On 17 October 2019 in Glasgow Hall (RM 322) at 1200, Ms. Catherine Stihler, CEO of Open Knowledge Foundation, will reflect on her 20 years in elected office in the European Parliament and new global role advocating for an open world, as we consider the future and what we might expect.

Ms. Catherine Stihler currently runs a global nonprofit, the Open Knowledge Foundation, whose mission is for a fair, free and open future. Between 1999 and 2019, she represented Scotland in the European Parliament. In this time, she held many and varied roles from vice chair of the Single Market Committee to the editor of the Parliament Magazine. Over the years, she has been recognized as an ambassador for accessibility, consumer and citizen rights. Born in Bellshill, Scotland in 1973, she was educated at Coltness High School, Wishaw, and St Andrews University, where she was awarded a MA (Hons) Geography and International Relations (1996), and a MLitt in International Security Studies (1998). Before becoming a MEP, Catherine Stilher served as president of St Andrews University Students Association (1994-1995), and worked as a political researcher to Anne Begg MP (1997-1999). She has a Master of Business Administration from the Open University, and in 2018 was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews. In 2019 she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for her services to politics. Out of her direct role as an MEP, she was elected unopposed to serve as the 52nd rector of the University of St Andrews (2014-2017). Catherine opposes Brexit, and she was one of six Scottish politicians who successfully took their case to the ECJ to revoke Article 50 and is a member of the People’s Vote and Best for Britain campaigns.