SCARBOROUGH — Andrea Stanley Hester, vice president of the World Affairs Council of Maine, will present the first of three Camden Conference Community Events co-sponsored by the Camden Conference and Scarborough Public Library. Her virtual talk, Brexit at Five — How Is It Going? will be offered Tuesday, Jan. 11, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The webinar is free and open to the public. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link.

The theme of the Camden Conference, Europe Challenged at Home and Abroad, includes far-ranging topics featuring various European nations. In Brexit at Five — How Is It Going?, Hester will address the moment five years ago, when the people of the United Kingdom voted by a slim majority to leave the European Union, the first time any country had ever done so. This decision, which shocked the world, ushered in a period of intense economic, social, and political upheaval that still reverberates today. Even though Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to “Get Brexit Done,” the truth is that in many ways Brexit has only just begun. In this virtual talk, Andrea Hester will discuss what happened in the aftermath of the referendum and examine some of the most pressing issues that remain today, including disputes over fishing rights, Scottish independence, and the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Andrea Stanley Hester is vice president of the World Affairs Council of Maine, an instructor at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Maine, and president of the Harvard Club in Maine. In her former career, she was an editor/writer for the president of Harvard University and administrator of the International Visitors Program in the Office of the University Marshal at Harvard. She has a bachelor’s degree in modern European history from Tufts University and a master’s degree in Government from the Harvard University Extension School. Andrea and her husband reside in North Yarmouth with their two daughters.

Register for Brexit at Five, and the other two community events offered by Scarborough Public Library, The Memory Wars of Central and Eastern Europe and Paris at Six: Environmental Divides and Climate Unions in Europe, by visiting: www.scarboroughlibrary.org/adults/events/series/camden-conference. Kim Scott, executive director of the Camden Conference, celebrating its 35th year, said, “We believe that Maine libraries are the keystone of the community, so we are grateful to the Scarborough Public Library for offering Camden Conference-themed events as a way to promote citizen engagement — especially in these times when we all need more opportunities to connect with each other.”

For the second year, the Scarborough Public Library will offer its Camden Conference Community Events virtually. Nancy Crowell, Library director said, “While we miss gathering in person in the Library’s meeting room, the virtual webinar format allows residents of Scarborough to join interested individuals from around the country and the world to benefit from hearing three engaging experts on topics related to this year’s Camden Conference theme prior to the Conference.” The 2022 Camden Conference goes from Feb. 25-27. Visit www.camdenconference.org/ for details and to register.