Elizebeth Kiss responds to objections to Chelsea Manning.

Dear Michael, Paul, David, Brian, Owen, Fred, and Dan,

Thank you for your messages regarding the participation of Chelsea Manning as a speaker at the Tech & Society Forum this November. 

I write to let you know that the Rhodes Trustees discussed this matter at their recent board meeting.   The Trust will not be rescinding the invitation.

We host a wide range of speakers in person and online and are committed to upholding the values of free inquiry and robust debate.  Recent and upcoming speakers include former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defence Joseph Nye, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and former United Nations' Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno. 

For Rhodes thematic forums such as Tech & Society, the programme is developed with input from an advisory board of subject matter experts.  In the case of the Tech & Society Forum this group consists of Rhodes Scholars who have leadership roles in the tech sector.  They come from the U.S., Canada, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, and represent Rhodes classes from the 1970s through the 2010s.  The group includes individuals currently working with NASA and with government and military clients in the defence sector. 

We recognise that some members of the Rhodes community condemn Ms Manning as a traitor, while some praise her as a human rights whistleblower.  The conversation at the Tech & Society Forum will not focus on either of these claims, but rather on the ethics and governance of cybersecurity, topics of vital importance for the 21st century. 

Thank you, as ever, for your commitment to the Rhodes Scholarship.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth