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
Decca Aitkenhead, journalist, Guardian and g2

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

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

Alison Wolf, Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management, King's College London; director of MSc in Public Services Policy & Management; author, Review of Vocational Education - The Wolf Report

Mark Vernon, journalist; author, God: all that matters and The Big Questions: God

KAS Quinn, children's writer; lecturer and educationalist; author, The Queen Must Die, first part of a time-travel trilogy

Melvin Burgess, award winning children's author, novels include Nicholas Dane, Junk and Kill All Enemies

GM Tamás, visiting professor, Central European University; author, Les Idoles de la Tribu

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

Irma Kurtz, writer; broadcaster; agony aunt, Cosmopolitan Magazine; author, About Time: growing old disgracefully

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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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"The energy, verve and enthusiasm at The Battle of Ideas filled me with hope. Coming from India where so many people still lack the basic necessities that make human life worth living, it was heartening to see basic issues of equity and justice debated with such passion and fervour."
George Thomas, orthopaedic surgeon; editor, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics

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