Small States at the Crossroads - Does the Maldives Matter? | Dr Farah Faizal

Original videos: https://youtu.be/kNKHa6cDX54?list=PLqeK6hQme1Y4eFpmqoSCuD0NgMkonZzTw

In the vast landscape of international relations, the Maldives is more than just the idyllic paradise often depicted in travel brochures. Strategically nestled amidst 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, it lies near pivotal shipping lanes, placing it at the heart of significant maritime concerns. In fact, around 80% of the world's seaborne oil trade traverses the Indian Ocean, representing one fifth of total ocean trade. Thus, the security and stability of this region—and by extension, the Maldives—are vital for numerous nations, shaping global energy security and trade dynamics.

Beyond its geographical importance, the Maldives also plays a prominent role in the global community as a member of the Commonwealth- a free association of fifty-six sovereign states, most of which were former dependencies of the United Kingdom. In light of the Commonwealth’s ethos of political values, human rights, economic and digital interconnectivity development, the internal politics and the overall political trajectory of the Maldives inherently matter to the UK.

The lecture aims to underline a crucial perspective: the Maldives exemplifies why, in the realm of global geopolitics, even small states can have significant relevance and importance.

I'd like to welcome everyone. My name is Lana Lloyd, and I'd like to welcome everyone to this evening's Global Challenge Lecture from The Institute of Liberal Arts Sciences. The lecture is on small states at the crossroads: Does the Maldives Matter? Briefly, for those of you who may be new to these events, the Institute promotes interdisciplinary education and research both at Keel and beyond. More information is available on the ISS website, and you can also see videos of earlier lectures on the website.

It is a personal pleasure for me tonight to welcome Her Excellency, Dr. Farah Fisel, who is the High Commissioner of the Maldives to the United Kingdom and non-resident ambassador to France, Ireland, and Spain. She's also the Maldives' permanent representative to the International Maritime Organization, based in London. I had the good fortune to be Farah's personal tutor, attended classes with her, and was present in person when Farah was on the committee of the student-run International Forum. Since graduating, she's kept in touch, and I checked with her this afternoon; this is the fourth time she's returned to give a lecture at Keel. In between, she persuaded her fellow Maldivian diplomat, politician, UN Envoy, professor, and human rights expert, Dr. Ahmed Shahed, to talk to us, and like Farah, it was a superb lecture. We're also very grateful to Farah for chairing what was a most enjoyable, stimulating, and interesting workshop event this afternoon in K Hall with some of our students. Thanks also to Professor Helen Par and Dr. Marin Maren Mandelbom for all the work they put into this event.

Farah has spent all her life promoting the causes of human rights, education, democracy, and battling insecurity, violence, and climate change. She has done this first as a scholar, after doing her degree in international relations at Keel. She went to Cambridge, obtained an MPhil, and then became the first Malian woman to win a doctorate by writing a PhD at Hull on the security problems of small island states. This was followed by a co-edited book exploring women's perspectives on security-related matters, with particular reference to women in South Asia who are battling insecurity and violence.

Second, I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that Farah is a published poet, and she's written some very moving poems about the difficult times through which the Maldives has passed. In particular, given the troubles of today, I would commend you to read her poem "I Will Forgive"; you can easily find it on the internet.

Thirdly, Farah has been a tireless advocate, activist, and campaigner combating climate change. She also played a very important role in the struggle for democracy and human rights in the Maldives. When, after 30 years of abusive and autocratic rule, the Maldives had its first multi-party elections in 2008, she became President Nasheed's High Commissioner in London. But four years later, she resigned after a brutal and bloody coup. Farah then became the spokesman in Europe for and foreign policy advisor to President Nasheed and the Malian Democratic Party. She was also President Nasheed's representative on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group's inquiry into the overthrow of the democratically legitimate government. For the Maldives, as an apartheid South Africa, the Commonwealth played a very important role, a vital role, in fact, in encouraging democracy and democratic values. In 2018, democracy was restored, and Farah again took charge of the Maldives' diplomatic mission in London.

The fourth point I'd like to make about Farah is, far from least, that she is an outstanding diplomat. I know that Farah, this was confirmed in 2022 when the Diplomatic Corps in London, that is a diplomatic core with over 180 missions, nominated her Diplomat of the Year for Asia Oceania. That's a pretty large number of diplomats to be selected from.

Turning to today's lecture, Farah will be happy to take questions when she's finished speaking. For those who are joining us online, welcome. This is the opportunity to engage through the question and answer portal on the right-hand side of the screen. You can submit questions at any part of the lecture, and at the end, we'll try to pose as many questions as we can, as many questions as we have time to pose to Farah. Without any further ado, I'd like to join me in welcoming Her Excellency Dr. Farah Fisel.

Thank you, Lana, for that glowing introduction.

Good evening, everyone. The Director of the Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dr. Tim Lastic, Professor Helen Par, Dr. Marin Maren Mandelbom, and all the students joining online and in person, I appreciate your warm welcome. It's wonderful to be back at Keel, and every visit feels like a return home.

I could never pass up an opportunity to come back. The site of these buildings and the surroundings transport me back to my teenage years. Instead of standing here, I want to be seated among you, reminiscing about my time as an IR student. It was my first visit to the UK, and little did I know that the next three years at Keel would shape my life and empower me to play a role in my country's direction.

Talking about IR in those days, we relied on paper prospectuses since websites weren't common. I chose Keel for its beautiful autumn scenery, and I've never regretted it. Looking at the current Keel University website, the IR course covers a broad range, including war and peace, security arrangements, foreign policy, international organizations, and more. It doesn't explicitly mention the invaluable networks and life experiences that shape your career path.

I didn't travel to Keel to speak about myself, but rather, I want to discuss the Maldives, the focus of today's lecture. Reflecting on my IR days, smaller nations like the Maldives often end up as footnotes in discussions, unless they become pawns in larger power games. This raises questions about the role and relevance of small states in global geopolitics.

Before delving into the Indian Ocean's security matrix, let me provide some background on the Maldives. Aside from what you see in tourism brochures, a recent study found that the Maldives is on the travel bucket list for 122 countries. We have three types of tourism, catering to different preferences.

Beneath the beautiful facade, the Maldives is a country with geopolitical significance in the Indian Ocean. We are considered a small island developing state, but with only 1% of our territory as land, we are also a large ocean state with 1 million square kilometers of ocean.

Our historical importance stems from our geographical location, connecting the African East Coast to Australia's West Coast. The Indian Ocean is home to 33 nations and 2.9 billion people, making the Maldives a vital partner in international shipping lanes.

Our strategic importance is recognized by the United States, with the Maldives being a key part of its Indo-Pacific strategy. Over 70,000 cargo ships cross the Indian Ocean annually, transporting goods worth an estimated $18 trillion and 8 billion barrels of Arabian Gulf oil.

Our land area is only 300 square kilometers, but our maritime exclusive economic zone is 1 million square kilometers. This proximity, along with our history, makes us a critical influence in the Indian Ocean.

Historically, the Maldives has been a beacon for Arab traders, undergoing religious transformation in 1153 CE when Islam became the dominant religion. Despite European powers seeking influence in the 16th century, the Maldives remained uncolonized, becoming a British protectorate in 1887.

We became independent in 1965, joined the UN, and maintained a close relationship with the UK. The Maldives follows the British syllabus, and many Malian students study in the UK. Our relationship with India is complex, characterized by geographical proximity, security cooperation, and shared historical ties.

India has been a reliable partner in times of crisis, such as the 2004 tsunami and the water crisis in 2014. However, with the recent elections and a change in government, we may witness shifts in our foreign relations, especially in the context of India-China relations.

India, being a counterbalance to China, influenced the Maldives to adopt an India-first policy. This strategic decision allows us to balance relations with major global powers without compromising our sovereignty. However, with the recent election results and potential changes in the balance, the dynamics in the Indian Ocean may evolve.

The United States is another significant power in our region, with its Indo-Pacific strategy involving the Indian Ocean. The US Navy's presence and joint military exercises contribute to the geopolitical landscape.

The other Western power that is also an Indian Ocean power is France. The French armed forces have military bases on their territory in the Indian Ocean, including the territories of Kerguelen. They have had a close relationship with other Indian Ocean nations, such as India. France and India have shared a strategic and maritime partnership since the early 1980s. Last year, they had the French Indo-Pacific Summit in Paris.

I also cover France; I'm not just the High Commissioner for the UK. So, I attended the summit with my state minister. French influence and closeness to the Indian Ocean as part of an Indian Ocean power are evident. Of course, Australia is on the other side; Canberra has been particularly engaged in the eastern Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal. For example, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has provided humanitarian support, healthcare funding, and economic recovery assistance to countries like the Maldives, as well as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Now, where does that leave Britain? The Indian Ocean, as you may know, was referred to as a British Lake before 1945 due to the Empire's presence and influence. We all have read in our history books about the UK's withdrawal from the east of Suez. I won't go into that, but what about now? How does the UK see or say about us? That's probably a more pertinent question.

The UK's Integrated Review of security, defence, development, and foreign policy in 2021 talks very strongly about an Indo-Pacific tilt. The review described the region as critical for the UK's economy, security, and its, I quote, "Global ambition to support open societies." Now, the Indo-Pacific is a massive region, and we are a small state. So, we tend to look at the Indian Ocean—the area as part of the Indian Ocean Rim Association—rather than the Pacific, which seems distant for us small states in the Maldives.

However, when larger countries like the UK look at it, it's seen as a much broader umbrella. It's a bit of a difficult message to navigate for small countries like the Maldives. But the UK and the Maldives have taken the relationship to the next level. The UK established its first resident mission in 2020 in the Maldives, becoming the first Western country to do so. Up until then, the High Commissioner was based in Sri Lanka. You know, we had this running joke that when the High Commissioner was in Sri Lanka, they'd come in the morning flight and have their meetings, and they'd be out on the evening flight because they were scared that tabloids might run a picture of the High Commissioner on a beach. No matter what we tried to convince them, they always did that. But now, at least the High Commissioner is in the Maldives, and we've managed to get her to see some of our other islands.

The fact that the UK is the first Western power to do so meant that following the UK, we have now had Australia and the US establishing resident missions in the Maldives. Something is happening in the Maldives, the fact that these larger countries are establishing resident missions here. Our relationship with the UK is multifaceted. This year, early on in February, we had our first UK-Maldives strategic dialogue, focusing on a range of issues to collaborate, including democracy, human rights, counterterrorism, climate change, trade, and most importantly, maritime security.

We are very happy to engage with the UK. We had a small contingent participate in the marching squad to celebrate both the Platinum Jubilee of the late Queen and the coronation as part of the Commonwealth. For the first time, we had a Maldivian National Defense Force come to the UK to march in the celebrations. Apart from the training we have with the UK on the military side, I didn't come here to talk about climate change. I really want to leave it for questions later, but I would be failing in my duty as High Commissioner if I didn't say that climate change is an existential threat that we face.

I am happy to answer questions later, but I want to stress one thing here. I often get asked by climate skeptics or people in general about things like beach erosions. Doesn't it happen all the time? Don't you have seasonal beach erosions? Yes, we do. It's a bit like the trees outside now in autumn. The leaves fall, but people are not worried because in spring, the leaves will be back. So, nobody's bothered about it. But what if, one year, some of those trees, the flowers don't bloom? That's exactly what's happening to some of our beaches. They've gone, and they're not coming back.

It is really something I like to talk to people who are not from the Department of Environment but people who are in politics, economics, and business. The reason why I like talking about this to them is that I want you all one day to be prime ministers, presidents, members of parliament, CEOs of these big companies that are big carbon emitters so that you will make a difference that my generation is failing to do. That's why I want to talk about international politics and economics and students about the fact that this is really a serious threat.

I'm going to leave it there. I'm going to answer questions later on, but I'm going to talk about what happens to small countries like the Maldives if they find themselves in the geopolitics sandwiched between powerful giants. How do we navigate ourselves? What can small states do, as rightly noted by the Maldives Foreign Minister and the President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, my Minister Abdullah Shahid? One size should not determine one's ambition as a nation. We do not just talk; we take action.

Just to give an example, when we wanted to get our foreign minister to the position of the President of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, we lobbied like mad. We are a very small network of diplomats, but we were tigerish in our approach. We made noise, we lobbied, we all worked together, and he won the elections. When we wanted to get into the UN Human Rights Council for the third time, we lobbied like mad. We may be small, but we can work together to make a difference, and we won that election as well. I'm very proud to say that our ambassador in Geneva, Dr. Hala Hameed, is one of the four vice-presidents of the UN Human Rights Council.

So, we work hard to put the Maldives on the map. I come to places like this to talk. I know whatever opportunities you get, we work hard. Again, going back to the climate change issue, one place I like to talk, and I have spoken, although not this year, is party conferences. I mean, I have spoken about climate in the Conservative Party Conference to young conservatives who want to go up one day, become MPs, and maybe the Prime Minister one day because we need them to listen to us.

I may be dead and gone, but I want the Maldives to survive. We position ourselves, but when you look at places like Bali, where can we position ourselves? That's the question. I mean, the UN is huge. Where can we go to talk? Who will listen to us? Here I would like to talk about the Commonwealth. For many of us, especially now, the issue of the Commonwealth is very pertinent, especially with the passing of the late Queen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

For many, the Commonwealth is an archaic organization, remnants of a bygone colonial era. I don't know now, but I remember even then, when I was a student, I had to write an essay on whether the Commonwealth is useful or not. I'm not sure whether any of you had to write an essay on that, but I'm sure it will come soon. For small countries like the Maldives, the membership of the Commonwealth is invaluable to position ourselves along with larger powers.

It is a place where small states sit on an equal footing with countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and larger countries. What people fail to realize is that the Commonwealth is a consensus organization without a veto system, elevating small states to the international arena. For us, it's not just the Marlborough House, the Secretariat that matters. The Commonwealth has a multitude of organizations: the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth of Learning, the Commonwealth Youth Institute, the Commonwealth Architects Association, the medics, the nurses—the list goes on.

It binds us together, brings us together as peoples, and not just as governments. Unlike the UN, it's an organization that really brings the countries, the people of those countries, together. A lot of the time, you hear on the news about the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, all the leaders, but what you fail to hear is that at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, there's the Commonwealth People's Forum, where the people come together and make decisions.

For us, the organization of the Commonwealth is paramount because it is a consensus organization. That's why when the Maldives, the former government, left the Commonwealth, my government in 2020 got us back in. I'm hoping and praying this new administration will stay or keep the Maldives within the Commonwealth. Now I have done my pitch for the Commonwealth. I hope when Dr. Lorna Lloyd does a new edition of her book, "Diplomacy with a Difference: The Commonwealth Office of High Commissioner," she will put a photo of me on the cover.

I want to say that we are at a crossroads, even politically within the Maldives, but I'm hoping that the new government will take us on the same path that the last five years have taken us and take the Maldives forward. I'm quietly optimistic that they will. But before I close, there is something else that I have to say. Keel is not connected to the Maldives just by Maldivians. During my first posting as a High Commissioner to the UK in 2008, we advertised for an internship.

The candidates were very strong, and my team, who did the interview, shortlisted two and couldn't decide who to pick. So, they brought the CVs to me. One of the applicants automatically caught my attention. Under the higher education rubric, it read Keel University, and I knew, at once, there is no other choice because he will have an excellent grounding in international relations. He was the perfect match for my team.

But it's not the end of the story. He secured a job in the Maldives soon after the internship as a journalist. The rest of the story is that he married a Maldivian woman, settled there, and his book, "Maldives: Descent into Paradise," just came out recently. I know Dan, you're listening, and I'm really proud and happy to say that we are all Keel, and we are all in this together.

Thank you very much, Farah. That was super wide-ranging and interesting. You managed to bring the Commonwealth in, tell people how important it is, and also to say to Dan that it's lovely that you've mentioned Dan, and I thoroughly recommend his book to people. It's a long book. I think I'm 40% through. My Kindle version says, but it's very affordable, and it's a very gripping read. I've learned a lot from the book. So, if you want to go further, I recommend Dan's book.

But for now, let us open the floor to questions for Farah. I know there's not much time. I know this is not perhaps quite your oeuvre, but I know, as we've spoken earlier, you were talking about the consequences of climate change in the Maldives, and you were talking a little bit about the funding for the projects. That made me really curious. In a small nutshell, because I know that could probably be discussed for days and weeks and months, aside from the wall that you don't want to have, what are some of the solutions that you found that could be beneficial to keeping your beaches, to keeping the Maldives above sea level, to put it extremely?

One thing the Maldives is doing is working with several universities and institutes, such as the Coral Institute formed by President Nasheed. We collaborate with universities like Milan Boka University. Many tourist resorts are also accelerating coral growth independently. If we can accelerate coral growth and find coral species that will survive ocean acidification and temperature rise, that is where the solution lies.

Maldivians are stubborn islanders, and we believe that we can find a solution by working together. We invite scientists from around the world to do research in the Maldives to find a Eureka moment. I hope this isn't too fi, but talking about the Commonwealth and the importance of states being part of larger organizations made me think about Brexit here. 

Certainly, the UK, like you, is stepping back from that sort of international engagement. Organizations in recent years, or whether those decisions guide you, what small states do, as far as what powers like the UK and the US do, as far as whether they're looking primarily to the Pacific or elsewhere. I mean, if you're talking about the European Union and the UK 'Brexiting,' you know, sometimes for small states, it's much easier to deal bilaterally on issues than with a larger, massive organization.

Now let me give an example of that. When it was part of the European Union, the Maldives was an LDC, and we were able to export our tuna to the European Union with taxation. But once we graduated, the EU imposed a tax on our tuna. Unfortunately, that meant that even when the UK 'Brexited,' we didn't have an agreement with the EU. Therefore, the UK carried on with the tax. Now we have managed to negotiate, or 'vond,' the process, and the UK has agreed to give us a free trade agreement, but the EU has not. So, I think the impact for small states is when we are dealing with larger countries—countries as part of bigger associations—it's much tougher on us. But on a one-on-one bilateral, you know, it's much easier to deal with, and they understand us much better. Did you have online one? Thank you very much for your talk, far, absolutely fascinating.

I was sort of trying to frame a question on my own part, but my colleague Adam has put it much better than I possibly could. Adam says, "The non-aligned movement, including the Maldives, found an important role during the Cold War. Island states in the Indian Ocean benefited from courting aid and support from the two superpowers. To what extent is the growing competitive interest of India and China in exerting influence across the wider Indian Ocean an opportunity rather than a threat which the region's island states might cooperatively leverage for development?"

I think you're absolutely right about the non-aligned movement. Countries like the Maldives benefited, and of course, there was a time when we had the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace movement as well. The issue with getting caught between India and China is difficult, but in one sense, it's not. Geography matters. We are in the southern Indian Ocean, so it's very difficult for any country in that part of the Indian Ocean to ignore the largest superpower there. But at the same time, countries like the Maldives would want to maintain as many friends as we can. So, I think it's a very sensitive balance that we have to maintain, and we have maintained that. As far as I could say, we have managed to maintain that balance. I mean, even this current government has very good relations with India. China, you know, it's not tilting either way, just keeping on the fence, and trying to manage that is the difficult bet. But I think, you know, when it comes to which side you would fall, it always inevitably happens to be on the regional side. Ultimately, you cannot ignore geography.

Gentleman here, and then the person behind. Thank you. Just a follow-up to that point. You mentioned a report which had been put out, I think in 2022 by America. I glanced through that, and it's quite lengthy and almost has a feeling of wanting to take over somewhere along the line. How do the people in the Maldives feel about the relationships with other countries? Would they tend to favour America as opposed to anywhere else? Or how do the people themselves feel? The US has recently opened a posted resident ambassador there, and I think we have very good relations with the US. I mean, for a small country like the Maldives, I don't think we have any enemies. I think we tend to make as many friends. But because of our connections with the UK and the historical past, you know, we have a lot of connections with the West, and that would include the US and Canada as well. But at the same time, we are Asian, so we have very good relations with the rest of Asia as well, including China.

One good thing about—I won't say a good thing—but one thing that small countries have managed to do is, in this day and age, people don't feel that much. It's not a physical presence that matters. So, we can compartmentalize different relationships. I mean, trade relations with one country, tourism relations with one country. For example, if you look at tourist arrivals in the Maldives, the top four countries are India, Russia, China, UK. I mean, not necessarily in that order, but these are the four countries that we have tourists coming from. So, I think we have different categorized relationships with different parts of the world, if I could put it that way. That was it. First of all, thank you. Yeah, okay. First of all, thank you for such an inspiring talk. You mentioned different topics, such as overcoming authoritarian ruling and setting the stage for a clearer voice of smaller countries like the Maldives. You also mentioned at the beginning Venezuela, which I was really happy about, being born in Venezuela. I'm sorry if it's not very clear at the moment. Can you hear me better now? Okay, can you—is that better? Yes, oh, excellent, sorry. Again, thank you for the talk, and you mentioned various topics, just overcoming authoritarian rules and setting the stage for a clearer voice in the Maldives on the international stage, sort of more independent, in a way, from influences of other greater powers.

How could the Maldives, or better, how could these other fellow relatively smaller states which have experienced or still experience similar conditions or circumstances, learn from yours to overcome these issues and again have a clearer voice independent from other power plays? When I started about geography, you know, when I say geography matters, I think this is where we differ from some of the other countries. Because if you look at the Commonwealth, there are the Caribbean small states, you know, it's a whole group of CARICOM countries. They're in the South Pacific seas, you know, the whole groups, and they're near Australia, and they get a lot of assistance from Australia. The Caribbean is, of course, near the US, and then in this Western Indian Ocean, we have Seychelles, Mauritius, and of course, there are French territories of Reunion, Mayotte, and then, of course, Comoros. We are kind of on our own, and so, in a way, it's difficult for us because we are not part of a larger network of small states. There's strength in numbers, but in a way, it's a blessing in disguise because we can do things on our own without having to worry about the other small neighbours.

Now, if I can give you a quick example of that, the ACP, it's called OACP, organized of African, Caribbean, and Pacific. We could not join them because we are neither African (the Seychelles and Mauritius, they are all part of OACP), we are neither Caribbean. We are not in the Pacific. So, we were the only island country kind of left in the Indian Ocean until Africa embraced us last year and threw us in. But it has its advantages, but it has its disadvantages as well. The advantages are there's strength in numbers for the smaller countries, so they can actually join together and make their positions clear. But on the other hand, there are disadvantages because they have to agree among themselves where they want to go. Very much less. We just decide ourselves. So, I think it depends on the issue. It has its strengths, and it has disadvantages. I hope that answered the question. Sorry, I couldn't hear the first part of it very well. Okay, time is moving on. Tim has an online question. Did you have someone at the back? No? It's okay. So, Tim, our online person, has the last question.

Thanks, Lona. So, this is a question from Bini, who says, "First of all, thank you, Farah, that was fascinating." And then goes on, "You mentioned at the beginning that the Maldives is on many people's bucket list. Is the perception of your country as an island paradise a help or a hindrance?" So, sorry, can you—is the perception of your country as an island paradise a help or a hindrance? Tourism is what puts the food on the table, and tourism is what sends our children to school. Tourism is the main economy. So, obviously, without tourism, we would not be where we are today. So, in that sense, you know, it's not a hindrance. However, there are issues that affect us because of our smallness. For example, because our GDP per capita, because of tourism, is very high, we only have half a million people. But internationally, very often, the criteria used in international aid and international assistance is GDP per capita. So, while the Maldives' GDP per capita is very high, we import everything. You know, the only thing we don't import is tuna fish and sunshine. Only 1% of our land is arable. So, every single thing the industry needs is imported. So, a lot of the money that we earn goes to purchase things for the tourism industry. So, it's a double-edged sword in that sense. Bini is right, but I would say I cannot say it's a hindrance because that's what puts food on the table for our children. Okay, well, our sincere thanks to you, Farah. That was super, as always. I think a job as a teacher is to lead people to a place I'll never go, and you've gone a lot further than I ever could have done. So, thank you. I'd also like to thank everybody who's contributed to the smooth running of this lecture. First, Professor Tim Lustig, the director of ISAS there, Tim, the team from the KE conferencing events, the AVS team, thank you, Dan and Steve Kilner. Also, in ISAS, of course. Thank you to the audience. Thank you for coming. Thank you for your support and thank you for your contributions to the lectures. And as always, some super questions. I'm just sorry there's not time for more questions.

The next Global Challenges Lecture, if I can move on to that, is in partnership with KE's Race Equality Lecture Series. It will be presented jointly by Professor Nicole Bannister, Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, and Keon West, Professor of Social Psychology at Goldsmiths University of London. The lecture will be entirely online, so you don't have to turn out, just turn your computers on and log in. It's online on Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, the 15th of November at 6:00. That's Wednesday, 15th of November, 6:00. Full details of how to register for the lecture are on the institute's website. Thank you all for coming, and Farah, just a tiny little gift from KE. It's very little. It's very token, but it's very KE. Thank you very, very much.