Wilton Park
Wilton Park is an executive agency of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office providing a global forum for strategic discussion. It organises over 50 events a year in the UK and overseas, bringing together leading representatives from the worlds of politics, business, academia, diplomacy, civil society and media. Events focus on issues of international security, prosperity and justice.
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History
Wilton Park began on 12 January 1946 as part of an initiative inspired by Winston Churchill, who in 1944 called for Britain to help establish a democracy in Germany after the Second World War.[1] It takes its name from the Wilton Park Estate, near Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire: between January 1946 and June 1948 approx 4,500 Germans were made to attend re-education classes there.[2] Since 1951 the facility has been based at Wiston House in Sussex.[1]
Was the HQ of MI9, the section of British Military Intelligence responsible for enabling the escape and evasion of military personnel behind enemy lines, from October 1949.
Operations
Meetings provide a neutral environment where conflicting views can be expressed and debated openly and calmly, allowing acceptable compromise and resolution to be achieved. It encourages innovation in global thinking by provoking lively debate and promoting inclusivity among the policy makers and opinion formers. Discussions are non-attributable to encourage frank exchanges and open dialogue.[3]
References
- A brief history of Wilton Park
- Arthur Lee Smith. The war for the German mind: re-educating Hitler's soldiers. p. 50.
- Wilton Park