Bookings open for Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2016

Bookings open on Monday for the 2016 Cambridge Festival of Ideas, with a host of events and discussions on issues ranging from the risk of another global financial crash and the rise of populism to whether our identities are becoming more fluid.

The Festival of Ideas runs from 17 – 30 October and hosts over 200 events ranging from theatre, art and museum exhibitions to music performances, lectures and debates. Now in its ninth year, most of the Festival events are free and take place in lecture theatres and university buildings around Cambridge.

The Festival plays host to a series of panel discussions, including one on global economic uncertainty with economists Ha-Joon Chang and Victoria Bateman from the University of Cambridge, Vicky Pryce, former Joint Head of the United Kingdom's Government Economic Service, and Kamal Munir from Judge Business School. The event will ask whether we are on the brink of another global financial meltdown. Victoria Bateman will question whether the lack of diversity among economists is restricting the ability of economists to solve major problems such as inequality and a slowdown in economic growth - and the importance of gender inequality as a contributor to these problems. [28th October]

Another panel discussion addresses the rise of populism and anti-establishment thinking. What does it mean to be anti-establishment? Professor John Naughton from the University of Cambridge, writer and campaigner Beatrix Campbell, philosopher, computer scientist and political writer Kieron O'Hara and Samantha Asumadu of Media Diversified will answer questions such as in an age of anti-establishment thinking, is the process of overthrowing elites and creating new ones speeding up and are we in for a period of perpetual distrust and is this a good thing?

Professor Naughton said: “Digital technology has unleashed a wave of ‘creative destruction’ on our societies. The Web is the most radical transformation of humanity’s information environment since the invention of printing. Our national security, privacy, politics, economy, media, social behaviour and even our attention spans are affected by digital technology in ways that we are only now starting to appreciate. And we haven’t yet reached even the end of the beginning of this revolution.” [22nd October]

The discussion on fluid identities, Are fluid identities the future?, will address growing interest in mixed race, transnational and transgender/intersex identities and will ask whether traditional fixed identities are a myth and, if so, why do so many still cling to them. Speakers include Baroness Afshar, social scientist Peter Aspinall, Professor Nira Yuval-Davis, Sally Hines from the University of Leeds and Jay Hayes-Light, Director of UK Intersex Organisation. [27th October]

Other panel discussions include:

• Putin's Russia: dangerous or misunderstood? Guardian journalist Luke Harding, author of A Very Expensive Poison: The Definitive Story of the Murder of Litvinenko and Russia's War with the West, will be in conversation with international relations expert Ayse Zarakol about the current state of play in Russia and what it means for the rest of the world [22nd October]
• Human trafficking: transnational partnerships. Experts from across Europe will debate how countries can work together to stem the trafficking of human beings across the continent in this high-profile panel discussion. With Director of Europol Rob Wainwright; Andrew Boff, author of Shadow City – Exposing Human Trafficking in Everyday London; Philip Ishola, Former Director of the Counter Human Trafficking Bureau; and Fiona Hill, Joint Downing Street Chief of Staff, lead author of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and author of A Modern Response to Modern Slavery Report.  The event is chaired by George Papadimitrakopoulos, Onassis Public Benefit Foundation Scholar, and advisor and UK Liaison to the Greek National Rapporteur for Trafficking in Human Beings. [22nd October]
• Climate change: past, present and future. The Earth's climate has changed throughout its history. So what's so special about now and what can we learn from past climate change? Join a panel of experts to discuss the past, present and future of this global issue. With Professor Douglas Crawford, mountain archaeologist Rachel Reckin, Victoria Herrmann, President of the Arctic Institute, and Barbara Bodenhorn from the University of Cambridge. [22nd October]
• Is Shakespeare still relevant today? Beyond the Elizabethan theatre and around the world, what if anything, can we still learn from the bard? With Preti Taneja and Edward Wilson-Lee from the University of Cambridge, Malcolm Cocks from Globe Education and Emma Whipday, Globe Education Lecturer at Shakespeare’s Globe. [22nd October]
• Universities and free speech. According to recent research about 80% of universities have restrictions on free speech. What does free speech imply in the context of a University? Is it all about academic freedom or might it have something to do with protecting the status quo? Speakers include writer and academic Malachi McIntosh, writer and academic Joanna Williams, Professor Steve Fuller and Priscilla Mensah, President of the Cambridge Students’ Union. [21st October]
• Religion meets nationalism: a recipe for disaster? In a time of apparent ascendance in nationalist ideologies around the world, what role does religion have to play? Is it likely to encourage conflict or can it act as an agent of peace? With Professor Eugenio Biagini, Professor Joya Chatterji, Atsuko Ichijo and Spyros Economides. [25th October]
• Europe: beyond the referendum with The Guardian’s Larry Elliott, Chris Bickerton and Professor Brendan Simms from the University of Cambridge, Liberation’s Sonia Delesalle-Stolper and Professor  Catherine Barnard. [20th October]
• Academic freedom under attack: global perspectives. With Brendan O'Malley, editor of University World News, Syrian academic Reem Doukmak, Edward Anderson and Anne Alexander from the University of Cambridge and Stephen Wordsworth from the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics. [19th October]
• New media, new possibilities, new dangers? Does the development of new digital technologies and instant access to the internet provide new opportunities or present new dangers? How can good journalism thrive in these new circumstances? With Professor Jane Singer, Mary Fitzgerald from Open Democracy, Roxane Farmanfarmaian from the University of Cambridge and Buzzfeed’s Luke Lewis. [22nd October]
• Election: Live! The Battle for the White House. Join Professor David Runciman and the panel from the Election Podcast to discuss who will triumph in this extraordinary battle for the White House. [19th October]

The Festival sponsors and partners are Cambridge University Press, St John’s College, Anglia Ruskin University, RAND Europe, Microsoft Research, Cambridge Assessment, University of Cambridge Language Centre, Arts Council England, University of Cambridge Museums and Botanic Garden, Cambridge Junction, Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Festival media partner is BBC Radio
Cambridgeshire.