Event: Institute of Ideas

I've been to one of these before - excellent events to attend:

copied from a newletter:

I thought you might like to hear about this year's Battle of Ideas major weekend festival of debates taking place in London, 28-29th October 2006. Never before has a 'battle of
ideas' been so necessary as 'culture wars' ignite close to home and
arguments rage over international policy. Over 50 debates will be
taking place over the weekend, featuring over 150 speakers debating
'hot' topics such as: 'Clash of Civilisations or Cultural Crisis?;
'Reassessing Liberty'; 'Empire of regulations or a Lawless World'; Is
the rise of religion a problem?; Surveillance society: protection from
ourselves?; and The Battle for History: national narrative versus
personal memories. We have also added a debate on the 'veils
controversy' and academic freedom. These are all contentious issues.
However, as the festival's 'slogan' is: 'Free speech allowed!' we look
forward to a wide-ranging exchange of views.



Other keynote debates include: 'Happiness vs. Affluence', 'Human
Enhancement: creating superhumans or dicing with death', 'Artistic
Autonomy', and themed strands of debates on Innovation, Law, Media and
Nature & environment. The new publication What is Science Education
For?', widely previewed in the media, will also be launched at the
festival. There are provocation lectures on national and cultural
identity (Who are in the 21st century?), anti-social behaviour ('nuff
respect? Questioning the 'respect' agenda) and contemporary anxieties
about economic prosperity (Money is not the root of all evil). There
are also a wide array of sessions relating to Health, Education,
Literature, Science, Technology, Design, Philosophy, Sport and much
more...


The event is held at the Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London
SW7 2EU and is organised by the Institute of Ideas in conjunction with
The Times, Research Councils UK and Pfizer, and many other partners and
sponsors.


To get a feel for the issues in advance of the festival, a wide
selection of Recommended Readingis now available on the website.