Group of 78 Luncheon Speaker Series
His Excellency Dr. Andrew Pocock
British High Commissioner to Canada
Zimbabwe - Looking Back & Looking Forward
DATE:
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
TIME:
12:00 noon
PLACE:
Palais Imperial Restaurant, 311- 313 Dalhousie St., Ottawa
COST: $30 for luncheon and presentation
$5 for presentation only
(For presentation only, please plan to arrive by 12:45. Coffee and tea will be available.)
RESERVATIONS:
group78@web.net or 613-230-0860 by Friday March 23, 2012.
We regret that late registrations cannot be accepted.
The group is required to pay for those who reserve but do not come.
Therefore, individuals who do not cancel their reservations at least 24 hours before the luncheon will be billed $30.
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Zimbabwe has travelled a sad and troubled road, from the high promise of independence to its near-pariah state today. Drawing on his time as British Ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2006 to 2009, Dr. Andrew Pocock will describe his experiences, including his interaction with President Mugabe, and present a narrative of the country's politics, economy, and social issues. He will also look at the current situation and outline his assessment for substantial change in the future. How will this complex dilemma unfold? What are the prospects for real improvement for Zimbabwe's people? What are the impediments? From his wider experience, Dr. Pocock will examine Zimbabwe in larger African context and the implications for the global community, including what, if anything, Canada and other countries can do to assist the process of political transformation in Zimbabwe.
Dr. Andrew Pocock was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and joined the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981. During the next ten years, he served in Lagos and Washington and as Head of Section in the Southern Africa Department in the FCO in London. He was posted to Canberra as Deputy High Commissioner from 1997-2001. He returned to the FCO as a Head of Department, before serving as High Commissioner in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 2003 to 2006, and as Ambassador in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 2006 to 2009. Dr. Pocock was Director for Africa in the FCO in 2010, before arriving in Ottawa in January 2011 as High Commissioner.