Rachel Briggs
Rachel Briggs OBE is the Director of the charity Hostage UK [1] and a security expert working on security and foreign policy. Briggs acts as the Director of Research and Policy at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue [2]and was awarded an OBE in the 2014 Honours List for services to hostages and the families of victims kidnapped overseas. [3]
Work with hostages
While Briggs was studying in University her uncle was kidnapped. [4] Struck by the lack of support her family received Briggs was inspired to establish the charity Hostage UK to provide families of those taken hostage with support and guidance. Hostage UK, which Briggs runs with the help of trustees such as Terry Waite and Phil Bigley, has three primary aims:
- To provide specialist services and pastoral support to hostages and their families, both during and after the case.
- To provide specialist education and independent advice to organisations with employees facing a kidnap risk to help them improve family support;
- To campaign and advocate for improved government and organisational policy and practice around kidnapping incidents.
In addition to establishing and running an organisation to help the families of Hostages, Briggs has significantly contributed to our understanding of the kidnapping phenomenon writing papers on the business of kidnapping, [5] keeping people safe overseas [6] and Corporate security. [7] In 2014 Briggs was awarded an OBE for her work with hostages. [8]
Security Analyst
Having studied geography at Girton College, Cambridge, Briggs began her career as a Researcher in 2001 at The Foreign Policy Centre [9] where she initially focused on Kidnapping. Between 2003 and 2008 she has worked at the London think tank Demos as Head of International Strategy and Head of the Identity Programme. [10] Since 2010 Briggs has been the Director of Research and Policy at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue where she oversees their work on extremism, including their programmes on Technology and extremism, the Against Violent Extremism network, and the Far Right. [11]
Briggs research and writing spans the fields of terrorism, [12] cultural diplomacy [13] and foreign policy [14] and has been supported by governments around the world. She is a regular media commentator around issues of extremism and has appeared on BBC Newsnight[15] in addition to writing for the Huffington Post [16] and other international publications such as ABC. [17]
References
- ↑ Charity Heads Receive Honors For Helping Britons Overseas, “Tax-News.com”, 02 January 2014 http://www.tax-news.com/news/Charity_Heads_Receive_Honors_For_Helping_Britons_Overseas_____63203.html#sthash.ygFlgPM5.dpuf
- ↑ Rachel Briggs, “Huffington Post”, 7 February 2014 http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rachel-briggs/
- ↑ The FCO announces 100 awards for Britons in recognition of exceptional and excellent achievements promoting Britain overseas. “Foreign & Commonwealth Office Press Release”, 30 December 2013 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/honours-for-the-best-of-britain-overseas
- ↑ Rachel Briggs Profile, “Hostage UK”, 10 March 2014, http://www.hostageuk.org/rachelbriggs.php
- ↑ The Kidnapping Business, “Foreign Policy Centre”, 2001, http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/46.pdf
- ↑ Keeping your people Safe: The legal and policy framework for duty of care, corporate personnel security in Emerging markets, “Foreign Policy Centre”, 2003, http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/46.pdf
- ↑ The Business of Resilience, Corporate security for the, 21st century, “Demos” 2006, http://www.demos.co.uk/files/thebusinessofresilience.pdf
- ↑ The FCO announces 100 awards for Britons in recognition of exceptional and excellent achievements promoting Britain overseas. “Foreign & Commonwealth Office Press Release”, 30 December 2013 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/honours-for-the-best-of-britain-overseas
- ↑ The Kidnapping Business, “Foreign Policy Centre”, 2001, http://fpc.org.uk/fsblob/46.pdf
- ↑ Demos Staff overview, Rachel Briggs, http://www.demos.co.uk/people/rachelbriggs
- ↑ Personnel, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, http://www.strategicdialogue.org/people-personnel/
- ↑ The Changing Face of Al Qaeda , Discussion Paper, Institute for Strategic Dialogue , http://www.strategicdialogue.org/The%20Changing%20Face%20of%20Al%20Qaeda.pdf
- ↑ Cultural Diplomacy: The role of culture in international relations, Demos 2007, http://www.demos.co.uk/files/Cultural%20diplomacy%20-%20web.pdf
- ↑ Five Messages for Ed Miliband on Foreign Policy, Huffington, February 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/rachel-briggs/ed-miliband-foreign-policy_b_4743317.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01sl8rt
- ↑ Prime Minister's Taskforce Recommendations on Tackling Extremism Online Won't Be Effective, Huffington, November 2013, http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sebastien-feve/tackling-extremism_b_4397982.html?utm_hp_ref=uk-politics&ir=UK+Politics
- ↑ http://www.abc.es/internacional/20130526/abci-londres-atentado-yihadismo-201305261626.html