Two major themes for this week. Lord Mandelson spoke at New York University on the financial crisis and what it means for globalisation. And we’re celebrating Wales Week.
Lord Mandelson first. The speech is well worth reading in full, but, from what people told me afterwards, the points which resonated were:
– globalisation is a fact. The financial crisis underlined the degree of countries’ interdependence through open markets.
– getting regulation of the financial sector right is critically important. Any country needs a strong banking sector lending to companies to allow them to grow.
– our approach to regulation had to be international- it was not helpful to have countries competing against each other in financial sector regulation.
– the G20 was the right forum to agree a way forward on regulating the financial sector.
That’s the high policy. The Consulate’s role is finding the right venue and forum for delivering the message and, in that regard, I should mention how great it is to work with a partner like New York University. We’ve run a few events with them and they are just a wonderful institution with which to work.
We also work closely with our Welsh Assembly Government colleagues, who have a very active operation in New York. For Wales Week USA we are hosting a reception for Welsh composer Karl Jenkins OBE, who is playing Carnegie Hall on 6 March.
A couple of other cultural items this week, showcasing British artistic talent at the Consul-General’s Residence: Susan Collis, who has been commissioned to create the visual identity for the 2010 Armory Show (a major art event in New York); and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, appearing at the Lincoln Center.
Next week: something about philantyhropy and a major British project in New York.