Public Talk: Harmony in Diversity - Navigating life and work in China with intercultural competence

Please join us for this insightful talk from Nick Thomas, Director, China at the British Council and the Minister (Culture and Education) at the British Embassy in Beijing. In this role, he oversees the British Council's work to support more connections in education and culture between the UK and China.

About the talk:

Nick will share his experiences of studying Chinese for thirty years, living and working in China for more than a decade, and supporting a wide range of UK organisations engaging with China - what he's learned about intercultural competence, what's changed, and what seems obvious now but wasn't at the time. He will also talk about his current role at the British Council, which focuses on building connections, understanding and trust between the UK and China. The talk will be held online via MS Teams. 

About the speaker:

China has been a major focus of Nick's career, having first visited in the early 1990s. His undergraduate degree at the University of Oxford was in Chinese Studies, and he spent more than a decade living and working in China, both in Beijing and Shanghai, before he joined the British Council. He also has an MA in International Affairs from The Australian National University (ANU), which focused substantially on East Asia.

His career at the British Council began as Country Director Philippines between 2013 and 2018. He then spent two years in London working on South Asia and East Asia, before moving to Country Director Ukraine, originally based in Kyiv before moving to Warsaw after Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Please register here on Eventbrite to attend the talk. Please note that tickets to the talk will be limited. The talk will be held online via MS Teams and the recording will be made available on this page soon afterwards.  Please click here to read the Chinese version of the talk.

*Update 09/02/24 - The recording of the talk and transcript are now available. Please click here to read the transcript.