Topic: Global Affairs

Stephen Cole

Stephen Cole is one of the world’s most recognizable and respected faces of international television journalism.

Over the past twenty years he has anchored live events for Sky News (London) CNN International (Atlanta) and BBC World ( London). He has anchored live coverage from elections held in Islamabad, Delhi, Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong. He anchored live coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

He has also covered nine conflicts ranging from the Falklands War to Bosnia and Kosovo, the two wars in the Gulf and “9-11 “. Five years ago Stephen came up with the idea for a television programme covering Information Technology.

The success of the style and format of Click Online is currently shared on BBC World by more than a hundred million viewers around the world and on BBC News 24, BBC1 and six major airlines. Stephen has taken the show to fifteen countries and hosted numerous prestigious IT events in Asia and South America, India and Japan. In the past two years Stephen has helped direct international news coverage in Asia and the Middle-East. He has taken a senior executive role in directing major events at elections and international news breaking stories.

Stephen’s corporate career began with the establishment of Cole Productions,– a corporate communications company. Since then he has specialized in Information Technology, Security and Terrorism.

He recently merged with DIGITV to form a broadcast division. He has worked closely with the World Customs Organisation, Interpol and the International Security Management Association.

He has also worked with many international brand names such as Honda and Philips and currently acts as broadcast consultant for Perspective Solutions- an IT security company. He also delivered the keynote lectures on journalism and terrorism at the University of Colorado. In 2005 Stephen also won a National Travel Writers Award for his work in Malaysia. He has chaired and facilitated at the World Economic Forum at Davos for the past two years on subjects ranging from IT and Security to Medicine.

He is now a Media Fellow at the World Economic Forum. Stephen is a qualified PADI diver and Rugby Coach, a member of BAFTA and has a keen interest in films. For the last six years he has presented the annual Oscars programme live for BBC World and News 24.

Stephen is married to Anne-Marie Cole, a senior BBC Radio 4 Producer. They have two sons.

Stephen Sackur

Stephen Sackur, the presenter of HARDtalk, BBC World News’ flagship current affairs interview programme, has been a journalist with BBC News since 1986. Broadcasting across BBC World News, BBC News Channel and BBC World Service, Stephen has interviewed many high-profile guests.

In November 2010, Stephen was awarded the ‘International TV Personality of the Year Award’ by the Association of International Broadcasters.

Before taking over HARDtalk, Stephen was based in Brussels for three years as the BBC’s Europe Correspondent.  He travelled across Europe to cover major stories around the continent, including Europe’s worst terror attack of recent times in Madrid in 2004, and the expansion of the European Union from 15 countries to 25.

Prior to this, Stephen was the BBC’s Washington Correspondent from July 1997.  With a keen interest in politics, he has interviewed President George W. Bush, covered the 2000 US Presidential Elections, the Clinton scandal and impeachment trial, and the ways and means of lawmaking, including campaign finance reform. He also made a documentary for the BBC’s current affairs programme Panorama on the topic of guns and weapon manufacturer lawsuits in the US.

Stephen has also been the BBC Middle East Correspondent in both Cairo (from 1992 to 1995) and Jerusalem (from 1995 to 1997), covering the peace process, the assassination of the Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the emergence of the Palestinian Authority under the late Yasser Arafat.  To prepare a documentary on Islamic fundamentalism, he lived with Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon for two weeks.

In 1990, Stephen was appointed as a BBC Foreign Correspondent.  He was part of the BBC’s team of correspondents covering the Gulf War, spending eight weeks with the British Army when the conflict began. He was the first correspondent to break the story of the mass killing on the Basra road out of Kuwait City, marking the end of the war. He travelled back to Iraq just after the downfall of Saddam Hussein and filed the first television reports on Iraq’s mass graves which contained the bodies of thousands of victims of Saddam’s regime.

In Eastern Europe, as witness to Communism’s last days, Stephen offered a unique perspective on the rocky road to democracy and stability for this area.  Serving as correspondent for BBC national radio, he reported on Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution and Germany’s reunification.  He has contributed countless articles to The Observer, The London Review of Books, New Statesman, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.

Born in Lincolnshire, England, Stephen was educated at both Cambridge and Harvard University.

Nazanine Moshiri

Nazanine Moshiri, a seasoned professional moderator and speaker. She has successfully presented and hosted events for prestigious organisations such as the UN, European Investment Bank, ICRC, and the Berlin Climate Security Conference. Her role as a moderator and speaker also extends to facilitating discussions for various governments worldwide, showcasing her ability to engage with and navigate diverse perspectives on critical issues.

In addition to her role as a speaker and moderator, Nazanine is also one of the hosts of a biweekly debate show by Doha Debates and Foreign Policy Studios, that bridges the divide across contentious issues.

Currently affiliated with the International Crisis Group, Nazanine Moshiri is dedicated to the organisation's mission to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world. She is an expert on climate change, environmental issues and how they intersect with conflict.

Before joining the International Crisis Group, Nazanine forged a distinguished career in journalism spanning two decades. Her noteworthy contributions include roles at renowned media outlets such as Reuters, Independent Television News, and Al Jazeera English, where she served as both a presenter and correspondent.