Keynote Talk: Gordon Brown

'The world as it is and the world as it can be'. A talk by former UK Prime Minister the Rt Hon Gordon Brown.

Tackling child poverty. Cancelling debt for the world’s poorest nations. Tripling the UK budget for life-saving aid. These are just some of the transformative policies that Gordon Brown fought for and secured during his time in government.

Serving as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007, Brown’s leadership of the 2009 London G20 summit has been widely credited as preventing a second Great Depression.

And now, he serves as the UN Special Envoy for Global Education and the WHO Ambassador for Global Health Financing, where he promotes vaccinations for the whole world and education for every child. A passion for global access to education, healthcare and improved living standards continues to motivate everything he does.

Brown imagines a world where peace and fairness are the order of the day. Let’s explore the connections between his image of the future and the Festival’s founding vision – to transcend political boundaries through a global celebration of the performing arts.