27 July 10

Summer Recess begins

Commons rises at the end of business and returns on Monday 6 September 2010.

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06 September 10

Parliament returns from Summer Recess

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07 September 10

Academy for Cultural Diplomacy

An Institute for Cultural Diplomacy event

Berlin

The ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy

The ICD Academy organises weeklong sessions which are taking place in Berlin throughout the year. Each Academy session will explore the history and development of the field of cultural diplomacy and will provide a platform for discussions on a diverse range of related issues including immigration and integration, language and identity, citizenship, and the role of civil society in building bridges between cultural communities.

The September Session of the ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy
“Assessing the Societal, Political and Economic Benefits of Arts & Culture”
(Berlin, 7th – 12th September)

In addition to looking at the history and development of the field of cultural diplomacy and its contemporary application across the world, the forthcoming Academy session will focus on the societal, economic, and political benefits of arts and culture. In particular, it will consider how artistic and other cultural initiatives can support foreign policy objectives, strengthen cross-cultural understanding, and improve tourism and foreign investment. Participants of the forthcoming September Session of the ICD Academy for Cultural Diplomacy will take part in the forthcoming international conference: “The Language of Art & Music”. Participants will also visit: “Floodwall - Telling the stories of Hurricane Katrina in Berlin” an exhibition that highlights the power of art to cross cultural and national borders.

The Participants
The Program is open to applications from academics, diplomatic and political representatives, civil society practitioners, journalists, young professionals and students, stakeholders from the private sector and other individuals with an interest in international relations, cultural studies, and global politics.

Speakers
The speakers during the Seminar will include leading figures and experts from international politics, academia, the diplomatic community, civil society and the private sector, from across the world. These speakers will include a number of individuals from the ICD Advisory Board (for further information about the Advisory Board please click here).

Certificate of Attendance
All participants will be awarded an official certificate of attendance at the end of the program. This certificate will confirm attendance and provide details of the speakers who took part during the program and the topics discussed.

Enquiries: academy@culturaldiplomacy.org

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07 September 10

Red Wedge: Social Care

Progress Event

Wilson Room, Portcullis House

‘Red Wedge: Social Care' will discuss the future of later life care under the coalition and how the divergent views of the two parties on the issue and strong leadership from Labour could expose this.

Speakers include:

• Ivan Lewis MP
• Liz Kendall MP
• Peter Kellner, president, YouGov
• Hilary Evans, head of public affairs Age UK
• Richard Bourne, Socialist Health Association

To reserve your place for this event, email simon@progressives.org.uk

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07 September 10

Sex, Bugs & Video Tapes

An Intelligence Squared debate on privacy

Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London, SW1X 9DQ

SEX BUGS & VIDEO TAPES: THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PUBLIC FIGURES DESERVE MORE PROTECTION FROM THE PRESS

So did William Cobbett get it right? “No man has the right to pry into his neighbour’s private concerns,” claimed the great radical reformer, “but when he once comes forward as a can...didate for public admiration, esteem or compassion his opinions, his principles, his motives, every action of his life, become the fair subject of public discussion.”

Really? How fair? Does that mean anyone with the slightest toehold on fame or public life – any “candidate for public esteem” – must say goodbye to any sort of private life? Does that mean you should just take it on the chin when prying newshounds inform the world of whatever details, true or false, they rake up on your private life, leaving you to clear up the inaccuracies only after your reputation has been trashed? That would appear to be the case in Britain, given that - unlike say in the USA or France - there is no right to privacy here, only a “right to confidence”. But Max Mosley and many who support him think this is wrong, which is why he is applying to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for a change in the law that would make it compulsory for journalists to inform people before publishing private information about them. Has he got a good case? Or is he making an outrageous assault on press freedom? Decide for yourself by coming to the debate.

Speakers include:

For the motion:
Max Mosley - Former president of the FIA who brought a case against the UK's privacy laws in the European Court of Human Rights.
Geoffrey Robertson QC - Human rights lawyer and author.

Against the motion:
Tom Bower - investigative journalist and author who has published books on Robert Maxwell, Richard Branson, Mohamed Fayed and Conrad and Lady Black.
Remaining speakers to be announced.

Chair:
Zeinab Badawi - BBC World News presenter

Tickets: Regular tickets are priced at £25.

Doors open at 6:00 pm. The debate starts at 6:45 pm and finishes at 8:30 pm.

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08 September 10

Global Food Security – Recent Developments and Challenges

A Henry Jackson Society event. Dr. David Nabarro CBE, United Nations Special Representative on Food Security and Nutrition

Committee Room 5

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09 September 10

Parliamentary Book Club

Next meeting

Room O Portcullis House

First meeting of this Parliamentary session for the longstanding Book Club. We are a friendly group of cross party and cross departmental book lovers who enjoy reading for fun and as a challenge to our usual diet of political literature.

We look forward to hearing what everyone has been reading during recess and suggestions for our monthly choices for autumn.

Our group also like to be involved in social events like attending readings, theatre visits and have invited authors to visit us (in the past PD James and Ken Follett)

We try to meet informally once a month over lunchtime -12.30-1.30 p.m, so do join us for our next meeting!

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13 September 10

The Victorians: Time and Space

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, communication was slow, even relatively short journeys were uncertain and time-consuming, and people were dependant on the forces of nature for energy; this lecture charts the development of new modes of communication, from the railway to the radio, the telegraph to the telephone, the steamship to the motor-car and examines their efforts on perceptions of time and space.

This lecture is part of the series The Victorians: Culture and Experience in Britain, Europe and the World 1815-1914
This course of lectures looks at the Victorians not just in Britain but in Europe and the wider world.  'Victorian' has come to stand for a particular set of values, perceptions and experiences, many of which were shared by people in a variety of different countries, from Russia to America, Spain to Scandinavia and reflected in the literature and culture of the nineteenth century, up to the outbreak of the First World War.  The focus of the lectures will be on identifying and analysing six key areas of the Victorian experience, looking at them in international perspective. The lectures will be illustrated and the visual material will form a key element in the presentations.  Throughout the series, we will be asking how far, in an age of growing nationalism and class conflict, the experiences of the Victorian era were common to different classes and countries across Europe and how far the political dominance of Britain, the world superpower of the day, was reflected in the spread of British culture and values to other parts of the world.
The other lectures in this series include the following:

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13 September 10

Sudan - Darfur and the Failure of an African State

A Henry Jackson Society Event Richard Cockett, Author and Africa Editor of The Economist

Committee Room 5

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14 September 10

Seminar: Public Enquiries

Gresham College Event

London

A discussion of lessons that can be learnt from the work of public inquiries and tribunals: their composition, processes and consequences. (Ends approximately 6.30pm).

Admission is free but reservations are required.

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14 September 10

Red Wedge: Localism

Progress Event

Grimond Room, Portcullis House

‘Red Wedge: Localism' will look at the future of localism under this coalition, focusing on issues such as city mayors, greater local autonomy and elected police chiefs. We will look at the divergent views of the Lib Dems and Tories on the issue, and at how Labour can build a progressive policy in this area that will expose the cracks in the coalition.

Sharon Taylor, leader, Stevenage borough council and deputy leader, LGA Labour group, Deborah Mattinson, pollster, Alexandra Jones, chief executive, Centre for Cities (tbc), Stephen Twigg MP, Chris Leslie MP, former director, New Local Government Network (chair)

To reserve your place for this event, email simon@progressives.org.uk

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15 September 10

Elizabeth Gilbert on 'Eat, Pray, Love'

An Intelligence Squared Event

Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London, SW1X 9DQ

EAT PRAY LOVE – THE 7 MILLION COPY BESTSELLER – SOON TO BE A FILM STARRING JULIA ROBERTS IN CINEMAS September 24th

'Eat Pray Love has been passed from woman to woman like the secret of life.’ Sunday Times

‘It is a testament to Elizabeth Gilbert’s writing skills, intellectual energy... and self-deprecating wit that from the moment we meet her sobbing on her bathroom floor at 3am, we are rooting for her to find the peace and happiness she seeks.’ Daily Mail

Elizabeth Gilbert is the author of the internationally bestselling Eat Pray Love and the sequel Committed. These memoirs are the funny, tender, utterly beguiling story of a woman's search for happiness. Elizabeth is in her thirties, married and about to start a family. But she doesn’t want any of it. A bitter divorce and a rebound fling later, she emerges battered yet determined to find what she’s been missing. So begins her quest – food in Italy, enlightenment in India and love in Bali. Having sworn off marriage forever, US immigration force her to choose between exile and somehow coming to terms with marriage again.

Consoling, inspiring and often hilarious, Elizabeth Gilbert will be talking about her life and writing for the first time in the UK at this exclusive Intelligence Squared event.

Tickets:

The price of a stalls ticket is £25 and for gallery ticket £20.

Doors open at 6.15pm. The event will begin at 7.00pm and finish at 8.30pm.

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17 September 10

UK Speechwriters' Guild Leadership & Communication Conference

Conference

Executive Business Centre, Bournemouth

The UK Speechwriters’ Guild will host its second ‘Leadership & Communication’ conference in Bournemouth on Friday 17 September 2010. The conference with the theme: How can leaders deliver the good news and the bad?

The speakers include:

• Jeff Shesol, (former Clinton speechwriter)
• Edward Mortimer (former speechwriter to Kofi Annan)
• Martin Broughton, (Chairman of British Airways, Winner of the UKSG Business Communicator of the Year 2010)
• Jon Steel (WPP and author of Perfect Pitch)
• Charles Crawford (Former Foreign Office Diplomat).

The delegates will discuss the impact of the TV political debates, and how messages were delivered during the General Election, as well as sharing the techniques used in the White House, UN and the Foreign Office.

Early bird discount price £168.

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20 September 10

Sustainability: Root Problems In Finance

Gresham College Event

London

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21 September 10

The Middle East Peace Process is a Charade

An Intelligence Squared Debate

Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London, SW1H 9NH

THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS IS A CHARADE

They've been at it for decades, trying to hammer out a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and what have they got to show for it? Absolutely nothing. Israeli and Palestinian leaders still show up for peace talks because they have ...to prove to the world – and the US in particular – that they have good intentions. But don't we all really know that it's a game, a farce, a charade? That some of the key demands on the table - the right of return, control of East Jerusalem – are demands the Palestinians will never drop and the Israelis will never accept. That even if by some miracle the leaders did agree, they’d never carry their people with them. Hamas won't accept a deal bartered by Fatah, religious Jews will always insist on retaining the settlements in the West Bank and no democratically elected government could gainsay that and stay in office.

This, at any rate, is the story told by the pessimists. But for the optimists it’s the very desperateness of the situation which ratchets up the need for some kind of a deal to be made and thus makes the peace process more plausible. Israel’s leaders simply can’t afford to wait for the demographic time bomb to explode: moderate, secular Israelis are being out-bred both by Israeli Arabs and by the Jewish religious right. They desperately need to come to a settlement before its too late. Which story is the more credible? Come to the debate and make up your own mind.

Speakers include:

For the motion:
Mustafa Barghouti - Palestinian democracy activist and Member of the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991. He was a presidential candidate in 2005.

Shlomo Ben-Ami - Former Israeli Labour Party minister and historian whose latest book is Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy.

Edward Luttwak - Historian and military strategist whose books include Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace.

Against the motion:
Dr Sa'eb Erakat - Palestinian Chief Negotiator who has participated in numerous peace negotiations with Israel, including Camp David, the Oslo Accords and the Annapolis Conference.

Martin Indyk - Former US ambassador to Israel and author of Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East.

Jonathan Paris - Middle East analyst, former peace processor with the Council on Foreign Relations and author of the forthcoming Prospects for Iran and the Region.

Chair: Richard Lindley - Journalist and former Panorama reporter.

Tickets:

Regular tickets are priced at £25.

Doors open at 6:00 pm. The debate starts at 6:45 pm and finishes at 8:30 pm

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21 September 10

Britain in the 20th Century - Progress and Decline: The Character of Twentieth Century Britain

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

During the 20th century, Britain underwent a major transformation. A country in which a law-abiding individual would hardly notice the existence of the state had become one in which, from the cradle to the grave, no one could avoid it. An empire controlling the destiny of one-quarter of the human race, having no allies because she needed none, had become an offshore island with an ambiguous relationship towards the Continent. How did this come about and what were its consequences?

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27 September 10

The Role of the Media in Post-Conflict Societies: A Contemporary Look at Northern Ireland

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

Since Northern Ireland's sectarian politics turned to power-sharing in 1998, the country has struggled to define itself within its "peace process". The media serves as a barometer of this progress as it re-defines its own purpose within the newly formed society. Caroline Porter will look specifically at the role of different media outlets, with particular emphasis on the most popular radio shows, to see how the media becomes a player in the contemporary peace process of Northern Ireland.

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28 September 10

Mothers and Babies in Prison

Conference

University of Salford

Across the globe, the numbers of women in prison continue to rise. The needs of these women are many and varied, especially if they are also mothers. Women offenders entering prison must either learn to meet their children's need in the prison environment, or they must learn to cope with the pains of separation when their babies are taken away.

This one day, international conference 'Mothers and Babies in Prison' is organised by the Salford University Centre for Prison Studies. It features a number of esteemed speakers from both inside and outside the UK. The conference will seek to explore how prison staff, policy makers, heath workers and voluntary groups might work together to ameliorate the many problems of this prisoner group.

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28 September 10

Beyond Crisis - the world's next decade and the implications for organisations

Gresham College Event

London

Assumptions of a return to the normality of the last decades are unfounded - this lecture considers the global economic and social evidence and draws out some scenarios for the next decade. It then goes on to review the way in which organisations have aligned themselves, and identify five qualities essential for organisations to thrive in the next decade - while many organisations may have one or two, few have them all.

The lecture builds on the ground-breaking work of the Challenge Forum and participants will be invited to use an online questionnaire to assess their organisation's capabilities. During the lecture Gill will draw upon recent research to be published in a book, Beyond Crisis, co-authored with Dr Oliver Sparrow and Patricia Lustig and due out from John Wiley in February 2010.

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29 September 10

Pervez Musharraf in Conversation

An Intelligence Squared Event

Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street London W8 7NX

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF IN CONVERSATION

As the former president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf was described by TIME Magazine as having “the most dangerous job in the world”. When he came to power in a military coup in 1999 he was shunned by many in the West as a dictator. Then came 9/11,... and having previously been a supporter of the Taliban, Musharraf began to cooperate with the US campaign against militant Islam, sending troops to root out members of Al-Qaeda from the mountains and cities of Pakistan. But he was frequently walking a tightrope, as demands from anti-American Islamic extremists in the country became ever more vocal.

Tensions with India that seemed about to erupt into war in 2002, the humanitarian disaster of the earthquake in 2005 that killed over 73,000, the two assassination attempts on his life - these are just some of the themes that President Musharraf will cover in this “World Leaders” talk for Intelligence Squared.

Tickets:

Regular tickets are priced at £20.

Doors open at 6.15pm. The event will begin at 7.00pm and finish at 8.30pm.

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30 September 10

An Introduction to Working with Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Scottish Refugee Council Training

Glasgow

This course is for people whose work involves asylum seekers and refugees and who need a comprehensive understanding of the core issues affecting those seeking sanctuary in Scotland. It is particularly relevant to people working in social work, housing, welfare, education, employment, health, community development or the justice system.

What is the course about?
During this one-day course, participants get to grips with all the fundamental issues and are fully briefed on current legislation and entitlement to services.

Course outline                
1. Immigration terminology
2. Refugees, main refugee nationalities and global migration
3. The Refugee Convention, its history and interpretation, and the current situation in Scotland
4. Developing culturally sensitive services
5. Best practice for support and advocacy

Objectives
- To identify and address the issues and concerns participants have in relation to their work with asylum seekers and refugees.
- To provide information on legal, political, economic and historical factors in relation to people seeking asylum.
- To share ideas for developing good practice.
- To identify strategies and resources for work with refugees.

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04 October 10

The History of British Cartoons

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

With The Rt Hon Lord Baker of Dorking CH

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04 October 10

William Gibson on 'Zero History'

In conversation for Intelligence Squared

Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ

In terms of influence he is probably the most important novelist of the past two decades" Steven Poole, Guardian

American-born William Gibson is one of the most acclaimed and successful writers of the last twenty years. He coined the phrase "cyberspace" and developed the concept in his bestselling first novel Neuromancer, creating an iconography for the Information Age long before widespread use of the Internet. Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive completed his first trilogy. He has written six further novels, moving gradually away from science fiction and futuristic work, instead writing about the strange contemporary world we inhabit.

Gibson will be talking about his life and work, and in particular his new book Zero History, which is set largely in London and captures the paranoia and fear of our post-Crash times.

Doors open at 6.15pm. The event will begin at 7.00pm and finish at 8.30p

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19 October 10

Why do we hate? Why do we help? Asylum seekers and ambivalence in contemporary Britain

Gresham College Event

TBC

Psychoanalytic theory illuminates the polarised nature of the asylum debate and the powerful feelings for and against refugees. Historic, literary and clinical examples reveal migration as part of human nature and the unconscious forces revolving around the concept of exile.

With Andrew Keefe, Refugee Council

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19 October 10

Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalised

An Intelligence Squared Debate

Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR

ASSISTED SUICIDE SHOULD BE LEGALISED: THE TERMINALLY ILL SHOULD HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO BE HELPED TO END THEIR LIVES

The law allows me to kill myself, but what if I have a progressive illness and reach a stage when I long to end my life but cannot do so unaided. Isn't it needlessl...y cruel and illogical that as the law stands, no friend or family member or doctor can then help me die without risking prosecution and a possible jail sentence? No it isn't, say those who oppose legalising assisted suicide. Think of the pressures that would build once it became a legally sanctioned option – not least the pressure to extend the category of those whom it is permissible to help kill beyond the terminally ill to the old, the frail and even the mildly depressed. Think of the internal and external pressure on elderly relatives to seek assistance for an early exit so as to avoid being a burden and using up the family inheritance; or the pressure on the NHS to create more bed space.

Would it not be better, say opponents of legalisation, to retain the kind of fudge we’ve got at the moment, allowing the Director of Public Prosecutions to give a nod and a wink to assisted suicide unless he suspects foul play? Or is that just a recipe for the very uncertainty – and attendant misery – that gives rise to such passionate calls for a change in the law in the first place?

Speakers include:

For the motion:
Mary Warnock - Moral philosopher, life peer and former Member of House of Lords Select Committee on Euthanasia.

Debbie Purdy - Campaigner who has sought to have the UK law on assisted suicide clarified.

Emily Jackson - Professor of Law at LSE.

Against the motion:
Lord Carlile QC - Barrister, Liberal Democrat peer and chairman of Care not Killing.

Baroness Finlay - Professor of Palliative Medicine at Cardiff University.

Lord (Richard) Harries of Pentregarth - Gresham Professor of Divinity, whose latest book is Questions of Life and Death: Christian Faith and Medical Intervention.

Chair: Sue Lawley - Journalist and broadcaster.

Tickets:

Regular tickets are priced at £25.

Doors open at 6:00 pm. The event starts at 6:45 pm and finishes at 8:30pm

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21 October 10

The Changing Face of Britain

Gresham College Event

Barnard's Inn Hall, London

A wide-ranging examination of developments in social and political attitudes and behaviours, which will include a range of topics such as changes in the compatibility of motherhood and employment over the last sixty years.

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22 October 10

The Needs and Experiences of Refugee Women

Scottish Refugee Council Training

Glasgow

Guest speaker: Kirsty Thomson, Solicitor, Women and Children's Department at Legal Services Agency. 

Who should attend?
This course is for people working with asylum seekers and refugees who need a comprehensive understanding of the core issues affecting women seeking sanctuary in Scotland. It is particularly relevant to people working in social work, housing, welfare, education, employment, health, community development or the justice system.

What is the course about?
During this one-day course, participants get to grips with all the fundamental issues affecting refugee women both in terms of legislation and service provision.

Course outline
1. Developing a gender perspective
2. Gender specific and gender related persecution
3. The Refugee Convention and UK legal framework as it affects women
4. Exploring and improving our services to refugee women

Objectives
- Develop a gender perspective to inform all work with refugee and asylum seeking communities
- Examine how the UN Refugee Convention relates to women's asylum claims
- Improve understanding of barriers which prevent refugee women from accessing services
- Explore practical ways of improving service provision for refugee women.

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02 November 10

An Introduction to Working with Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Scottish Refugee Council Training

Glasgow

This course is for people whose work involves asylum seekers and refugees and who need a comprehensive understanding of the core issues affecting those seeking sanctuary in Scotland. It is particularly relevant to people working in social work, housing, welfare, education, employment, health, community development or the justice system.

What is the course about?
During this one-day course, participants get to grips with all the fundamental issues and are fully briefed on current legislation and entitlement to services.

Course outline                
1. Immigration terminology
2. Refugees, main refugee nationalities and global migration
3. The Refugee Convention, its history and interpretation, and the current situation in Scotland
4. Developing culturally sensitive services
5. Best practice for support and advocacy

Objectives
- To identify and address the issues and concerns participants have in relation to their work with asylum seekers and refugees.
- To provide information on legal, political, economic and historical factors in relation to people seeking asylum.
- To share ideas for developing good practice.
- To identify strategies and resources for work with refugees.

Visit website for more

02 November 10

Extinction or Evolution: The Future for Offshore Centres

Gresham College Event

East Wintergarden, London

The 2010 Sir Thomas Gresham Docklands Lecture

From the unique position as Europe's oldest continuous democracy, Anne Craine, Treasury Minister of the Isle of Man, will explore what the future holds for offshore centres; how they can survive, even prosper; how they need to adapt and why they serve a valid, even useful role in international finance.

Hon. Anne V Craine MHK, Treasury Minister, Isle of Man Government Anne Craine, Member of the House of Keys, is Treasury Minister of the Isle of Man Government. She was elected to the Manx Parliament in 2003 and previously served as Education Minister for 4 years.
Born in 1954 into a family steeped in Manx politics and Government, her father the late Sir Charles Kerruish OBE LLD CP was the longest serving Speaker in any Commonwealth Parliament and the First President of Tynwald.

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03 November 10

Stop Bashing Christians!

An Intelligence Squared Debate

Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR

STOP BASHING CHRISTIANS! BRITAIN HAS BECOME AN ANTI-CHRISTIAN COUNTRY

If you're a Sikh in Britain you don't have to wear a motorcycle helmet. If you're a Muslim woman at work, no one objects if you wrap your head in a scarf. But woe betide you if you dare assert your faith or cust...oms as a Christian. You can't display a small crucifix around your neck if you work for British Airways; you can't run an adoption agency on Christian principles because insisting that your charges be placed with heterosexual couples is now against the law; you can't make use of the hallowed principle of free speech to publicly express a Christian disapproval of homosexual unions without being cautioned or prosecuted. What we are witnessing is not just the death of the Christian culture which until but recently defined our history and way of life, but a positively hateful animus towards it on the part of officialdom and the bien pensants.

Or so many Christians like to claim. But do they not protest too much? Why make such a fuss about the occasional tensions that seem unavoidable when you have a secular state and a multi-faith society? Surely the laws they love to lament are laws that apply to everyone? Could it be that the carping Christians have an agenda of their own and are demanding special treatment? Or are they right in saying that they already receive special treatment – an especially horrible one?

Speakers include:

For the motion:
Peter Hitchens - Author and columnist whose latest book is The Rage Against God: Why Faith is the Foundation of Civilisation.

Howard Jacobson - Novelist and journalist; in the Channel 4 series “The Bible: A History” he wrote and presented the first part called “Creation”.

Lord Carey - Former Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002).

Against the motion:
Matthew Parris - Columnist on The Times and the Spectator, author and broadcaster.

Claire Rayner - Writer, agony aunt and Vice-President of the British Humanist Association.

Dom Antony Sutch - Benedictine monk and former headmaster of Downside School.

Chair:
Jonathan Freedland - Guardian columnist, author and broadcaster.

Tickets:

Regular tickets are priced at £25:

Doors open at 6:00 pm. The debate starts at 6:45 pm and finishes at 8:30 pm

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09 November 10

Britain in the 20th Century: Responses to Decline, 1895-1914

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

It was during these years that British statesmen first came to appreciate that her international and economic position was under threat. The growth of German and American economic power exposed the fragility of Britain's hitherto unquestioned pre-eminence. Imperialism was the first response to decline, social reform the second. It was these years that saw the first stirrings of a new collectivism in the 'New Liberalism'. 1905-1914.

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10 November 10

A Swift Survey of Fundamentalism

Gresham College Event

Barnard's Inn Hall, London

We are increasingly aware that fundamentalism is not a monolith. It has political, cultural, social and religious implications which at times are extremely grave. Its characteristics and impact are often defined by the culture of the place in which it develops. This Symposium will help to define and clarify 21st century forms of fundamentalism in both academic and practical terms as found in diverse environments from Israel and Palestine, within European countries, to North America. The event will offer an opportunity to question a panel of speakers who are well placed to address this complex phenomenon.

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15 November 10

How mental health law discriminates unfairly against people with mental illness

Gresham College Event

London

Professor George Szmukler, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London

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16 November 10

Changing Money: Communities, Longer Term Finance and You

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

In a world where technologies enable our communities to be at once local and global, the very essence of money is changing. We are living longer, yet our financial infrastructures are inherently short term. Young people seeking responsibly to plan their futures and their retirements find the conventional world of finance baffling and mostly inappropriate. This lecture explores these trends and looks to the future of money as a unit of account, a medium of exchange and as a store of longer-term value.

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23 November 10

Leadership in Financial Institutions

Gresham College Event

London

Speaker(s): Professor Kenneth Costa

Date/Time: 23/11/2010, 6pm

Venue: Barnard's Inn Hall

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25 November 10

Early Science: An Historical Perspective

Gresham College Event

Wadham College, Oxford

A Symposium to mark the 350th anniversary of The Royal Society, examining the early days of Wadham College, Gresham College and The Royal Society, together with the life and work of some of the founders of The Royal Society.

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07 December 10

Britain in the 20th Century: The Great War and its Consequences

Gresham College Event

Museum of London

The war saw a transformation of politics at both elite and popular level. This led to the Liberals being replaced by Labour as the main party of the Left. The last purely Liberal government came to an end in 1915. The inter-war leaders, Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald, sought to continue the mission of liberalism by civilizing the state. Yet Britain's industrial structure remained geared to the past rather than the future, and the inter-war years were marked by the chronic and seemingly insoluble problem of mass unemployment.

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09 December 10

Don't Eat Animals

An Intelligence Squared Debate

Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street London W8 7NX

DON'T EAT ANIMALS

Steak and kidney pie. The Sunday roast. Mmm, delicious. In fact more than delicious, part of our way of life. Part of our common humanity, too, since eating meat is probably what allowed our brains to grow big enough to become fully human in the first place. So h...ow could anyone be persuaded to give up eating it? Easy, say the vegetarians. Go to an abattoir. Listen to the shrieks, look at the fear in the eyes of the cow. Then go to a supermarket and look at the results of that bloodfest all neatly packaged up to disguise the cruelty and suffering that preceded the shrink wrap. No one with a streak of compassion, no one who calls themselves human could then stretch out their hand, plonk the slaughter in their shopping basket and feel they were doing right. Or could they? Come to the debate and find out.

Speakers include:

For the motion:
Heather Mills - Campaigner and fundraiser for animal rights and other charitable causes.

Peter Singer - Live via video link. Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University and author of the 1975 book Animal Liberation.

Abbas Daneshvari - Professor of Art History, California State University.

Against the motion:
Julian Baggini - Philosopher whose books include The Pig that Wants to be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher.

Robin Dunbar - Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Oxford University and author of The Human Story and How Many Friends Does One Person Need?

Paul Levy - Food writer, broadcaster and editor of The Penguin Book of Food and Drink.

Chair:
Sir Simon Jenkins - Author, columnist on the Guardian and Evening Standard, and chairman of the National Trust.

Tickets:

Regular tickets are priced at £25.

Doors open at 6:00 pm. The debate starts at 6:45 pm and finishes at 8:30 pm

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17 December 10

An Introduction to Working with Asylum Seekers & Refugees

Scottish Refugee Council Training

Glasgow

This course is for people whose work involves asylum seekers and refugees and who need a comprehensive understanding of the core issues affecting those seeking sanctuary in Scotland. It is particularly relevant to people working in social work, housing, welfare, education, employment, health, community development or the justice system.

What is the course about?
During this one-day course, participants get to grips with all the fundamental issues and are fully briefed on current legislation and entitlement to services.

Course outline                
1. Immigration terminology
2. Refugees, main refugee nationalities and global migration
3. The Refugee Convention, its history and interpretation, and the current situation in Scotland
4. Developing culturally sensitive services
5. Best practice for support and advocacy

Objectives
- To identify and address the issues and concerns participants have in relation to their work with asylum seekers and refugees.
- To provide information on legal, political, economic and historical factors in relation to people seeking asylum.
- To share ideas for developing good practice.
- To identify strategies and resources for work with refugees.

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03 February 11

UKBA (formerly NASS) Asylum Support - The Essentials

Scottish Refugee Council Training

Glasgow

During this one-day course, participants will explore the systems of accommodation and financial support available to asylum seekers from the beginning to the end of the asylum process. Entitlements for refugees and unaccompanied or separated asylum seeking children will be touched upon although these are also the subject of separate specialist courses.

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