Sydney Ideas

As Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network from 2008 to 2011, Wadah Khanfar was in a unique position to observe war, uprisings and revolution in one of the most turbulent regions in the world, the Middle East. He is now President of Al Sharq Forum, an independent think-tank dedicated to developing long-term strategies for political development, social justice and economic prosperity of the people of the Middle East. Wadah Khanfar joins Sydney Ideas for a conversation about the rapidly evolving nature of our news consumption, its relationship to the complex world of political strategy and diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa, and the complexities of identity and representation in this situation. Response by Zainab Jasim, PhD student at the University of Sydney, researching aspects of Al-Jazeera's coverage of the Arab Spring. Co-presented by the Department of Arabic Language and Cultures and the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney Presented by Sydney Ideas on 1

Professor Stuart Kauffman is one of the most distinguished scholars of complexity and the author of several acclaimed books, including The Origins of Order: Self Organization and Selection in Evolution (1993), At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity (1995), and Humanity in a Creative Universe (2016). In this Sydney Ideas talk, he proposes that the ever-changing phase space of evolution means we can write no laws of motion for evolution, and it is thus not reducible to physics. The evolving biosphere is the most complex system we know in the universe. Presented by Sydney Ideas on 1 March 2017. See the webpage for more about this lecture and to access the lecture slides: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_stuart_kauffman.shtml

A panel presents fresh perspectives on museums approaches to human rights and the Holocaust, exploring and explicating contemporary international debates. Experts from various disciplinary backgrounds alongside museum practitioners analyse, challenge, and critically assess existing approaches, while considering possible future directions for these increasingly influential institutions. For while human rights museums with a Holocaust core or theme proliferate internationally, this burgeoning area of museology has not yet been subject to systematic scholarly study. By comparing and contrasting the unique combination of advocacy (human rights) with memory (the Holocaust), the ARC Linkage project Reverberations: The Holocaust, Human Rights and the Museum is setting the agenda for theory, practice, and policy with regard to human rights and Holocaust museums in the 21st century. Chaired by Dr Avril Alba, a Senior Lecturer in Holocaust Studies and Jewish Civilisation, and Director (Acting) of the Museums and He

How do theatre plays, such as The Trouble with Harry contribute to advancing contemporary transgender issues? A post-performance Q&A co-presented with the Seymour Centre as part of the 2017 Mardi Gras. The playwright Lachlan Philpott is joined by the University of Sydney PhD candidate Rillark Bolton whose research explores the experiences of identity formation and community creation for trans masculine individuals, and Dr Anna Hickey-Moody, Associate Professor in Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney. Together they discuss the history of transgender (the term that did not yet exist in the time of Harry Crawford), the politics of the play and the role of the performing arts in shaping contemporary thought and opinion on trans issues. The discussion is chaired by Charles O'Grady. Presented by Sydney Ideas on 23 February 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/transgender_forum.shtml

International insights on achieving affordability with quality density. Real estate development expert Professor Richard Peiser at Harvard University and guests of the Cities Leadership Institute at the University of Sydney, spoke on how to achieve quality, affordable housing drawing on case studies and strategies from the United States. They discussed ways that we can better finance loans for key workers in affordable housing, new tenure strategies, and trends in commercial and residential real estate. Professor Peiser also suggests how we can better integrate jobs and transport into the delivery process of and international best practices of density and accessibility. Presented by Sydney Ideas on 23 Feb 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_richard_peiser.shtml

Efforts to reconcile theories and practices of democracy with environmental sustainability have long been central to environmental political thought. Since this first wave of scholarship on ecological democracy, there have been numerous crucial developments that pose a range of challenges. On the environmental side, we have seen the acceleration of climate change, arguments for setting planetary boundaries around humanity’s environmental impacts, and widespread acknowledgement that the Earth has entered a new epoch: the Anthropocene. On the political side, we have had the growth of environmental and climate justice movements, the proliferation of institutions for global environmental governance, and the anti-environmental and post-truth era. This panel of distinguished contributors to the ecological democracy debate will examine what theories of ecological democracy have offered, and, looking forward, how (or if) they might respond to the current set of ecological, and democratic, challenges. SPEAKERS: -

Contemporary governments frame surveillance and secrecy as evils necessary to ensure our security. Individual privacy has been trumped by the need for covert behaviour on the part of states and corporations who collect and store our personal metadata and monitor our activities via new technologies without our knowledge or consent. We ask: how does the gathering and suppression of information subvert our right to know and preclude the media from exposing wrongdoing and holding officials accountable? What are the existing accountability mechanisms, and what are the challenges current surveillance measures pose to these? Panellists: - Ian Shaw, political geographer at the University of Glasgow, UK - Felicity Ruby, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney - Peter Fray, professor of journalism practice at the University of Technology Sydney, the founder of the fact-checking website PolitiFact Australia and the former editor-in-chief or editor o

In 2010 environmentalist David de Rothschild sailed from San Francisco to Sydney in 'The Plastiki' , a unique 18.3-metre catamaran made from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic soft drink bottles, sails of recycled PET, and masts made from aluminium irrigation piping and consist of 98 per cent post-consumer billet. In his talk for Sydney Ideas, with inventor, educator and adjudicator Sally Dominguez, David de Rothschild explained the technology used on board and revealed what he and crew learnt on their four-month journey about plastic in our oceans. A Sydney Ideas event on 29 July, 2010 For more information http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/david_de_rothschild.shtml

With the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, it now seems climate change denial has reached into the most powerful political office in the world. In this special Sydney Ideas public lecture, world-renowned climate scientist Professor Michael Mann provides a somewhat light-hearted take on a very serious issue - the threat of human-caused climate change and what to do about it. Based on his recent collaboration with Washington Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles, Professor Mann reviews the scientific evidence of climate change, the reasons we should care, and the often absurd efforts by special interests and partisan political figures to confuse the public and attack the science. Despite the monumental nature of the challenge this poses to human civilization, and the seeming inability of political leadership to respond to the climate crisis, Professor Mann highlights ways forward in mitigating future harm and reasons for cautious optimism. SPEAKER: Professor Michael E Mann, Distin

Since the smashing of labour’s collective bargaining power under neoliberalism, how is the transition to a postcapitalist society to be enacted? Are we currently witnessing the zombie state of neoliberalism in its death throes? What is the role of technology and automation, as well as human agency, in shaping the future? These issues and more animate Paul Mason’s talk. SPEAKER: Paul Mason, journalist and broadcaster A Sydney Ideas talk presented by the Department of Political Economy in the School of Social and Political Sciences (SSPS), and the Greens Political Education Trust Presented by Sydney Ideas on 6 Feb 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/paul_mason.shtml

Cancer and neurologial diseases are among the top 5 causes of death in Australia. However, there is some good news in this battle against these as new big data technologies now allow scientists to measure nearly every aspect of a cancerous tumor and take real-time scans of the active human brain. This big data may hold the key to understanding causes and possible cures for cancer as well as understanding the complexities of the human brain. Genevera Allen highlights how exactly is data science transforming medical research. Specifically, she demonstrates how networks can be used to visualize and mine big biomedical data, from genetic networks that have led to the discovery of new drug targets for cancer to brain networks that show how the brain communicates and how these communications are disrupted in neurological diseases. SPEAKER: Assistant Professor Genevera Allen, Statistics and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, USA For the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) Summer Sc

False memories, like true ones, have consequences for people, affecting later thoughts, intentions, and behaviours. Once planted, the false memories look very much like true memories – in terms of behavioural characteristics, emotionality and neural signatures. If false memories can be so readily planted in the mind, do we need to think about ‘regulating’ this mind technology? And what do these pseudomemories say about the nature of memory itself? SPEAKER: Professor Elizabeth Loftus, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, Professor of Law, School of Law, University of California Presented by Sydney Ideas on 3 Jan 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_elizabeth_loftus.shtml

The recent review of the national Australian Curriculum has recommended reducing arts learning in our schools. Many in the sector see the recommendations as a direct challenge to decades of research and teaching that demonstrates that students who engage in an active, demanding, high-quality arts education are more likely to excel in their academic and non-academic lives. Sydney Ideas presents a robust forum that discusses the place of arts in our schools in response to this review. It draws on recent University of Sydney research and international research that demands that all young people everywhere must have access to a strong and sustained arts education. PANEL Michael Anderson (panel chair), Faculty of Education and Social Work Tom Alegounarias, President of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (BOSTES) Rob Carlton, a Silver Logie winning actor Andrea Connell, the Principal of Sydney Girls High School Robyn Ewing, Professor of Teacher Education Faculty of Education and Social

How might philosophical research into apparently non-practical matters be of general relevance to the community? What benefits might tax-payers expect to flow from public support of philosophical research? In the light of comments made in last year’s federal election campaign about research funding for philosophy projects, a panel of philosophers address different aspects of these pressing questions. Panel Professor Richard Eldrige, Swarthmore College USA Professor Paul Redding, University of Sydney Dr Dalia Nassar, University of Sydney A Sydney Ideas event on 25 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/philosophy_in_the_age_of_democracy.shtml

Sugar Sweetened Schools: a supply chain to childhood obesity? With rates of childhood and adult obesity at all time highs, it’s time to reconsider the delivery of nutrition to children, but where should we start? Establishing a healthy lifestyle from a young age is essential for our children’s optimal physical and mental development. A school environment can provide a platform for learning the skills for healthy living, yet our schools are possibly doing more harm than good when it comes to combating childhood obesity. During this talk Dr Kieron Rooney explored the current guidelines for the delivery of healthy foods in NSW schools and identified weaknesses in the implementation of those guidelines, and finally proposed some potential steps forward. Kieron was joined on the night by Ms Jo Gardner, CEO of the Healthy Kids Association. A Sydney Ideas event on 26 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/dr_kieron_rooney.shtml

What lessons should we draw from the First World War? Professor Glenda Sluga discusses the war's legacies from the perspective of its end, and the twinned principles on which a new postwar international order was to be established – namely nationality and the League of Nations. Her aim is to understand the relative significance of nationalism and of what contemporaries articulated as a 'new era of internationalism' in the last years of the war and in its wake. A Sydney Ideas event on 28 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_glenda_sluga.shtml

UNESCO’s 1972 Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage is the only international instrument for safeguarding the world’s heritage. Professor Lynn Meskell, Director of the Stanford Archaeology Center, examines how emergent rights to the past are now being presented, promoted and prevented by select groups. A Sydney Ideas event on 7 May 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_lynn_meskell.shtml

Find out how leading researchers are making a contribution to our understanding of creativity, while at the same time inspiring the next generation through their teaching. If the transformative potential of creativity in the education process is now acknowledged, how are our trainee teachers taught to teach creativity themselves? What are the realities of implementing creative practices in the classroom, and what is the latest research telling us about what teaching methods work and why? A panel of researchers and practitioners from a range of art disciplines explore how they teach creativity to their students and give practical examples of what works when they get into the classroom. Panel Dr Julie Dunn, Associate Professor and member of Griffith University's Applied Theatre team Kelly Freebody, Robyn Ewing and Michael Anderson , Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney Dr Miranda Jefferson, Teaching Educator in challenging pedagogy with the Catholic Education Office Parramatta Dioce

Why was the invention of the idea of 'global justice' in the 1970s, a sharp break from the theory of the social contract? Leading human rights scholar, Professor Samuel Moyn from Columbia University, traces the origins of the philosophy of global justice and examines where it stands now. Are the very principles the new philosophy global justice proclaims, further from reality than ever? A Sydney Ideas event on 22 July 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_samuel_moyn.shtml

Young people aged 12–25 are the highest at-risk group for experiencing mental health problems. They are also the group most likely to look for help and support online. Using the internet for social networking is their haven – but is it safe, reliable and helpful? Andrew Campbell from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Tracy Adams from Boystown discuss the issue. A Sydney Ideas event on 10 September 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/andrew_campbell.shtml