INSTITUTE OF IDEAS: Battle of Ideas - Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 November 2008

A two-day festival of social, political and cultural discussion taking place in London.

Imperial students may be particularly interested in our Battle for Biomedicine strand and other science and medicine-related debates:

• Battle for Biomedicine:
  - Whose data is it anyway?
  - Boozy Britain
  - Hypochondriac Nation 
  
  
• Related sessions:
  - Abortion: the hard arguments
  - Are we what we eat?
  - CSI Mania
  - Can GM crops feed the world?
  - Health promotion: improving children’s lives or demonising parents?
  - Are drugs ruining sport?
  - Is our behaviour determined by our evolution?
  - Trust me – I’m a professional 

Speakers include:
Ann Furedi (chief executive, bpas); Clare Gerada (vice-chair, Royal College of General Practitioners); Patricia Hamilton (president, Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health); Mark Henderson (science editor, The Times); Martyn Lobley (NHS GP and medical journalist); Shaun Matisonn (CEO, PruProtection); Denis Murphy (author, People, Plants and Genes); Jeffrey Rosen (professor of law, George Washington University); Steve Sturdy (deputy director, ESRC Genomics Forum); Matthew Syed (former Olympian; columnist, The Times); Raymond Tallis (physician, poet, philosopher); Mark Walport (director, Wellcome Trust); Simon Wessely (chair, department of psychological medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London); Alison Wolf (Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management, King's College London) and many more.

The Battle of Ideas is in its fourth year and is now a major fixture in London’s intellectual calendar. This year over 1500 expected attendees will attend 70 sessions with 300 speakers, as well as a number of festival attractions and exhibitions. The Battle of Ideas was described by Chris Rapley, director of the Science Museum, as ‘a rare opportunity to debate first hand with those involved in the great issues of our time’.

The Battle of Ideas is a space where ideas can be argued for and fought over without constraint. Free speech allowed!

2008 Keynotes:
The Battle for Truth / The Battle for Leadership / The Battle for Progress / Radicalism then and now: the legacy of ’68 / Your culture or mine? The arts & identity / Capitalism - what is it good for?

As well as the Battle for Biomedicine, this year’s strands examine cutting-edge debates around Prosperity (emerging economies), The Family and America.

Other highlights include:
Immigration – the more the scarier? / Stealing Picasso / From Fatwa to Jihad / Eco-imperialism? / Cricket – more than a game? / What is a city of literature? / CSI Mania / Credit crunch demystified / Scared of the Kids / Malthus’ return…

The festival has sold out in advance for three years running, so we urge you to get tickets as soon as possible. The event is held at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU and is organised by the Institute of Ideas in conjunction with SAB Miller, BT, The Times/Times Online, and the ESRC, alongside many other partners and sponsors.

Please see www.battleofideas.org.uk for more details.