Press

About Us

The Arab-British Centre was founded in 1975 and aims to promote the development of friendship, understanding and cooperation between Britain and the Arab world. The Centre is a registered charity and its charitable objectives involve advancing the education of the public by providing and maintaining a centre for the dissemination of information regarding the culture, science, religion, economy and contemporary history of the Arab world. It fulfills these objectives by housing of a number of resident organisations actively involved in British-Arab relations and through its development of a cultural programme of events highlighting contemporary Arab culture.

Please call us on +44 (0)20 7832 1310 if you have any press enquiries.

ABC Trustees

Chairman: Christopher Segar CMG

Christopher Segar was a member of the Diplomatic Service from 1973 to 2005. On his last posting he went to Iraq in 2003 as head of the British Office Baghdad, concentrating on re-establishing bilateral contacts. From June 2006 to June 2008 he was Deputy Director (Business Development) at the Centre for Studies in Security and Diplomacy at Birmingham University. Since July 2008 he has been Administrator, Middle East and North Africa Programme at the International Energy Agency, Paris.

Jamil Bullata FCA

Jamil Bullata is a Chartered Accountant and has been a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales since 1970. Having retired in 1992, Mr Bullata continues to be active, serving as Honorary Treasurer and board member of a number of U.K. registered charities/organisations which include Action Around Bethlehem, Children with Disability (ABCD); Friends of Birzeit University (FoBZU); Rediscovering Palestine; Legal Assistance for Palestinians Trust; The Living Stones of the Holy Land Trust; The Antiochian Orthodox Church in the City of London, British Arabs Association and Arab Media Watch.

Thana Saleh Chawishly

She was born and educated in Baghdad and has been based in the UK since 1980. She lived in Cairo between 1964 and 1966. She also worked at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Language Centre in London from 1988 to 2004. More recently, she worked in Baghdad for the British Embassy twice, in 2004 and 2006-2007.

She is also a member of BRISMES , Chatham House, the Women’s Council and the British Iraqi Friendship Society.

Saeed Taji Farouky

Saeed Taji Farouky is a Palestinian/British freelance documentary filmmaker, documentary photographer and print journalist. In 2004 he founded the documentary production company Tourist With A Typewriter, dedicated to human rights and social justice documentaries.

His print and broadcast work focuses on the Middle East and North Africa where he has covered topics including the Western Sahara independence movement, the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon and the siege on Gaza.

Virginia Forbes

Virginia Forbes works privately for HRH Prince Turki al Faisal on a wide range of affairs. She has done research and analysis for HRH Prince Turki and the King Faisal Philanthropic Foundation, contributing to the King Faisal Memorial Exhibition which opened in Riyadh in 2008.

During Prince Turki’s ambassadorship in London, she worked with HRH Princess Nouf bint Fahd in her initiatives to support the Saudi Community in the United Kingdom and to introduce to the British public the vital and active role of Saudi women within their own society.

William Fullerton CMG

After reading oriental languages at Cambridge, William began working life in Shell International in Uganda and transferred to the Foreign Office in 1965, spending most of his diplomatic career in the Middle East and other parts of the Islamic world including Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, and posts as Ambassador in Somalia, Kuwait and Morocco. He was Governor of the Falkland Islands from 1988 to 1992.

He is a Trustee of the Lord Caradon Lectures Trust and SPANA (Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad), and a Life Member of the National Trust, CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) and WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature).

Annabel Kealy

From 1997 to 2001, Annabel accompanied her husband to Jerusalem where he was Consul General (British Representative to the Palestinian Authority). Here she was involved in development work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and also with local craft groups, exhibitions and concerts. In addition, she was an active supporter of the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital and is currently a member of their fund-raising Guild.

Their final posting was to Tunisia where her husband was Ambassador. There she organised concerts by local musicians, participated in cross-cultural groups and helped to supervise the restoration of the Historic British Residence – a unique fusion of Arab and British architectural design.

Tim Llewellyn

Tim Llewellyn was the BBC’s Middle East Correspondent based in Beirut from 1975 to 1980. He covered the Lebanese Civil War, the Palestinian struggle and the Iranian Revolution. From 1980 to 1982 he was East Africa correspondent, then, as a London-based foreign correspondent, he covered the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Sabre-Chatila massacre and the ensuing chaos in Lebanon in the early 1980s.

In 1987 he was reappointed Middle East Correspondent, during which time he covered the Iran-Iraq war - from both sides- the continuing civil strife in Lebanon, the first Palestinian Intifada of 1987 to 1992, the first Gulf War of 1991, and the Middle East peace efforts at Madrid and Oslo

Caroline Muir

After marriage in 1966, Caroline joined her husband Richard at MECAS (Shemlan), followed by postings to Jeddah, Tunis, Washington, Riyadh, Muscat and Kuwait.

In all these posts, she worked closely with the local women’s organisations. In Muscat and Kuwait she arranged art exchanges and exhibitions between local and British artists and raised funds for handicapped children and other charities through theatrical events at both residences. In Kuwait, Caroline cooperated closely with “Women in Business in the Arab World” promoters to bring groups of local Kuwaiti business women to the events held annually in London and helped organise business-training workshops held at the Embassy for local female entrepreneurs.

Nick St. Aubyn

Since 1993, Nick St Aubyn has been Chairman of the Fitzroy Group, which he has built into a leading manufacturer of retail, commercial and residential interiors.

From 1997-2001, he was elected MP for Guildford. He served as a member of the ALL-Party Commission of Enquiry into Palestinian Refugees, which published “Right of Return” in 2001 and “Participating in Peace” in 2003.

David Wright OBE

David served in the Diplomatic Service for 42 years, studied Arabic at MECAS and served in Lebanon, Iraq (twice) and Qatar (twice). He retired as HM Ambassador, Doha in 2002 and continues to work part-time advising ex- colleagues on the challenges of retirement. He is a Councillor in Guildford Borough, ex-Chairman of Licensing and currently Lead Councillor for Community Safety. He is also on the Boards of the Surrey Probation Service, the Surrey Hills Partnership, the Surrey Rural Partnership, Guildford Citizen’s Advice Bureau, the Hurtwood Control Trust and the Jerusalem and East Mission Trust.