This annual weekend festival, initiated by the Institute of Ideas (IoI) and organized and supported by a wide range of partners and sponsors, makes virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views. Now in its sixth year, the festival fosters an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and social trends. FREE SPEECH ALLOWED!
We aim:
** to showcase new arguments about the core issues of the day, while avoiding getting bogged down in the minutiae of everyday policy
** to initiate open-ended discussions regardless of demands for immediate practical outcomes, which too frequently act as a brake on innovative thinking
** to shape the future through debate by better understanding the world with a view to changing it for the better.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to identify a new generation of public intellectuals and create a space where they can meet and have their ideas held to account.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to gather those who want to look behind the headlines and who are not prepared to be patronised with simplistic soundbites.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to attract attendees who are willing to challenge and to be challenged, and makes no apologies for putting ideas and argument centre stage.
Appropriately, this intellectual buzz all takes place at the Royal College of Art, a working art college, rather than a traditional conference venue, and a cherished home to creativity, which will also feature a specially curated RCA student exhibition on the theme, ‘designing the future’.
The festival’s flexible format allows attendees either to follow particular strands through one day, or mix and match discussions. The wide variety of partners from the arts, academia, business, science and media both new and old, and the 300 speakers from a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, results in a potent mix of perspectives, and should produce debates that give us all plenty to think and talk about.
FREE THINKERS WELCOME!
To read Institute of Ideas director Claire Fox’s welcome essay from 2009, please click here.
The Battle of Ideas is organised by a committee of individuals from diverse fields and backgrounds, without whom the festival would not be possible. Consisting of students, published academics and professionals, the Battle of Ideas Committee regularly meets to thrash out ideas, discuss current issues and to work out the best ways of promoting the festival and its themes. The Battle of Ideas Committee can be viewed here.
Why the Battle of Ideas 2010?
Now in its sixth year, the Battle of Ideas festival comprises 75 debates and satellite discussions confronting society’s big issues and unresolved questions. The Battle of Ideas affords the opportunity for some clear thinking, rational debate and agenda-setting. Above all, we hope it will be future-orientated, while retaining a healthy regard for the past achievements of humanity.
The Battle of Ideas aims to be the 21st century equivalent of Emerson’s ‘university of knowledges’. This is an appeal that we all become thoroughly modern scholars, a new generation of public intellectuals. It is not about being academic per se, and certainly not about being po-faced or over-earnest; we expect our attendees to be free thinkers with verve, passion and idealism, embodying a spirit of irreverent scepticism. As the name suggests, the Battle of Ideas rejects safe consensus. Taking ideas and ourselves seriously means questioning and criticising one another. It can mean saying the unsayable and challenging received wisdom. It certainly means holding true to the Battle of Ideas’ motto ‘Free Speech Allowed’.
Let battle commence!
Why the Battle of Ideas 2009?
SAVING POLITICS
Now in its fifth year, the Battle of Ideas festival comprises 75 debates and nearly twenty satellite discussions confronting society’s big issues and unresolved questions. The coming year will see a general election in the UK; rather than this prospect inspiring vigorous debate, though, the discussion feels like a stale re-hashing of limited, managerial policies. For those of us with aspirations to change the world, principles-lite politics is a dispiriting affair. But the prevailing cynicism about parliament and politicians per se is equally unedifying. So, what is to be done? The Battle of Ideas affords the opportunity for some clear thinking, rational debate and agenda-setting. Above all, we hope it will be future-orientated, while retaining a healthy regard for the past achievements of humanity.
IDEAS TO SHAPE THE FUTURE
One demoralising aspect of cultural life is what might be called ‘presentism’. Rather than seeking opportunities to shape the world for the better, we are fearful of the future, imagining apocalyptic sci-fi scenarios caused by climate change, demographic timebombs, or the unintended consequences of biomedical and technological breakthroughs. Meanwhile, the past is seen as little more than evidence of human hubris: our economies grew too fast, we neglected the planet, we were too greedy and ambitious. While we pay lip service to knowledge and creativity, powerful cultural influences call into question the enormous artistic and scientific gains and insights made in the past.
The Battle of Ideas is an opportunity to overcome this alienation from past and future alike, and the resulting mood of cautiousness and risk aversion. The festival will involve grown up discussions about what we want to achieve in the 21st century. We will rethink major concepts like freedom, privacy and authority. We will evaluate the social and moral problems facing the world, debating everything from reproduction to energy. We will go beyond talk of ‘green shoots’ and ‘greedy bankers’ to assess the meaning and legacy of the economic recession. How do we assess the pros and cons of work in the context of rising unemployment? What are our attitudes to economic growth? Can we make a case for purposeful human activity as a means of improving society, when behaviourist ideas in economics and social policy cast doubt on our rationality? Can we build a good society, and what values will it espouse?
PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL LIFE
The scholar is that man who must take up into himself all the ability of the time, all the contributions of the past, all the hopes of the future. He must be an university of knowledges.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘The American Scholar’
The Battle of Ideas aims to be the 21st century equivalent of Emerson’s ‘university of knowledges’. This is an appeal that we all become thoroughly modern scholars, a new generation of public intellectuals. It is not about being academic per se, and certainly not about being po-faced or over-earnest; we expect our attendees to be free thinkers with verve, passion and idealism, embodying a spirit of irreverent scepticism. As the name suggests, the Battle of Ideas rejects safe consensus. Taking ideas and ourselves seriously means questioning and criticising one another. It can mean saying the unsayable and challenging received wisdom. It certainly means holding true to the Battle of Ideas’ motto ‘Free Speech Allowed’.
Let battle commence!
Claire Fox, director, Institute of Ideas and on behalf of the Battle of Ideas Committee 2009
REPRINTED FROM 2008
This annual weekend festival, initiated by the Institute of Ideas (IoI) and organized and supported by a wide range of partners and sponsors, makes virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views. Now in its fourth year, the festival fosters an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and social trends. FREE SPEECH ALLOWED!
We aim:
** to showcase new arguments about the core issues of the day, while avoiding getting bogged down in the minutiae of everyday policy
** to initiate open-ended discussions regardless of demands for immediate practical outcomes, which too frequently act as a brake on innovative thinking
** to shape the future through debate by better understanding the world with a view to changing it for the better.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to identify a new generation of public intellectuals and create a space where they can meet and have their ideas held to account.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to gather those who want to look behind the headlines and who are not prepared to be patronised with simplistic soundbites.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to attract attendees who are willing to challenge and to be challenged, and makes no apologies for putting ideas and argument centre stage.
Appropriately, this intellectual buzz all takes place at the Royal College of Art, a working art college, rather than a traditional conference venue, and a cherished home to creativity, which will also feature a specially curated RCA student exhibition on the theme, ‘designing the future’.
The festival’s flexible format allows attendees either to follow particular strands through one day, or mix and match discussions. The wide variety of partners from the arts, academia, business, science and media both new and old, and the 250 speakers from a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, results in a potent mix of perspectives, and should produce debates that give us all plenty to think and talk about.
FREE THINKERS WELCOME!
To read Institute of Ideas director Claire Fox’s welcome essay from 2008, please click here.
The Battle of Ideas is organised by a committee of individuals from diverse fields and backgrounds, without whom the festival would not be possible. Consisting of students, published academics and professionals, the Battle of Ideas Committee regularly meets to thrash out ideas, discuss current issues and to work out the best ways of promoting the festival and its themes. The Battle of Ideas Committee can be viewed here.
Now in its fourth year, the Battle of Ideas festival comprises 75 debates and a dozen satellite discussions confronting the big issues and unresolved questions facing society. From the banking crisis to the new cold war rhetoric around Georgia, from the implosion of the Labour Party to the contest to lead the most powerful country on earth, from the new ethical questions surrounding biomedicine to the thorny question of knife crime and young people – the need for clear thinking and rational debate has never been more urgent.
SERIOUSNESS, IDEAS AND CHANGE
A year ago, newly crowned Prime Minister Gordon Brown made a plea for substance and seriousness in politics. No matter how hollow that plea sounds today, there certainly is a need for those things. Indeed the festival was devised by the Institute of Ideas as an annual event with the serious intent of shaping intellectual life. We are unapologetic in putting ideas centre stage; as an antidote to policy churn, slick soundbites, managerialism and opportunism.
Those who espouse big ideas are frequently dismissed as ‘idealists’ - a term that has acquired negative connotations. Ideas associated with important moments in history - the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the American and French Revolutions - are often dismissed as pompous rhetoric or impossible myths. Instead we have the mantra of Change with a capital C.
The argument goes that the world is changing so much that every insight from the past must be dumped or revised. We are told we must ‘change to keep up with Change’, as though we are passive victims of changing forces ‘out there’. But change is not a force in history; it is the outcome of human intervention. Historically, it is ideas that have enabled people to change the world. One key aim of the Battle of Ideas is to scrutinise the ideas that make history.
REAL DEBATE
As the name suggests, the Battle of Ideas rejects anodyne consensus. Taking ideas seriously means questioning and criticising one another. It can mean saying the unsayable and challenging received wisdom. It certainly means holding true to the Battle of Ideas’ motto ‘Free Speech Allowed’. Importantly, however, the Battle of Ideas is not about Punch and Judy-style formal debating.
Today’s big questions rarely lend themselves to black and white positions, as is clear from this year’s festival programme. When it comes to the changing role of the family or concerns about antisocial behaviour, ‘for and against’ positioning would be unhelpful. There is no simple way to understand the significance of emerging economies such as India and China. And the fracturing of traditional loyalties means identity is contested in everything from rows about cricket to diversity policies in the arts. Meanwhile, the collapse of traditional communities means that how we educate and socialise children, relate to each other at work and welcome (or not) new immigrants are highly charged issues.
How should we interpret the greening of politics when environmentalist thinking questions the very ideas of progress and development? Is there more to truth than scientific evidence and hard facts? Is there more to radicalism than harking back to ‘68? Is there more to leadership than speechifying? Is the credit crunch or anti-consumerism the greater challenge to capitalism? The IoI believes that through asking these and other difficult questions, a more enlightened and deeper culture of public debate can emerge.
AUDIENCE
The success of the Battle of Ideas to date has revealed an appetite for this kind of thought-provoking and lively public debate. The high level of audience contributions - in quality and quantity - is something that marks out the Battle of Ideas. It is also clear from the verve and wit of attendees that seriousness is not synonymous with being po-faced or sanctimonious. The festival has light and shade, and stimulating intellectual exchanges can be lots of fun. All ages are welcome, and it is refreshing that so many young people - from school pupils to postgraduates - attend and defy their ‘whatever’ caricature. However old you are, come along and pitch in. Free thinkers are welcome.
The Battle of Ideas is more than a ‘talking shop’, or indeed a festival. It’s a declaration: ideas matter and it’s time to get serious. We certainly aim to make a mark beyond one weekend. But it all starts 1-2 November 2008. Let battle commence!
Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas and the Battle of Ideas Committee 2008
This annual weekend festival, initiated by the Institute of Ideas (IoI) and organized and supported by a wide range of partners and sponsors, makes virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views. Now in its fourth year, the festival fosters an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and social trends. FREE SPEECH ALLOWED!
We aim:
** to showcase new arguments about the core issues of the day, while avoiding getting bogged down in the minutiae of everyday policy
** to initiate open-ended discussions regardless of demands for immediate practical outcomes, which too frequently act as a brake on innovative thinking
** to shape the future through debate by better understanding the world with a view to changing it for the better.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to identify a new generation of public intellectuals and create a space where they can meet and have their ideas held to account.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to gather those who want to look behind the headlines and who are not prepared to be patronised with simplistic soundbites.
The Battle of Ideas seeks to attract attendees who are willing to challenge and to be challenged, and makes no apologies for putting ideas and argument centre stage.
Appropriately, this intellectual buzz all takes place at the Royal College of Art, a working art college, rather than a traditional conference venue, and a cherished home to creativity, which will also feature a specially curated RCA student exhibition on the theme, ‘designing the future’.
The festival’s flexible format allows attendees either to follow particular strands through one day, or mix and match discussions. The wide variety of partners from the arts, academia, business, science and media both new and old, and the 250 speakers from a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, results in a potent mix of perspectives, and should produce debates that give us all plenty to think and talk about.
FREE THINKERS WELCOME!
To read Institute of Ideas director Claire Fox’s welcome essay, please click here.
The Battle of Ideas is organised by a committee of individuals from diverse fields and backgrounds, without whom the festival would not be possible. Consisting of students, published academics and professionals, the Battle of Ideas Committee regularly meets to thrash out ideas, discuss current issues and to work out the best ways of promoting the festival and its themes. The Battle of Ideas Committee can be viewed here.
Now in its third year, the Battle of Ideas comprises 70 debates about the big themes facing society. The festival was devised by the Institute of Ideas (IoI) as an annual event bringing together different strands of social, political and cultural discussion to meet the growing demand for high-level, thought-provoking and lively public debate that cuts across particular issues and fields of interest. This reflects the IoI’s interest in broad themes that affect a variety of debates – such as the shift from grand political visions to micro-management of individual behaviour, or contemporary doubts about economic growth and development.
As the name suggests, the Battle of Ideas avoids being anodyne in the name of consensus, reflecting instead the IoI’s commitment to robust debate. Taking ideas seriously means questioning, criticising and interrogating one another. This does not mean Punch and Judy-style formal debating, however. Today’s big questions do not lend themselves to neat, black and white positions. The IoI believes that through asking difficult questions and opening them up to scrutiny, a more enlightened and deeper public discourse can emerge.
Politics is certainly in need of an injection of substance. It is refreshing that the new prime minister Gordon Brown promises to distance his reign from celebrity culture. Yet it was this same celebrity-bashing Gordon Brown who urged us all to vote for Shippa Shetty in the ‘Big Brother’ house, and who has kowtowed to St Bono and Bob Geldof in their ‘save Africa’ crusade. Brown is right that there is ‘a new thirst for seriousness’, and yet one of the first acts of his administration has been to emasculate the school curriculum. Do five-minute lessons and the subordination of subject disciplines to faddish political concerns mark a new era of seriousness?
But let’s take Gordon Brown at his word and ask some hard questions. Today’s managerial politics, from Brown’s government of ‘all the talents’ to Cameron’s A-list candidates who previously have shown no interest in Conservatism, are clearly failing to inspire. Might the solution be ‘participatory’ schemes like local decision-making and citizens’ juries, or are these actually compromising representative democracy and the very idea of political vision? When does the much-vaunted ‘moral compass’ spin into moralising about private behaviour? ‘You can’t do that!’ is a familiar hector as we light up, sip a pint, eat a burger. Worse, too often we are told, ‘You can’t say that!’. The climate of inquistion that stifles ‘new heretics’ who challenge today’s orthodoxies, whether on climate change or offensive speech, is anathema to the IoI’s aim of fostering open argument. It is free speech that enables different interpretations of the world to be debated on their merits. That is why the Battle of Ideas’ motto is ‘Free Speech Allowed’.
The high level of audience contributions – in quality and quantity – is something that marks the Battle of Ideas out. That’s why we have introduced new formats that allow even more audience participation. Look out for poetry and play readings followed by discussions about the arts and politics, Bar-Room Rants on Iraq and ‘revolting students’ in the RCA Student Union, and Battle Talk ‘in conversation’-style sessions on citizenship education and China. These run alongside the regular keynote debates, café conversations, breakfast banters, provocation lectures, screenings and themed strands of debate on Africa, music, new technologies, science and film.
As ever, the promise to give renewed vigour to intellectual life is a lot to load on one weekend, but the success of the previous two Battle of Ideas festivals proves it is possible. And the Battle of Ideas is more than a weekend. Through ‘Battles in Print’, satellite events, media discussions, filmed vox pops and live debates on Friction TV, Fora TV and 18 Doughty Street, podcasts on The Times online and monthly forums on everything from parenting to literature, the Battle of Ideas aims to set the intellectual agenda far beyond the festival. But it all starts this October. Let battle commence!
Claire Fox, director of the Institute of Ideas and the Battle of Ideas Committee 2007
The weekend, initiated by the Institute of Ideas and organized and supported by a wide range of partners and sponsors, makes virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views. We aim:
** to showcase new arguments about the core issues of the day, while avoiding getting bogged down in the minutiae of everyday policy
** to initiate open-ended discussions regardless of the demands for immediate practical outcomes, which too frequently act as a brake on innovative thinking
Emulating the best of academia, the Battle of Ideas fosters an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and trends. Additionally we challenge academics to distil their insights for a public intellectual gathering, creating a truly accessible university. The IoI seeks to identify a new generation of public intellectuals, and create a space where they can meet and have their ideas held to account.
Emulating the best of the literary festivals, the Battle of Ideas asks authors to join panels and bring their written work to life. Additionally we challenge authors to reflect beyond their latest books and apply their insights to broad questions of intellectual importance. The IoI seeks to create a space where readers and writers alike can mull over the social trends reflected in the latest fiction and non-fiction.
Emulating the best of the media, the Battle of Ideas brings together broadcasters, journalists and columnists to continue their invaluable role as inquisitors of current affairs. Additionally we challenge panels of pundits to become more than talking heads, and instead interact with the audience and engage with their ideas. The IoI seeks to gather those who want to look behind the headlines and who are not prepared to be patronised with simplistic soundbites.
The festival’s flexible format allows attendees either to follow particular strands through one day, or mix and match discussions. The wide variety of partners from the arts, academia, business, science and media both new and old, and the 200 speakers from a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, means a potent mix of perspectives, and should result in debates that give us all plenty to think and talk about. We work hard to attract festival attendees who are willing both to challenge and to be challenged.
Appropriately, in the year of the 150th anniversary of the Great Exhibition cultural hub in South Kensington, this intellectual buzz all takes place at the Royal College of Art, a working art college, rather than a traditional conference venue, and a cherished home to creativity, which will also feature a specially curated exhibition on the theme, ‘should art change the world?’
To read Institute of Ideas director Claire Fox’s welcome essay, please click here.
The Battle of Ideas is organised by a committee of individuals from diverse fields and backgrounds, without whom the festival would not be possible. Consisting of students, published academics and professionals, the Battle of Ideas Committee regularly meets to thrash out ideas, discuss current issues and to work out the best ways of promoting the festival and its themes. The Battle of Ideas Committee can be viewed here.
For the first time in 2007, we gathered a group of advisors who have generously given their time to advise on the content of the festival. We would like to thank them all. The Battle of Ideas Advisors can be viewed here.
The old Battle of Ideas 2006 site can be viewed at www.battleofideas.co.uk.
The Battle of Ideas is organised by the Institute of Ideas.
For general information including ticketing, email Battle of Ideas or call 020 7269 9220.
For press, email Shirley Dent or call 020 7269 9229.
For website queries, email Alex Hochuli or call 020 7269 9222.
Write to us at:
Institute of Ideas
Signet House
49-51 Farringdon Road
London
EC1M 3JP
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7269 9220
Venue Details
Royal College of Art, London, SW7 2EU (next to Royal Albert Hall).
Nearest tubes:
High Street Kensington: 10 minute walk or 5 minutes on bus 9, 10 or 52
Gloucester Road: 10 minute walk
South Kensington: 10 minute walk
Car parking:
There is no car parking surrounding the Royal College of Art. Some metered parking is available in the surrounding area.
"A rare opportunity to debate first hand with those involved in the great issues of our time."
Chris Rapley, director, Science Museum
