A message from the Chair
Officially the centenary of The Round Table journal (started in the Edwardian era) did not start until 2010. But the preparations, started ahead of time.
And I thought it would be good to provide a monthly update for readers and supporters of our journal, starting in July 2009 after my re-election for a final year as Chair of the editorial advisory board, (known since the early twentieth century as the Moot).
Richard Bourne
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July 2009
Officially the centenary of The Round Table journal, started in the Edwardian era, does not start until 2010. But our preparations, as you can see from our website, are running on apace. And I thought it would be good to provide a monthly update for readers and supporters of our journal, starting in July 2009 after my re-election for a final year as Chair of the editorial advisory board, (known since the early twentieth century as the Moot).
For this month we have begun with a bang. Eight hundred people inquired, 112 put in completed applications, and six students at universities in the UK were awarded the special Round Table centenary scholarships which are funding travel and fieldwork in other Commonwealth countries. They are being paid for by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and also by the Round Table itself, which has been setting aside money for our centenary for a decade. In the upshot there were two UK citizens, two Canadians, one South African and one New Zealander - one undergraduate, three Masters students, and two doctoral students.
The interest and take-up has been a triumph for the Hodson Committee of young Round Tablers, named for those who have won the annual essay named for the late Harry Hodson, the RT's long-serving editor. They have done most of the work and, like the centenary scholars, represent the RT's commitment to the future of the Commonwealth. All the scholars came to a two day induction programme this month, imaginatively organised by Round Tabler Stuart Mole ( former Director General of the Royal Commonwealth Society, and former director of the Commonwealth Secretary-General's private office ).
Who were the lucky ones?
- Lindsay Scorgie ( Canadian ), is going to Uganda to look at violence and international responses in the Great Lakes region.
- Stacey Glennie ( Canadian ) is going to Sydney to investigate a historical theme - the role of freemasonry in Australia in the First World War.
- Aileen Quinn ( UK ) is going to Ghana, to research women's involvement in the liberation movement there.
- Asa Cusack ( UK ) is looking at Jamaica's reasons for belonging to the Caribbean Community ( CARICOM ).
- Alexander Henderson ( South African ) is going to Zambia, to research Zambia's and President Kaunda's foreign policy.
- Melanie Bunce ( New Zealander ) is going to Nairobi to research foreign reporting out of the news hub for East Africa.
Meanwhile the RT Editorial Board has been asked to say which articles they like most, and which the least, in the last year's output and, at our last regular meeting, we decided that the current scheme for a "theme" for each Commonwealth summit - started by the Blair government prior to the Edinburgh summit of 1997 - is not a good idea. Next month I will explain further, and also write about the first ever Routledge/Round Table Studentship at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, London. We have an exciting year ahead!
Richard Bourne