Programme

Registration & Arrival

Networking lounge opens

Opening

Welcome addresses (plenary)

Coffee & Networking

Parallel Sessions I

• Brentrance: the Ambassadors' Panel
• Behind the Kensington Treaty
• Five Prime Ministers in Nine Years: Is Britain Still Governable?

Extended Break & Networking

Parallel Sessions II

• A New Chapter for Britain and Germany, curated by the Ditchley Foundation
• A Seat at the Table: Britain, Germany and Global Influence
• If Article Five Fails, What Is Left of NATO?

Open Networking

The day ends at 18:30 by design

Dinner at the Saïd

All delegates and speakers

Motion Debate

“This House Believes Britain and Germany Are Too Comfortable to Compete”

Parallel Sessions III

• Is Europe Too Expensive, or Just Too Slow?
• The AfD, the 'Brandmauer', and the Next Coalition
• Germany Builds the Robots. Britain Builds the Code. What Matters More?
• Where Protest Ends: Terrorism and Civil Liberties
• Letting Go: Central Government and Regional Powers

Break & Coffee

Parallel Sessions IV

• Beyond Aid: Can Europe Compete with China in the Global South?
• Can Europe Build Competitive Foundational Models?
• Keeping the Lights On: Costs, Grids and the Energy Transition
• If Fusion's Problem Isn't Physics, What Is It?
• Ink and Steel: Anglo-German Rearmament in Theory and in Practice

Lunch

Impulses I & II

Two short addresses (plenary)

Keynote I

Plenary

Parallel Sessions V

• Made in Europe: Industry, Costs and What Comes Next
• From Molecule to Market: Capital, Trials and European Biotech
• From Balfour to Staatsräson: Is Western Support for Israel Unconditional?
• Who Judges the Algorithm?
• The Chancellor's View: What Are Universities For?

Founders' Lightning

Seven pitches of six minutes, and an audience vote (plenary)

Parallel Sessions VI

• Has Europe Quietly Given Up on Net Zero?
• AI at the Bedside: Should We Trust Machines with Medicine?
• The Treaty and the Balance Sheet: What Kensington Means for Business
• Growing Pains: Scaling Start-Ups in Europe
• Shooting for the Stars: Opportunities in Space

Speakers' Dinner

Rhodes House

Conference Gala

Natural History Museum

Parallel Sessions VII

• The Progressive Dilemma: The Left between Class, Culture and Coalitions
• Conserving What? The Future of Conservatism
• Does the Brain Work Like an AI Model?
• When Diplomacy Falls Short: Humanitarian Crises and How We Respond to Them
• Holding the Line: Defending NATO's Eastern Flank

Coffee & Break

Parallel Sessions VIII

• International Justice Under Pressure
• Press Club: Journalism Behind the Scenes
• AI Regulation: Can We Enforce Rules on Models Built Elsewhere?
• The Haves and the Have-Nots: Wealth, Housing and Inheritance
• Building with Frontier AI (workshop)

Lunch

Parallel Sessions IX

• Fair-Weather Friends? Europe and the American Alliance
• Migration in Europe: Open Economies, Closed Borders?
• From Pyramid to Diamond: How AI Is Reshaping Companies
• Is Russia Already at War With Us?
• Wargame (workshop)

Keynote II

Plenary

Closing & Thanks

Closing by the executive and academic directors, and the outlook to GBC 2027