Speakers
Terry Waite CBE
Having been held captive, whilst working as a hostage negotiator, in Beirut for 1760 days, Terry made the journey back 20 years later to meet his jihadist captors. Having kept his humour spirit alive, Terry speaks about how extreme difficultires can often be a source of strength. He is a raconteur par excellence and truly inspirational character.
On leaving college Terry Waite was appointed as Education Advisor to the Anglican Bishop of Bristol. He went on to become the Provincial Training Advisor to the first African Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. He went on to found the Southern Sudan Project and was responsible for developing programmes of aid and development for this war torn region.
His next role was as International Consultant to a Roman Catholic medical order in Rome, Italy advising and conducting programmes on health and education. In 1980 he joined the Archbishop of Canterbury travelling the world as his Advisor. He successfully negotiated the release of several hostages in Iran and Libya and was taken captive whilst negotiating releases of Western hostages in Lebanon for a total of 1,760 days– the first four years in solitary confinement.
Since his release Terry has been elected a Fellow Commoner at Trinity Hall Cambridge. His first book Taken on Trust was an International best seller and his second publication, Footfalls in Memory, was also a best seller. His book, Travels with a Primate, is a humorous account of his journeys with Archbishop Runcie. He is currently much in demand as a lecturer, writer and broadcaster. He is also a co-founder of Y.Care, a development agency linked to the YMCA movement. Recently he helped found Hostage UK, an organisation designed to give support to hostage families. Terry Waite is also president of Emmaus UK, plus patron of the charity AbleChildAfrica and the Romany Society.
“Would you be so kind and pass on to Terry Waite, that we would like to thank him again for his appearance last week. The reactions have been very positive and several guests had mentioned, that the discussions could have lasted much longer”. Ursula Kaspar, UBS AG, Global Wealth Management & Business Banking
“The spontaneity of the standing ovation told its own story.” ProManchester
