Welcome to the Institute of Ideas June newsletter.
BATTLE OF IDEAS 2006
JOIN THE INSTITUTE OF IDEAS
DEBATING MATTERS NATIONAL FINAL
IoI FORUMS
MEDIA
PUBLIC APPEARANCES
OTHER EVENTS
Battle of Ideas 28th-29th October 2006
Reach for the stars at the Battle of Ideas 2006 with our Battle for Innovation partners, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), who sponsor an inspiring exhibition devoted to space and space exploration. PPARC join other partners Pfizer, the Royal College of Art, The Times, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Building Design Partnership, the General Teaching Council for England, Camelot, Arts & Business, the Booktrust and the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath.
The exhibition features the Faulkes Telescope, to which we will have access over the Battle of Ideas weekend. The telescope is designed to be completely robotic and to be controlled from remote locations. Real time mode involves operating the telescope through a web browser over the internet.
We are also delighted to be joined this year by the Royal College of Music, who will host a Battle of Ideas reception with live classical music in the Grade II listed barrel-vaulted concert hall.
We are adding more details of sessions and speakers for the 2006 festival to the Battle of Ideas website all the time, so keep checking for new details. For information about remaining opportunities to become a Battle of Ideas partner please contact:
Claire Fox on 020 7269 9223 or at clairefox@instituteofideas.com or Shirley Dent on 020 7269 9229 or at shirleydent@instituteofideas.com
JOIN THE INSTITUTE OF IDEAS
Join the IoI as an associate to show your support for our efforts to create a public space where ideas can be contested without restraint. We need your support to continue expanding our work. To join the IoI fill in the Associate Form or contact Geoff Kidder on 020 7269 9220 or at geoff.kidder@instituteofideas.com
DEBATING MATTERS NATIONAL FINAL
The 2005/06 National Final of the Debating Matters Competition is taking place on Friday 30 June - Sunday 2 July. We are delighted to be holding Friday's programme at the headquarters of the Wellcome Trust, Debating Matters' primary funder. On Saturday and Sunday we will be at Goodenough College. Both venues are in central London.
Students will be debating a wide range of burning issues, including free speech, space exploration, globalisation, multiculturalism, and human enhancement technologies. A complete list of the debate motions and downloadable Topic Guides are available here
We have a packed programme with inspirational talks, briefings and model debates in addition to the actual competition. If you would like to attend the National Final and join in the debates, please email Debating Matters administrator Justine Brian at justinebrian@instituteofideas.com
REGIONAL FINALS REPORTS
Reports from the eight Regional Finals with results, quotes and photos are now available here
For press coverage, see here
DEBATING MATTERS 2006/07
If you are interested in participating in Debating Matters next year, we would love to hear from you! Students and teachers please contact Justine Brian on 020 7831 1274 or at justinebrian@instituteofideas.com
If you would like to be a Debating Matters judge, contact Judges Co-ordinator Nathalie Rothschild on 020 7831 1273 or at justinebrian@instituteofideas.com
IoI FORUMS
All forums meet in London. There are limited places and attendance is by invitation only. If you have an interest in the field and would like to take part, please email the contact given.
SCIENCE AND HEALTH FORUM
Wednesday 7 June
Kevin Yuill will present 'Managing the end of life', a discussion on medical
ethics following the debate over Lord Joffe's Assisted Dying Bill.
Contact Brid Hehir at health@instituteofideas.com
Recommended Reading: Intelligent design and educational stupidity by David Perks.
CULTURE WARS FORUM
Wednesday 14 June
At June's forum, Nathalie Rothschild will discuss the rise of personality-led documentary, by film-makers like Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock and others.
Contact Patrick Hayes at patrick.hayes@tsleducation.com
EDUCATION FORUM
Monday 19 June
'Why bother to teach modern foreign languages?'
A debate between Dr Lynn Erler (University of Oxford) and Dr Shirley Lawes (Institute of Education, University of London)
Contact Dennis Hayes at education@instituteofideas.com
IoI BOOK CLUB
Tuesday 13 June
We will discuss 'The Night Watch' by Sarah Waters. The July Book Club will be on Tuesday 25 July, when the book is 'The Sea' by John Banville. The IoI BookClub is open to IoI associates.
Contact Geoff Kidder at geoffkidder@instituteofideas.com
MEDIA
Claire Fox will be a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze. Her first appearance will be at 8pm on Wednesday 28 June.
Claire Fox will be a guest on Oneword Radio's The Week (Sky Digital 0127 / Freeview 717 / NTL 893 / DAB WWW), a review of the world's news from the last seven days on 9am, Sunday 11 June.
Claire Fox has been profiled along with her sister Fiona for the Sunday Times Magazine 'Relative Values' article on 28 May.
Tiffany Jenkins had an article on space in the Herald, Friday 12 May.
Tiffany Jenkins had an article about art collections in the Scotsman, Tuesday 16 May.
Shirley Dent had an article on animal rights protestors on spiked, 18 May.
Several members of the Battle of Ideas committee will be taking part in the
Pro-Test demonstration in support of animal testing in Oxford on Saturday 3
June. For further information, please see www.pro-test.org.uk
Battle of Ideas committee member Emilie Bickerton had an article on Iranian women football fans in the New Statesman, 22 May.
Current highlights on the IoI's reviews website Culture Wars include reviews of 'The Overwhelming' and 'Royal Hunt of the Sun' at the National Theatre, and the third installment of Ion Martea's 'Essential Films' series.
PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Claire Fox is one of the judges for the Orange Prize for Fiction - Zadie Smith's On Beauty was announced as winner of the 2006 award on 6th June. Claire's keynote speech to the Orange Prize Libraries Seminar is available here.
Tiffany Jenkins will be speaking on 'Sex, Power and Towers' at the London 'Airspace' exhibition on Thursday 29 June.
A number of people involved in the Battle of Ideas will be taking part in the Cheltenham festivals. Austin Williams will be speaking at the Science Festival on 'The Psychology of Driving', 1.30pm, Wednesday 7 June. Sandy Starr will chair the debate at the Science Festival on 'Britain in Space', 4pm, Friday 16 June. Frank Furedi will give the Music Festival's keynote speech on 'Cultural Politics and the Future of Grown-up Music', 6pm, Wednesday 12 July.
Battle of Ideas committee member Daniel Ben-Ami will be speaking at a New York Salon event on corruption on Wednesday 21 June (see below).
OTHER EVENTS
Wednesday 21 June
The New York Salon in association with New York Society for Ethical Culture presents 'Is there a 'Culture of Corruption' in politics and busniess?' 7pm at the NYSEC building, 64th Street at Central Park West.
Monday 12 June
In a celebrity debate organised by the Venice in Peril Fund at the Royal Geographical Society, Sir David King, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Government and one of the most active campaigners for action to reduce greenhouse emissions will speak for the motion: 'Enough money has been spent saving Venice'. The Economist John Kay will also speak for the motion. Against the motion: the novelist and journalist, AN Wilson, and the urbanist and architectural historian Joseph Rykwert. 7pm.