The positive energy from the AFINO conference has not yet dissipated and many ideas are still buzzing across the network. Therefore, we want to share with you some of the exciting things that happened there. In particular, we want to give you a taste of the more social and interactive activities. Hopefully, this will bring you both some interesting ideas and an impression of the lively vibe we experienced at AFINO 2024. So, let\u2019s start with the more relaxed and less conventional happenings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the two first days, we offered two aperitif talks<\/strong> to keep stimulating people\u2019s brain until the very hand of the day! But we tried to do that in a more relaxed and entertaining way. So, the first evening Kristian Alm and Heidi Karlson discussed with the British journalist Martin Bright the movie \u201cOfficial secrets\u201d, which was shown after dinner. The 2019 film directed by Gavin Hood, tells the story of Katharine Gun, a whistleblower who exposed illegal operations by the British and US\u2019s intelligence service to influence UN diplomats voting decision on the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Bright played a major role in bringing the case to the attention of the public and besides has a long-standing interest in the fate of whistleblowers who expose governments\u2019 misbehaviour. This talk, and the film complemented very nicely the parallel sessions on whistleblowing (more below). The timing also proved almost uncanny, since the talk happened in between the British police\u2019s arrests of journalist Richard Medhurst and of pro-Palestinian activist Sarah Wilkinson, guilty of not being aligned with Westminster\u2019s foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second aperitif talk was a little more of an AFINO self-celebration, since it was a discussion of the forthcoming book \u201cThe Fragility of Responsibility\u201d that brings together the experience and learning of the AFINO network. Jacob Dahl Rendtorff surprised the audience, revealing that behind his reclusive scholar persona lies the spirit of a great entertainer, who managed to keep a tired and hungry crowd remarkably engaged. Thanks to his verve<\/em>, the conversation with the book editors, Giovanni De Grandis and Anne Blanchard, was fun and peppery. We won\u2019t get into the content of the book here, because we have some surprises in store to promote it, and to whet your appetite for reading it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n