Visit The Magna Carta Project website for more on Magna Carta and King John.

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Magna Carta World Tour

Members of the team have been flying the Magna Carta Project flag across the globe this autumn, as part of a Foreign Office programme of events commemorating the Charter's 800th anniversary. You can view more pictures on the Magna Carta Project Facebook page.

David Carpenter took part in a public event at NYU Abu Dhabi on 4 October, introduced by the British Ambassador to Abu Dhabi, Philip Parham. Also speaking was Thomas Cogswell (Professor of HistoryUniversity of California, Riverside) and the event was chaired by Lubna Qassim, Executive Vice President and Group General Counsel and Company Secretary of Emirates NBD. David also gave a talk about Magna Carta and money in Dubai.



David also took part in an event in St Petersburg on 13 October, held at the British Consulate General and introduced by HM Consul General Keith Allan. David spoke here about 'The Nature of Magna Carta 1215' and also gave a lecture on Magna Carta to students at St. Petersburg State University School of Law. 

Whilst he was there, he had an opportunity to visit the Winter Palace (above right), including Tsar Nicholas II's Library (below right). 

You can see more photographs from the conference here, and you can read a report on the event by David's fellow speaker, Sergei Golubok (Ph.D. International and European Law, Attorney-at-Law, St Petersburg Bar Association) as a guest post on Keith Allen's blog, here.




While David was talking in St Petersburg, Nicholas Vincent was speaking in Yerevan, Armenia, at a conference hosted by the Armenian Association of World History with the support of the British Embassy in Yerevan. The event was introduced by HM Ambassador Judith Farnworth (pictured on Nick's left in the photograph here), and also there representing the UK was Professor Theo Van Lindt (Professor of Armenian Studies, The Oriental Institute, University of Oxford - picture to Nick's right). You can read more about the event, view photographs and download a pamphlet of the speakers' abstracts on the website of the Armenian Association of World History, and also here

Whilst he was there, Nick visited the ruined Cathedral of Zvartnots, which dates to the seventh century (left). 





Ten days later, on 23 October, David was in Sofia, Bulgaria. The event was held at Sofia University and was hosted by Emma Hopkins, British Ambassador to Bulgaria. In the photograph below right, David is holding 'Magna Carta 800 Years & Her Elder Daughter The American Constitution', a book which includes text in both English and Bulgarian, written by Valentin Braykov (to the right of David in the photograph), honorary legal adviser to the British Embassy. The booklet had a translation of the Charter into Bulgarian by Alexander Shurbanov, professor of English Studies at Sofia University. The Booklet was published by the America for Bulgaria Foundation. 


Currently (4 November), Nick is in the United States on more Magna Carta business - Colorado Springs, followed by New York, Princeton and Ohio - more to follow.