Our two main event take place on Saturday 27 August:

Where Next for the Arab Spring
11:00 - 12:00, Main Chamber, £6.00 (Concessions £3.50). Book in advance. 

The Middle East and North African regions are going through dramatic changes but what is next for the Arab Spring and what is the potential impact on the wider world?  Is the intervention from the West enough, too little or indeed, welcomed?  Libya has seen Western intervention in the bid to save lives but what constitutes to a country receiving intervention? 

BBC’s Special Correspondent Allan Little will be joined by independent film-maker Omar Hamilton, who during the Cairo revolution used Twitter to communicate images and reaction on the streets, Mark Muller Stuart QC, Director of Beyond Borders and the Delfina Foundation and Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, photojournalist and World Press Photo winner Ed Ou who documented the recent revolution in Egypt and Dr. Florence Gaub, Academic Coordinator, Middle East Faculty, NATO Defense College

Reporting the Independence Referendum
14:30 – 16:00, Committee Room 1, FREE. 

The result of this year's Scottish Parliament Election means that a referendum on Scottish independence is now certain to happen. What kind of media coverage can we expect? Will we see a fair and reasonable debate, or will the passions of partisanship make it impossible to have a well-conducted campaign?

The seminar looks at the challenges facing news providers as they get to grips with the issues and implications. Blair Jenkins, former Head of News at both STV and BBC Scotland, chairs a panel of leading practitioners in looking ahead to how the media will handle the big vote.