Mercury was one of the first projects funded under the EUFP7 thematic area with a strong South African representation and this conference will pay attention to the past, present and future of multilateralism and global governance, focusing in particular on an African perspective on multilateralism.

Ambassador George Nene, Deputy Director-General: Multilateral Affairs of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) will present the keynote speech at the conference. Mercury representatives from the UK (Cambridge and Edinburgh), China (Fudan), Sweden (SIPRI), Italy and the Czech Republic (Charles University) will participate in the conference, as will Prof Danny Bradlow (UP Law Faculty) and Ambassador Hannes Spies, South African Ambassador to Mauritania.

During the conference Prof Lorenzo Fioramonti (UP) will launch his book, Regions and Crises (Palgrave 2012), and a special issue of The International Spectator on ‘Regionalism in a Changing World’, which he edited.

The event will be held in room L1-76 of the UP Postgraduate Centre (Building 52 on the campus map).

For further information on the event, or to RSVP, please contact Ms Carla Jellema ([email protected] or +27 12 420 4486).