The Diplomatic Press Attachés Association of London (DPAAL) hosted an event for their members on Monday 13 March with Channel 4 News anchor, Jon Snow, as speaker. Co-hosted by the Italian Embassy and held at the Italian Cultural Institute on Belgrave Square, press attaches from over 50 countries came together to listen to Jon Snow discuss ‘Leadership in the XXI Century.’

Straight to the point, the newsreader opened with “The world is in a bad place when it comes to leadership.”

Snow declared last June’s referendum result to be “a tragedy,” stating “Brexit is an extraordinary consequence of a lack of leadership.” He praised Barack and Michelle Obama as wonderful examples of moral leadership and “one of the best double acts” in history. In the UK, Snow praised the virtues of Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership.

Snow fears that potential leaders for the future are being distracted by financial gains and enticed to work in business instead. After all, he says, “who would want to run a very difficult country in crisis?”
The talk was followed by a Q&A session, networking and coffee.