The Battle of Ideas is a unique institution with its crowd of debating and discussing people. The diversity of themes is a great advantage of this event. It is a reminder for participants that not only today´s great “theme à la mode” is worth discussing, but hundreds of other themes as well. The Battle of Ideas is a modern agora for freedom of speech and freedom of thought. As founder of the European Cultural Parliament, ECP, the Pan-European forum for personalities from Culture, Arts and letters, I feel particularly at home at this London event, which I hope will spread across Europe and other parts of the world.

Karl-Erik Norrman, secretary general, ECP