To mark 50 years of EU membership for Ireland, Ambassador Cole would like to extend an invite to Chamber members to attend a breakfast briefing with visiting guest speaker Professor Brigid Laffan. The briefing will take place at the Residence on the morning of Monday, 20 November from 0800 to 0900. Professor Laffan (bio below) is an esteemed academic and scholar of European Affairs and the Embassy is delighted to welcome her to Tokyo and have the opportunity to hear her insights into what EU membership has meant for Ireland, how the EU has responded to recent challenges, and what the future might hold for the EU and Ireland.

This event is limited to IJCC Regional Professional, Professional, Corporate and Platinum members only. Due to very limited spaces, we strongly encourage members to sign up early. There is no cost to attend this event.

Date: Monday 20th November

Time: 08:00 - 09:00 (doors open 07:45)

Venue: Ambassador's Residence

Register: https://forms.office.com/r/x7A0j0Kabd

The programme will start at 08:00 sharp, so we strongly encourage attendees to arrive early where possible.

Guest Speaker Bio:

Brigid Laffan is Emeritus Professor at the European University Institute. Prof. Laffan was Director and Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and Director of the Global Governance Programme and the European Governance and Politics Programme at the European University Institute (EUI), Florence until her retirement in August 2021. Previously, Prof. Laffan was Professor of European Politics at the School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe) University College Dublin (UCD), and she was Vice-President of UCD and Principal of the College of Human Sciences from 2004 to 2011. Prof. Laffan was also the founding director of the Dublin European Institute UCD from 1999 and in March 2004 she was elected as a member of the Royal Irish Academy. She is a member of the Board of the Mary Robinson Foundation for Climate Justice, the Fulbright Commission (until September 2013) and was the 2013 Visiting Scientist for the EXACT Marie Curie Network. In November 2018 she was ranked among the women who shape Europe by POLITICO and was also awarded by the University of Limerick Alumni Association with its highest honour. In September 2014 Professor Laffan was awarded the UACES Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012 she was awarded the THESEUS Award for outstanding research on European Integration. In 2010 she was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite by the President of the French Republic.