Battle of Ideas 2011 29 & 30 October, London. Two days of high-level, thought-provoking, public debate organised by the Academy of Ideas, hosted by the Royal College of Art.
75 sessions, 350 speakers, 2250 attendees
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Battles In Print

Should schools be engines of social mobility?, Sally Millard

Remaking citizens for the ‘Big Society’, Kathryn Ecclestone

In drug policy, pragmatism is the only moral approach, Roger Howard & Leo Barasi

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Speakers include
Sue Ion, fellow, Royal Academy of Engineering; visiting professor, Imperial College London

Frank Furedi, sociologist and social commentator; author, What's Happened to the University?, Power of Reading: from Socrates to Twitter, On Tolerance and Authority: a sociological history

Rebecca Jenkins, cultural historian and novelist; Royal Literary Fund Fellow; former writing partner of Bishop of Durham, David Jenkins

Anna Elisabetta Galeotti, chair of political philosophy, University of Piemonte Orienatale in Vercelli; author, Toleration as Recognition

Paul Mason, broadcaster; author, Financial Meltdown and the End of the Age of Greed; technology editor, BBC's Newsnight

Tim Montgomerie, co-editor, ConservativeHome; co-founder, ConservativeIntelligence.com; member, advisory board, Centre for Social Justice

Brendan O'Neill, editor, spiked; columnist, Big Issue; contributor, Spectator; author, A Duty to Offend: Selected Essays

Kenan Malik, writer and broadcaster; author, The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics and From Fatwa to Jihad

Steve Rayner, James Martin Professor of Science and Civilization; director, Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, University of Oxford

John Sutherland, Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of English Literature, University College London; author, The Lives of the Novelists

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Readings

Creativity and curiosity: Do we make stuff up or find it out?, Professor Colin Lawson

Islamophobia: Why we have to get over our fears, Rania Hafez

The growing epidemic of stats misuse, Hilary Salt

Dreaming spires for all? Only if we face up to some hard truths, Jacob Reynolds

Fat tax: Does obesity really cost society a fortune?, Rob Lyons

Surely by now we’ve outgrown the body?, Sandy Starr

Charities should accept their game is up, Dave Clements

Facebook’s impact on the brain, Rob Clowes

A world of seven billion people like you, Daniel Ben-Ami

Corporate Social Responsibility – more harm than good, Bill Durodie

Electric selves?, Rob Clowes

From the sublime to the ridiculous: can we measure the value of the arts?, Tom Hutchinson

Angels: a very short introduction, David Albert Jones

What if we aren’t alone after all?, Richard Swan

The rise of the machines? Not any time soon, Katherine Richardson

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The Battle of Ideas is produced by the
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"If you have not tried it, you miss the best annual collective thought provoking opportunities in Britain."
Vijaya Madhavan, business consultant and part time doctor

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