Saturday 16 May, 12.55pm until 1.40pm, Churchill Room The Battle for the Economy
The wide variety of protests organised against the G20 at the start of April might suggest a lively public sphere engaged in serious debates and action in relation to economic life, but how healthy is political activism today? A coalition of trade unionists, development NGOs and climate campaigners marched under one banner at the G20: for ‘Jobs, Justice, Climate’. Does this represent a cohesive and powerful challenge to the status quo, or rather a more general sense of popular disgruntlement that lacks a cutting edge? Our ‘Public Summit’ challenges four campaigning groups to give us their take on the G20 demonstrations. They will each give us two minutes on the worst idea to come out of the G20 - then have two minutes to convince us of their positive alternative. Not convinced by today’s activists – or by their critics? Come along, challenge them, and judge for yourself.
Listen to the session audio…
Other formats are available here
 | Vivien Regan assistant director/producer, WORLDwrite |
 | John Hilary executive Director, War on Want |
 | Nick O'Donovan founder, DoSomethingAboutIt.org.uk |
 | Josie Appleton director, civil liberties group, Manifesto Club |
| Chair: | |
|
Suzy Dean
freelance journalist; co-founder, IoI Current Affairs Forum |
"Just when Kant's formulation that 'the public exercise of reason should be free' had begun to seem so remote and exhausted, the Battle should reinforce one's faith in the enduring worth of dissent and of the free traffic in ideas"
Swapan Chakravorty, professor of english, Jadavpur University
