AN AUDIENCE of 600 parents, pupils and Petersfield residents packed into Churcher’s College for a lecture by Baron Paddy Ashdown.
The former Liberal Democrat leader covered a range of prescient topics in his talk entitled ‘Why the world will never be the same again, and what we should do about it’.
These included interconnectivity, globalism, world economics, terrorism and the rise of China as a global power and peacemaker.
It was a fascinating insight into the current state of play around the world from a man who has been involved in high level politics for many years, said a Churcher’s spokesman.
“With a captivating and articulate style, Paddy Ashdown began the lecture saying ‘if you have come here to be cheered up, you might be disappointed’, referencing the unstable nature of world politics and the fact that is unlikely to change quickly.”
Baron Ashdown also said that everything was now interconnected, including world criminality, and not limited to individual countries or territories.
His solution to the global instability was a system of global governance, which he distinguished from government, suggesting that treaty-based organisation would do this best.
He went on to say that the UK needed to build alliances and diplomatic bridges with those with whom we have shared goals.
“He closed the evening stating ‘the most important thing you do, is what you can do with others’ and to promote world peace we needed to understand and learn to love our enemy,” added the spokesman.
The event was part of Churcher’s College’s Academic Lecture Series: The Grill Lecture, which takes place annually. It is named after Judy Grill, a former teacher at the school.
Before the lecture Paddy Ashdown spent time with its sixth form students.