campaign in India, iProbono is representing Leslee Udwin and ‘India’s Daughter’.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the Ebola epidemic in West Africa as “unparalleled in modern times”. In the largest and most complex outbreak since the virus was discovered in 1976, more than 3,000 people have died.

Originating in Guinea, the virus has spread to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria and Senegal. Now six months into this epidemic, we will be asking why has it taken so long for the international community to act?

We will be joined by a panel of experts to take a view of the situation on the ground, how Ebola is being combated and what more needs to be done. We will also be looking at the stigma that surrounds the virus and the long-term impact this outbreak will have on the region.

Chaired by Ade Daramy, chair and spokesperson for the UK Sierra Leone Ebola Task Force.

The panel:

Dr Tim O’Dempsey, a senior clinical lecturer in tropical medicine at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He was seconded to WHO as clinical lead for the Ebola Treatment Centre in Kenema, Sierra Leone (July-August 2014). He is currently advising DFID and Save the Children regarding the Ebola epidemic response in West Africa and is due to return to Sierra Leone in October 2014 as clinical lead for the newly constructed Ebola Treatment Centre in Kerrytown.

Colin Freeman, the chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph and author of Kidnapped: Life as a Somali Pirate Hostage. He has recently returned from West Africa.

Dr Ike Anya, a Nigerian public health doctor, writer, co-editor of Nigeria Health Watch and co-founder of the Nigeria Public Health Network. He is an honorary lecturer in public health medicine at Imperial College and a TEDGlobal Fellow.

Professor David Heymann CBE, chairman of Public Health England, professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and head of the Centre on Global Health Security at Chatham House.

Meinie Nicolai, president of both MSF Belgium and MSF’s operational directorate in Brussels. She first worked with MSF in 1992, as a supervising nurse in Liberia. She has since gained a decade of field experience in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia and South Sudan. She has recently returned from West Africa.

The following day the Fleet Street Clinic will be giving a briefing and a practical update on personal protection for journalists covering the Ebola outbreak. Details online here.

Picture: European Commission DG ECHO

The recent abduction by militant Islamist group Boko Haram of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls sparked global outrage, leading to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and military assistance from Britain, the US, France and China.

With attacks in northern Nigeria on the increase we will be bringing together a panel of experts to examine the emergence of Boko Haram and what is being done to combat them. We will be examining the origins of the group, its affiliations and influence in the region.

Nigerian authorities have been heavily criticised for their slow response to the crisis. We will be asking whether they are losing the battle against Boko Haram and what can be done to support efforts to combat them.

Chaired by Jonathan Miller, foreign affairs correspondent at Channel 4 News.

The panel:

Fatima Akilu, is director of behavioural analysis in the National Security Advisors office responsible for drafting Nigeria’s a soft approach to counter terrorism, focusing on de-radicalisation, counter radicalisation and strategic communication. Previously she was head of communications for the Millennium Development Goals in Nigeria.

Andrew Walker is a writer and journalist who has been working on Nigeria since 2006. He is currently writing a book about northern Nigeria to be published next year.

Bala Liman is a doctoral candidate at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) where his research is examining the nexus between conflict and identity in Nigeria, with particular emphasis on the emerging culture of conflict in Northern Nigeria. His research also focuses on understanding the Boko Haram insurgency and its effect on the region.

Kayode Ogundamisi is a commentator on Nigerian affairs, he writes independent op-ed articles for major Nigerian media outlets as well as publishing on his blog The Canary. He travels between his base in the UK and his country of birth Nigeria, where he runs a programme on self-empowerment.

As the build-up of Russian forces in Crimea continues, tensions are mounting in Ukraine. With the country in a period of great uncertainty, its fate part of a wider strategic battle between the West and Russia, we will be looking at what the future holds for 45 million Ukrainians.

As some in the country look east and others look west, how will the new Ukraine accommodate these differing alliances?

Chaired by Paddy O’Connell of BBC Radio 4′s Broadcasting House.

The panel:

Anne Applebaum is a columnist for the Washington Post and Slate. She is author of Gulag: A History and Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-56. She also directs the Transitions Forum at the Legatum Institute in London.

Timothy Garton Ash is a historian, political writer and commentator. He is professor of European Studies at University of Oxford and has written extensively about the recent history and politics of Europe.

Olexiy Solohubenko is news and deployments editor at BBC Global News. From 1996 to 2003, he was head of the Ukrainian Service which, as the first recruit from Ukraine, he helped to set up when he joined BBC World Service in 1992.

Richard Sakwa is professor of Russian and European Politics and head of the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent. He is author of Putin and the Oligarch: The Khodorkovsky-Yukos Affair, The Crisis of Russian Democracy and Putin: Russia’s Choice amongst others.

Photograph: Getty Images

https://soundcloud.com/frontlineclub/first-wednesday-south-sudan

Fighting continues as delegations from South Sudan’s warring factions meet for talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The country, which gained its independence in July 2011, has seen at least 1,000 killed and 180,000 displaced since mid-December.

We will be joined by a panel of experts, journalists and aid workers to give you an up-to-date picture of what is happening on the ground and an insight into the divisions and tensions that have caused the conflict.

As fighting between supporters of President Salva Kiir and sacked deputy Riek Machar continue, we ask what the future holds for the world’s youngest country.

Chaired by Lindsey Hilsum, international editor at Channel 4 News and author of Sandstorm; Libya in the Time of Revolution.

The panel:

Heather Pagano joined Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in 2008 and is currently the Regional Information Officer for East and Central Africa, based in Nairobi, Kenya. She has a special interest in South Sudan and recently returned from Juba.

James Copnall was the BBC correspondent for Sudan and South Sudan from 2009-12.. He is author of A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hearts: Sudan and South Sudan’s Bitter and Incomplete Divorce which will be published in March 2014. He has just returned from Juba.

Mukesh Kapila, CBE is professor of Global Health and Humanitarian Affairs at the University of Manchester. Previously he was Under Secretary General at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan.

Thomas Mawan Muortat, is a South Sudan political analyst, with an interest in development, democracy and peace issues. He has lived in the UK since 1984, and has travelled back and forth to South Sudan since 2008.