Lyse Doucet Keynote Speaker

Lyse Doucet CM OBE  is a Canadian journalist who is the BBC’s Chief International Correspondent and senior presenter.  Dhe presents on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television, and also reports for BBC Radio 4 and BBC News in the United Kingdom, including Newshour and Newscast.

Her 2025 book is the acclaimed ‘The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People’s History of Afghanistan‘, this is a sweeping social history seen through the lens of Kabul’s InterContinental hotel, where staff endured the horrific realities of life in a war zone.

Lyse played a key role in the BBC’s coverage of the “Arab Spring “ across the Middle East and North Africa. She is a regular visitor to Afghanistan and Pakistan from where she has been reporting for the past two decades. Her work has also focused on major natural disasters including the Indian Ocean tsunami, and more recently the Pakistan floods.

Before joining the BBC’s team of presenters in 1999, Lyse spent 15 years as a BBC foreign correspondent with postings in Jerusalem, Amman, Kabul, Islamabad, Tehran, and Abidjan.

She was nominated for two Emmy awards in the United States in 2011. Her awards include a Peabody and David Bloom Award for her television films from Afghanistan, and Radio News journalist of the Year at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in the UK. Earlier awards include the Silver Sony Award for News Journalist of the Year, International Television Personality of the Year from the Association for International Broadcasting and the News and Factual Award from Women in Film and Television.

Lyse is a Council Member of the International Council on Human Rights Policy, an honorary patron of Canadian Crossroads International, and a member of Friends of Aschiana UK, which supports working street children in Afghanistan.