Our next meeting will be our AGM on Saturday 31 January, from 10:30 to 12:30, at Brighton Unitarian Church, New Road, Brighton.

Thank you to everyone who came to hear Nick Hopkinson, editor of a major new work charting the history of Wilton Park, the Sussex venue that has played such a major part in shaping post-war Europe.

Nick talked to us about the book and in particular Wilton Park's association with the UK’s entry into the European Community and the leading role it played in progressing the Single Market and enlargement.

Nick's work, The Policies and Power of Public Diplomacy, examines the higher-­level discussions convened at Wilton Park since its inception in 1946.

Originally a ‘re-­education’ camp after World War II in the principles and practice of democracy, Wilton Park has evolved into a first-­class international policy forum and UK soft-power asset working in more than 50 countries.

Over the decades, senior decision makers and opinion formers from around the world have advanced and shaped thinking and policies on global issues, including building post-­war Germany, transatlantic security, East-West relations, the transition from apartheid in South Africa, the UK’s relations with Europe, European integration, trade, human rights, climate change, sustainable development and health. 

About Nick Hopkinson

As well as being a long-standing supporter of European Movement Sussex, Nick is a writer and chair of the Sir Heinz Koeppler Trust. He was acting chief executive, director, report editor and programme director (EU, global economy and democracy) at Wilton Park between 1987 and 2010.