Partners and Sponsors 2005

The Battle of Ideas is an initiative of the Academy of Ideas

(click on the logo to find out more about the Academy of Ideas)

in partnership with:

Headline sponsors

(click on links to find out more about why these organisations are supporting the Battle of Ideas)

Medical Research Council (MRC)
National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA)
Pfizer
Royal College of Art

Media Partners

The Times

Strand and special event sponsors

(click on links to find out more about why these organisations are supporting the Battle of Ideas)

Arts & Business (sponsors of Keynote Controversy 'Creativity - just another mantra?'
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (sponsors of Keynote Controversy 'The humanist project in the 21st century'
cScape (reception sponsors)
General Teaching Council for England (the Battle for Education sponsors)
Intelligence Squared
The Liberal magazine (the Battle for Culture sponsor)
Royal College of Nursing (the Battle for Health sponsor)

Website partner

Poptel

(click on link to find out why Poptel is supporting the Battle of Ideas)

Additional supporters and partners:

(click on links to find out more)

Debating Matters Competition
Future Cities Project
The Great Debate
If you could teach the world just one thing
Academy of Ideas book club
Academy of Ideas education forum
Academy of Ideas health forum
Novo magazine
The Queen's English Society
Sovereignty and its Discontents working group (SAID)
WORLDwrite

(click on logo for more information about the Medical Research Council)

Professor Colin Blakemore chief executive, Medical Research Council, says:

'This is an exciting opportunity for a wide range of people with differing cultural perspectives to debate key ideas of our time. We particularly hope that young researchers will want to take part in the weekend's events to challenge and respond to new thinking on ethics, innovation and future directions for research. I think they will find it an enriching experience. And their willingness to talk about science and the issues it raises for society is also crucial for sustaining trust in scientific progress.'

(click on logo for more information about NESTA)

Venu Dhupa fellowship director, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts says:

'NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is delighted to be a headline sponsor of the first Battle of Ideas. NESTA’s aim is to help maximise this country's creative and innovative potential. One of the ways we do this is by contributing to public knowledge and appreciation of science, technology and the arts. The Battle of Ideas is a broad, new and inclusive forum which will encourage innovative thinkers to exchange ideas on the social, political, scientific, academic and cultural questions of the day. It is important for people to express their opinions in lively debate across disciplines to break down barriers to deeper understanding.

The Academy of Ideas has an excellent track record as a catalyst for the development of ideas, just as NESTA acts as a catalyst for innovation. We are excited to support this initiative which will create a space for the next generation of thinkers.'

(click on logo for more information about Pfizer)

Dr Eliot Forster vice president of development, Pfizer Global Research and Development, Europe says:

'Like all medical advances, those made by scientists in the pharmaceutical industry depend upon creativity and innovation. From breakthrough medicines in heart disease, to new ways to tackle cancer and HIV, every step of medical R&D relies on new ideas.

Transforming these new ideas into medicines involves many steps into the unknown, just like those faced by the first Arctic explorers. For all explorers, uncertainty can be a barrier to progress. For many, uncertainty is a source of unease and doubt and presents many unanswered questions. It is only by working to find answers that meaningful progress can be made. The quest for these answers is sustained by new ideas.

So where do new ideas come from? In medicine, the ward, the laboratory and the library are all sources of new ideas, but the greatest source of new ideas is the interaction of people from different backgrounds and with different views. New thinking drives scientific R&D, and without it the medical advances we have come to expect, are less likely to be made. The IoI's Battle of Ideas is an open forum for the exchange of opposing ideas and differing perspectives. For this reason, Pfizer is pleased to support it.'

(click on logo for more information about the Royal College of Art)

Professor Sir Christopher Frayling rector, the Royal College of Art, says:

'This is a conference that is long-overdue in my mind. In a world where joined-up thinking is often invoked but seldom happens, the Battle of Ideas promises to dig into many of our most important themes – education, creativity, innovation, community – and give them a good shake-up. The Royal College of Art offers a highly appropriate environment for the hosting of this event – a heady mixture of cutting-edge creativity and innovation, educational excellence and interdisciplinarity, with a student body from over 40 countries. The College has long been described as a creative hothouse, an ideas factory, an incubator for the themes of tomorrow, which is why we’re particularly pleased to be hosting the Battle of Ideas. This is what the College is about; trying new things in an atmosphere that permits experimentation, relishes cross-fertilisation of ideas and disciplines, and tries to achieve the very highest outcome possible, whether in practice or in research. Just think of the mixture of delegates the conference will attract: academics and practitioners, political activists and polemicists, journalists and creatives, intellectuals and businesspeople. We’re the ideal location, given the College’s unparalleled reputation as a worldclass postgraduate institution of art and design.'

(click on logo for more information about The Times)

George Brock Saturday editor, The Times, says:

'Great changes are afoot in the world and societies which react well to these changes take care to keep the ideas coming. That includes thinking the unthinkable and extending the boundaries of debate, necessary intellectual stimulation at which the Academy of Ideas has always excelled. The Times is very pleased to be sponsoring the Battle of Ideas, given that we host duels and skirmishes of ideas every day in print. As we say, join the debate.'

(click on logo for more information about Arts & Business)

Colin Tweedy chief executive, Arts & Business, says:

'New ideas hatched, initiatives undertaken, relationships formed – the creative interface we occupy between arts and business is continually transforming itself. That is why Arts & Business is delighted to be part of the Battle of Ideas. We need to be bold and creative, and to think ahead, and I look forward to contributing to this Battle, and being part of a legacy of ideas and insight. The UK is in a battle for its economic future and social stability. The creativity agenda is not a debating issue - it is one of national survival. '

(click on logo for more information about the Arts and Humanities Research Council)

Molly Conisbee associate director of communications, Arts and Humanities Research Council, says:

'The Battle of Ideas tackles some of the key contested issues for contemporary society, economics and culture. A key part of this is the debate on 'what it means to be human' - a project for geneticists and neuroscientists, or is this scientific narrative over-determined by its own assumptions? The species that invented the Enlightenment also produced what some theorists have argued was the logical outcome of a rationalisation of the world - the Holocaust. At an historical moment when 'what we are' is defined by commentators as everything from the food we eat to the religion we may (or may not) subscribe to, it seems that science alone does not answer our questions. This debate hopes to look at some of these complex issues.'

(click on logo for more information about cScape)

Rob Killick Chief Executive, cScape, says:

'We at cScape support the Battle of Ideas because we believe that human potential is the greatest asset we have. The potential we have to embrace change and make history is something we should never give up on. We support the Battle of Ideas because it embodies challenging social, political, scientific, academic and cultural ideas. We support the Battle of Ideas as it encourages a humanist approach to scientific and technological progress, preferring to defend, and improve, these features of modern life, rather than place restrictions on them. Instead of fearing new technological developments, as so many choose to do now, we believe that experimentation is essential for, and central to, human development.'

(click on logo for more information about the General Teaching Council for England)

Carol Adams chief executive, General Teaching Council for England, says:

'We think that debates about learning should be exciting and challenging, not worthy and dull. The Battle for Ideas should shake up our thinking and bring us into dialogue with an interesting mix of people from inside and outside education. It's a chance to break out of our professional silo and step into other people's worlds too.'

(click on logo for more information about Intelligence Squared)

John Gordon co-founder, Intelligence Squared, says:

'Intelligence Squared has been trying for some time to extend the range of topics it debates which have up to now tended to focus on global political issues. The Battle of Ideas Forum is the perfect opportunity for us to do this and to have a philosophical debate on the most important ideas that have shaped the world. We are delighted to be joining with the Academy of Ideas to host this event.'

(click on logo for more information about the Liberal)

Ben Ramm Editor, The Liberal magazine says:

'The assault of marketing and the promotion of relativism have undermined the standing of the arts in the public consciousness. The Battle for Culture is not so much a battle between cultures or arts, but a battle between culture and anti-culture, a battle for the survival of the arts in the face of both instrumentalism - in which the arts are viewed as a mere extension of social policy - and utilitarianism, in which they calculated as little more than a (not particularly efficient) aid to market forces. Devoted to re-invigorating the arts in the public sphere, 'The Liberal' hopes to stimulate and promote many of the ideas articulated in the Battle for Culture.'

(click on logo for more information about the Royal College of Nursing)

Tim Curry policy advisor, Royal College of Nursing, says:

'As we witness dramatic changes in the relationship between the state and its citizens in terms of the delivery of public services, particularly in the NHS, this is a timely opportunity to think the unthinkable about how relationships between the two might develop or need to develop. The Battle of Ideas is a great opportunity to challenge some of the assumptions on all sides of the debate about the direction nd purpose of those changes, and help us determine the key issues for the next five or ten years of health and social care policy.'

(click on logo for more information about Poptel)

Poptel's Paul Evans says:

'The Battle of Ideas website is sponsored by Poptel Technology Ltd as part of its wider work around local democracy. Creating a vibrant culture of public debate is an essential part of democratic renewal - a subject that Poptel Technology have taken a close interest in since 1999.

Poptel Technology is currently working with the Local Government Association on the Councillor.info initiative - a project designed to encourage Councillors to become active managers of their own websites. The Councillor.info project forms part of the LGA's Local Democracy Week project.'

Debating Matters Competition. Click on logo to find out more.