2009 Programme: Festival weekend overview

The Festival weekend includes more than 70 debates which are listed below ordered by time slot and room. To see Saturday or Sunday sessions only, select the day you want from the menu on the left or select sessions by Theme.

Or view and print out the Timetable as a two-page PDF.


Saturday 31 October: 3.30pm to 5.00pm
Café Controversies Café
The Rise of the Philanthrocapitalists: can the rich save the world?
Frame Debates Henry Moore Gallery
A cultured ear: why does listening to music matter?

Saturday 31 October: 5.15pm to 6.30pm
Thought for the day Café
Debating Matters Competition showcase debate: "Copyright Benefits the Arts"
Thought for the day Henry Moore Gallery
Rhyme, Rhythm and Blues: poets and lyricists in perfect harmony?

Sunday 1 November: 10.45am to 12.15pm
Creativity Zone Student Union
Can the arts save the economy?

Sunday 1 November: 1.45pm to 3.15pm
Keynote Controversies Upper Gulbenkian Gallery
The Art of Criticism: judgement in crisis?
Creativity Zone Student Union
Shaping Social Policy: Designers and Crime

Sunday 1 November: 3.45pm to 5.15pm
In Conversation Salons Lecture Theatre 2
Songs of Innocence and Experience: what should today's kids be reading?
Creativity Zone Student Union
Shaping Social Policy: Designers and Health

Sunday 1 November: 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Thought for the day Student Union
Novel Pursuits: creative writing and the democratisation of literature?

Festival Buzz
Democracy and its Discontents

View: Democracy and its Discontents

"No word was untested, no argument taken for granted, no opinion dismissed without argument nor accepted without argument."
David Jones, professor of bioethics, St Mary's University College