This country has been worrying about vocational skills since the late 19th century.

Since then we have had one government initiative after another, yet employers' complaints about skill shortages have steadily increased. At the same time, the country has continued to grow economically: so sceptics might wonder if there is really a crisis at all. This conversation brings three expert academic and practitioner perspectives on this vital issue.

If you wish to attend any of these events, and are not on the Modern British History mailing list, please email alfie.steer@hertford.ox.ac.uk

For more details, please visit https://www.oussg.uk/termcard

Speakers
Caroline Nicholls, Tony's daughter, will remember him as a family man.
Fionnuala Corrie Webb will speak about him as a tutor.
Jurgen Kocka (online) will assess him as a historian of Germany, from a German perspective.
Peter North will address Tony’s work on the North Commission.
Richard Evans (online) will comment on Tony as a supervisor.
Timothy Garton Ash will talk about him as a colleague, and as Director of the European Studies Centre.
Roger Goodman will say a say a few words about him as a College man.

Business is key to a successful programme of regeneration of left behind places.

In many cases it has been the collapse and exit of major industries such as coal, steel and manufacturing that have been the cause of their decline. Bringing back some of the large companies that have their roots in these localities is a key part of revival. But so too is promoting entrepreneurship and the start-up of new businesses that grow and thrive.

One year after the end of the French Citizens' Convention for the Climate (CCC), at a time when the COP 26 meets in Glasgow, what analysis can be made of this event? Are citizens' assemblies a legitimate and efficient way of facing the climate crises? What was and what could be the role of randomly selected bodies in politics? What was the specificity of the French CCC compared with the English or the Scottish Citizens' assemblies for the climate, or with the Irish citizens' assemblies?

Fascism is once again being talked about as a current threat in Europe. How justified is it to use the term analytically to describe what are otherwise called far right, radical right or nationalist populist parties, movements or governments? Should it not be reserved for the era of Hitler and Mussolini? How significant are continuities from historical fascism through neofascism to some of today's political parties? What do we gain and what we lose by using the F-word?

This seminar is organised jointly with the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University and the UNDP Human Development Report Office. This seminar will be held online.