The Transatlantic Forum for Education and Diplomacy
The Transatlantic Forum for Education and Diplomacy (TFED) creates and implements activities that connect the practice of international diplomacy to higher education. Our focus is on transatlantic relations and the role of the humanities in in enhancing cultural literacy and fostering global understanding.
In collaboration with UNC Global Affairs, TFED brings leading diplomats, scholars, and global affairs experts to UNC, enriching the academic environment through guest lectures, seminars, and webinars. By facilitating these exchanges, TFED aims to inspire critical discourse and cross-cultural collaboration within the broader community.
TFED is pleased to announce its partnership with UNC Global Affairs, in collaboration with Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, UNC Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Chief Global Officer. Ambassador Stephenson will be joining UNC students for a special lecture on Thursday, September 5, 2024 PM at 5 PM – please stay tuned for details.
Great thanks to our most recent TFED guest speakers!
David Stuttard:
"Singing of Troy: Imagining a Heroic Age from The Iliad to the Aeneid"
Catherine Meyer, Baroness Meyer of Nine Elms:
"The House of Lords: A Brief Introduction"
Professor Harold Hongju Koh:
"The Russia-Ukraine War: Colonial Roots & Legal Solutions"
TFED hosted a number of guest speakers over the past academic year, featuring internationally known diplomats, global leaders, and accomplished academics. Our affiliated UNC student organization, CFED, has expressed interest in inviting these and other guest speakers for the upcoming academic year : please stay tuned for details!
Stay tuned for news of events scheduled for the upcoming academic year!
The Baroness Meyer CBE,
Professor Harold Hongju Koh,
Kathryn Hewitt,
Ambassador W. Robert Pearson,
Lord Kamall,
David Stuttard,
Paul Rennie OBE,
Ambassador Barbara Stephenson, & more!
TFED looks forward to these and other exciting events in the upcoming academic year!
TFED is proud to announce three new additions to the TFED Executive Board: The Earl of Effingham; Catherine Meyer, The Baroness Meyer CBE; and Ambassador W. Robert Pearson.
TFED looks forward to hosting webinars this fall featuring TFED Board members: Baroness Meyer will be speak about her work with the House of Lords and Ambassador Pearson will speak about Turkey’s role in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war.
In Loving Memory of Sir Christopher Meyer
With enormous sadness, we share the news that Sir Christopher Meyer passed away in Megève, France, on Wednesday, July 27th, 2022. He will be missed beyond words by his beloved spouse, Catherine, Baroness Meyer, and by his wider network of family, friends, and scores of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students who had the pleasure of meeting him through our Empire and Diplomacy courses offered at UNC and in partnership with King's College London.
Sir Christopher treasured his close friendships with UNC faculty, students, and the wider UNC community. He recalled with great fondness festive gatherings with supporters of UNC -- including Joan Heckler Gillings, Betty Kenan, and Tom Kenan -- and numerous speaking events where he engaged with UNC faculty and students through his long association with Honors Carolina, the Department of English, and Comparative Literature, the Peace, War, and Defense curriculum, the UNC School of Law, and, most recently, with projects planned in partnership with UNC Global for the coming academic year. He treasured these relationships, which flowered in Chapel Hill and in London and which, in his own words, gave “real substance to the notion of the transatlantic community built on shared values.”
Sir Christopher was an active board member of the Transatlantic Forum for Education and Diplomacy. In 2010 Sir Christopher was named the Morehead-Cain Alumni Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina. “SirSocks” will be remembered for his wit and wisdom and his inexhaustible devotion to the cause of strengthening the transatlantic relationship.
Sir Christopher: We will miss you!
“I take a lot of pride in my contributions to TFED; not only does it invest in diplomatic relations between the US and UK, but TFED also invests in students.”
— Myles Lukert (Former intern at TFED)
Our Stories
Students working with TFED come from a variety of different institutions and walks of life. The summer KCL program has welcomed students from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Stanford, Vassar, Wesleyan, NC State University, Dartmouth, Harvard, UPenn, and a variety of other universities abroad. TFED has also been eager to welcome multiple veterans to both our educational programming and the UNC Literature and Diplomacy Study Abroad. Here, we share some of their stories:
If you are a student interested in the work of TFED, please feel free to contact us to learn about joining the UNC study abroad program at King’s College London, attending special guest lectures (primarily on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), or interning with TFED as we work to expand our academic programming and build funding for transatlantic travel scholarships.
What People Are Saying:
The Daily Tarheel
“You Could Study Abroad in London Through this UNC nonprofit!”
Carolina Now.
“Learn everything you need to know about UNC Literature and Diplomacy at King’s College London.”
The Daily Tarheel
“At ‘Corridors of Power’ speakers explored insider views on U.S. diplomacy.”