High level visits to the UK from French and German leaders highlight the growing strength of European collaboration at a time when wider global leadership on key challenges is increasingly in demand.
Wilton Park has a long tradition of supporting stronger European collaboration going right back to our roots in 1946, including the establishment of a European Discussion Centre to facilitate the enlargement of the European Economic Community with UK accession in 1973. More recently we have supported stronger bilateral ties with various European countries – and our mission continues to grow in the face of wider challenges to European peace and security.
This month we hosted the Sussex Growth Forum, which brought together local and regional representatives from business, government, higher education, and civil society to drive growth and international ambition for the benefit of communities across West and East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.
These events are a great way for us to both contribute to the communities in which our headquarters are based, but also to understand local concerns and ways of engaging with international issues. Being visible in and for local communities is increasingly vital in providing the social licence and partnerships government needs to deliver, including on foreign policy, and here too Wilton Park is innovating for UK and global benefit.
Tom Cargill
Chief Executive
Action on accountability: the pursuit of criminal justice for Ukraine
We recently had the honour of hosting an international dialogue on accountability for atrocity crimes in Ukraine. Attendees were drawn from the Office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General (OPG) and the Ukrainian Security Service, the ICC, Council of Europe, United Nations, Eurojust, the EEAS and EU Commission, as well as civil society actors such as Save Ukraine.
The scale of Russia’s crimes in Ukraine is vast, making the pursuit of justice and accountability an enormous undertaking. However, even whilst facing relentless attacks, a dedicated global network of individuals continues to work tirelessly in pursuit of justice for victims and survivors. They are creating a ‘web of accountability’, featuring domestic and international prosecutions alongside a range of non-judicial measures.
Our intensive discussions resulted in recommendations for enhanced coordination, communication and commitment to these criminal justice initiatives. In particular, there was a shared awareness of the need to make the most of these accountability efforts to counter Russian misinformation about the conflict. Wilton Park is proud to support these efforts.
Watch Kseniia’s story
‘These children are still in Russia, are still trapped under Russian control.’
Watch Kseniia Koldin, who bravely rescued her 11-year-old brother from Russia with Save Ukraine‘s help, describe how Russia is systematically kidnapping and brainwashing Ukrainian children as part of its war on Ukraine.
Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25
This month we laid the Wilton Park Annual Report and Accounts before Parliament. This provides a comprehensive overview of our work and financial performance over the past year.
In 2024/25, we brought together almost 3,700 decision makers and experts from 152 countries around the world for 70 policy events.
View the full report for detailed insights into our achievements and strategic priorities.
Read our latest reports, including the summary of a new initiative to counter and leverage WMD relevant technologies, and sustainable and effective resourcing models to protect against sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment
WATCH: A Global Partnership initiative to counter and leverage WMD relevant technologies
Watch participants discuss how the Global Partnership works to prevent developing technology being used by bad actors, and how the positive impacts of emerging technology can mitigate biological threats and develop antidotes and therapeutics.
This conference will aim to promote understanding and agreement on three key questions among the Nordic states and the UK in the context of an evolving Russian doctrine for the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons:
Does NATO have what it needs to alter Russian calculations around nuclear weapon use today and in the future?
What is the task for NATO nuclear weapons in a future regional conflict with Russia?
What levers would be most effective in targeting Russian strategy for nuclear use in a regional conflict?
These questions will have a High North focus, expanding geographically on last year’s event.
Achieving scale and sustainability – a campaign for implementing locally led adaptation
This Wilton Park event will build upon previous convenings of locally led adaptation, climate finance and development actors.
It will drive forward momentum on this issue across the climate, development and humanitarian agendas and develop a vision for locally led finance platforms that deliver for LDCs, SIDS and key marginalised groups.
Towards Demographic Dividends in Africa: action and investments
The population in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is projected to rise from 1.2 billion today to around 2.1 billion by 2050, comprising more than 20% of the world’s population, and with more than half under age 25. By 2040, Africa will have the largest population of under 25’s in the world. These demographic trends have profound implications for the continent and globally.
Planning and investment in policies to accompany the demographic shifts must be led by governments and the private sector, and supported by external partners. Building on the Heads of States Human Capital Summit held by the World Bank in Tanzania in 2023, this event was an opportunity to have a focused discussion among regional government representatives and other experts in a discreet setting, on how to leverage these demographic trends to be a source of sustainable economic growth and development for the region.
Food systems and power: towards collective action for systemic change
This unique exchange, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and supported by EIT Food, examined how power asymmetries shape food systems. Participants identified actionable pathways to collectively work on and with power to create more equitable, just and sustainable food systems, and set the priorities for a new multi-partner Food and Power Initiative.
There is an urgent need to transform food systems. However, efforts to promote food security, greater sustainability, and healthier outcomes are often hindered by deeply rooted power dynamics that resist policy, institutional, and other changes. These power dynamics significantly slow progress on the Sustainable Development Goals and other metrics for progress, with dire consequences.
In 2023, more than 700 million people faced hunger, while 2.8 billion could not afford a healthy diet. Food systems also contributed to 31% of greenhouse gas emissions and 70% of global biodiversity loss. Better understanding power asymmetries and the ability to navigate them is essential to making more rapid progress to create more just and equitable food systems.
WATCH: In the video below, Dr. Lucy Wallace, EIT Food Director of Global Relationships, reflects on the importance of power in food systems and key takeaways from the event.
Sussex Growth Forum
This event united stakeholders from across Sussex to explore the region’s international potential and global connections.
Representatives from national and local government, MPs, business, higher education and cultural organisations throughout Sussex examined how to effectively link the needs and aspirations of local communities with international opportunities during a period of considerable local, national and global change.
This month we began preparing for our annual conference in support of the global treaty governing nuclear weapons and related technology, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), – a dialogue we’ve been hosting since 1996. Over nearly three decades, this gathering has adapted through different formats – including virtual and hybrid configurations during the global pandemic – establishing itself as an essential fixture within the international NPT calendar.
This year’s conference is particularly timely, coming just four months before the Treaty’s major Review Conference at the UN from 27 April to 22 May 2026. These five-yearly Reviews, involving all 191 States Parties, are always challenging when it comes to reaching consensus. The 2026 Review will take place against a backdrop of rising nuclear tensions, the ongoing war in Ukraine, concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme, and various other pressing challenges.
We will bring together key players from NPT States Parties, international organisations like the IAEA, and selected non-governmental experts for a week-long discussion. Together, we’ll explore what success looks like for the Review Conference in today’s complex environment and how we might achieve meaningful outcomes that serve both the Treaty’s goals and broader international stability.
