Twitter: @mcbenwell

Matthew is a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Newcastle University. He was previously a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at Keele University working on a project exploring, ‘The making of the geopolitical citizen’ in the context of the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands. Matthew is currently Co-Investigator on a HERA Joint Research Programme (Public Spaces: Culture and Integration in Europe) investigating, ‘The everyday experiences of young refugees and asylum seekers in public spaces.’ Matthew’s research interests include children and young people’s engagements with geopolitics (especially in the Southern Cone), everyday nationalism, and spaces of memory and commemoration.

Twitter: @figodeprep

Instagram: falklandsdeputyrep

Born in the Falkland Islands after the Falklands War, Michael is the Deputy Representative for the Falkland Islands Government and is a Falkland Islander. Based in the FIG Office in Westminster, London, Michael helps represent the Islands in the UK, liaises with Falklands students in the UK, and is the Falklands40 Programme Manager. Outside of work, Michael’s passion is football and he has represented the Falklands national football team at five international tournaments and helped coach the Under 12s national team in a tournament in Chile.

Michael’s ancestor originally arrived in the Falklands in the 1850s and he is honoured to represent his home in the UK.

Hello everyone! I’m Evie, a doctoral researcher at Newcastle University. My research explores visual and aesthetic approaches to international politics with a particular focus on Cold War propaganda posters. In the past, I have worked as a teaching assistant, travel consultant, marine researcher and yoga teacher - a bit of an eclectic mix!

I’m from Newcastle, but have lived in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and New Zealand, and love to travel. That said, I have not been to the Falkland Islands before and am really looking forward to experiencing the culture, people and place with you all. I enjoy baking and hiking in my spare time, especially with my dog Harris who keeps me company on walks.

Twitter: @FalklandsRepUK

Richard is the Representative for the Falkland Islands Government in the UK. Richard leads the FIG Office in London and its efforts to work with the UK Government, Members of Parliament, and promoting the Islands in the UK. Before becoming the Representative, Richard lived in the Falklands for two years.

Twitter: @teachlearnwar

Catriona is Professor of Modern History and Memory Studies at the University of Exeter. She specialises in the history of 19th and 20th century Britain and Ireland with a particular focus on the relationship between war, empire, experience, and memory. Catriona’s current research explores the relationship between youth, education, and the transmission of cultural memory. She was the Academic Lead for pupil evaluation on the First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours Programme (2014-2019) and was Principal Investigator of the AHRC-funded research network Teaching and Learning War (2017-2020). She is currently Co-Investigator on five research projects funded by the AHRC, British Academy, Leverhulme, and GCRF.

Twitter: @ALPinkerton

Alasdair is Reader (Associate Professor) in Geopolitics in the Department of Geography. Alasdair’s research and teaching explores diplomatic, foreign and security policies and practices, the relationship between geopolitics and popular culture, and strategic use of national storytelling and heritage in narrating/curating the modern world. He has a keen interest in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories, as well as the world’s “no man’s lands”. His recent work has explored the use of Virtual Reality and immersive storytelling in social sciences and humanities research. Alasdair was an official observer of the Falkland Islands referendum in 2013 and is regularly asked to speak to and advise government departments, think tanks, and news agencies in the UK and overseas.