By Cristina Olaru
Jonathan Allen opens the event by joking: ‘This is the very first time I’ve sat on a throne”The UK Deputy for the United Nations has urged students at De Montfort University to work together for a better world during a visit to campus yesterday(Nov6).
Jonathan Allen was the guest of honour at DMU’s latest ‘Be the Change’ event at which students and staff participated in the topic ‘How can countries work together in an era of rising nationalism’.
Referring to the conference title, Mr Allen said: “You can’t do that until you find out where you are and why you are here in the first place.
“The United Nations is a product of World War II. It is all about finding a way into a peace and security terms to balance the interest of the great powers and the great military powers in particular, with a collective, multi-lateral approach.”
DMU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dominic Shellard, introduced Mr Allen and opened the Question and Answer session after a delicious breakfast organised prior the event.
The audience asked several questions concerning Brexit and immigration in particular, to which Mr Allen, ‘as a civil servant’, responded: “I have a clear direction, to do the best possible for my country and I wouldn’t be doing that if I didn’t believe that my country is ultimately doing the best possible things for the world.
“That’s my ambition, that’s why I am a civil servant.
“To achieve that, I need clear direction and people behind me and that comes from ministers. I want strong ministers who know what they are trying to achieve and set a clear direction. That’s what we need in our government.”
He praised De Montfort University for being a ‘great pioneer’ in sustainability and stressed that we need to work together to achieve anything.
