Coming together for the Battle of Ideas festival is more important than ever...
We are extending our early bird discount tickets for a limited time!
Hello! I have spent a momentous morning in Westminster Hall at the presentation of addresses, with King Charles III giving an address to parliament along with the Lord Speaker and the Speaker - everyone from parliament was there.
You’ll hear more about it in my Inside The Lords this week. But for now, I wanted to give you all the details about the Battle of Ideas festival – taking place in just over a month in Church House, Westminster.
In this week’s Substack, you’ll find out about why the Battle of Ideas festival is so important at this moment of political and constitutional change and challenges, get special deals for students and school pupils, and find out how you can get free tickets to the festival by joining us as a volunteer.
You'll also be delighted to know that we have extended our early bird ticket discounts - so get yours now by clicking the big green button!
From the cost-of-living crisis to the war in Ukraine, and from culture wars to institutions in meltdown, this has been a year of enormous challenges. Yet our political leaders – only recently in some turmoil themselves – don’t seem up to the task, and many people feel like their voices aren’t being heard. We need to get beyond lurching from one emergency to another and start moving society forward. We must understand what has been happening, with an eye to shaping a better future.
The aim of the Battle of Ideas festival and events is to provide an opportunity to debate the issues in a full and frank manner, bringing together a wide variety of voices and, most importantly, creating a space for everyone to have their say.
THE STATE WE’RE IN
Rising inflation, falling living standards and eye-watering bills are front and centre of most people’s minds. And after the pandemic, the already-weak institutions of government seem incapable of rising to these challenges. If the failure to prepare for Covid was bad enough, the absence of any meaningful planning on a wide variety of issues – from energy to healthcare, housing to infrastructure – has truly been exposed. We seem to find ourselves in a state of permanent crises – from not being able to get a GP appointment to civil servants revolting against their ministers.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has thrown into question our previously held assumptions about international relations and shaking up the world order. When the Cold War ended, we were told we were at the End of History, that there was no more need for big ideas. There was no alternative to the world envisaged by globalist thinkers: a free market, managed by technocratic experts moving the whole world towards some form of liberal democracy. Recent events have challenged such complacency.
Yet what so often dominates in public life is another kind of battle: the Culture Wars. We seem riven by disputes about gender, race and more. The arts is in turmoil, with comedians like Jerry Sadowitz pulled from the stage for giving offence and literary greats like Shakespeare questioned on their political correctness. Classrooms have become sites for toxic clashes over the teaching of white privilege and gender ideology, while engaging in similar debates online means risking having your social-media account closed down. Are these ‘identity politics’ disputes merely an unfortunate sideshow, as some argue, or do they strike at the heart of how society works today?
FREE THINKERS WELCOME
Throughout the festival’s history, we have always defended the need for a full and frank discussion of the problems facing society. Our motto is ‘FREE SPEECH ALLOWED’. We live in a time when censorship seems more prevalent than the days of shushing priests and damning judges, and yet things have changed. Contemporary attacks on free expression often come both from the state and from within a wide variety of institutions, from colleges to companies, museums to the media. On the one hand, censorship can take the form of legal overreach – from calls to beef up the Online Safety Bill to questions about how to deal with misinformation. On the other hand, censorship can be subtle, and is often quietly self-inflicted for fear of ostracisation.
The pressures on free speech will be a major theme at this year’s festival, with speakers asking questions about whether cries of You Can’t Say That have affected political progress relating to anti-racism, climate change, economic growth and even the world of arts and culture.
We aim to make all our events an antidote to intellectual silos and closed-off echo chambers. The Battle of Ideas festival is an intellectual journey, with many different routes to take through it. With scores of debates and hundreds of speakers, there will be much to enjoy for everyone on an enormous range of issues.
The Battle of Ideas festival is serious, fun, inspiring and much more. But don’t take it from us – what makes it unique is that it is not simply about listening to academics and commentators telling you what they think. For us, the audience IS the festival, and we actively encourage you to have your say, to challenge other people’s ideas and be challenged yourself.
If you’re sick of shouting at the telly, and a weekend of civil but passionate debate in-the-flesh sounds up your street, don’t hesitate: grab your ticket for 15 & 16 October in London, 5 November in Buxton or look out for our events across the UK and Europe and get stuck into the debate. Let Battle commence.
Alastair Donald and Ella Whelan
co-convenors, Battle of Ideas festival
Early bird tickets for the Battle of Ideas festival 2022 have been extended!
The London Battle of Ideas festival will take place at Church House, Westminster on Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 October. Buy tickets via Eventbrite.
Tickets for Buxton Battle of Ideas festival on Saturday 5 November can be purchased via Eventbrite here.
WEEKEND RATE
Standard – £75
Concession – £40
Special discount price for AoI associates or paid substack subscribers – £55
Special discount price for AoI associates or paid substack subscribers (concessions) – £35
Become an Academy of Ideas associate plus get associate-rate ticket – £100
Become an Academy of Ideas associate (concession rate) plus get associate-rate ticket – £60
F-Star Student and STEM Champion (see box below) – £25
DAY RATES (SATURDAY OR SUNDAY)
Standard – £45
Concession – £25
Special discount price for AoI associates or paid substack subscribers – £35
Special discount price for AoI associates or paid substack subscribers (concessions) - £20
Become an Academy of Ideas associate plus get associate-rate ticket – £80
Become an Academy of Ideas associate (concession rate) plus get associate-rate ticket – £45
School pupils – £10 (see ticket offer below)
Become a paid subscriber now to take advantage of discounted tickets!
F-STAR STUDENT AND STEM UNDER-30 CHAMPION - SPECIAL OFFER
Thanks to the leading biotechnology company F-Star, we are delighted to offer a number of weekend tickets for just £25.
The offer is open to:
All students - both undergraduate and postgraduate
Anyone under 30 who is working, training or studying in a STEM field.
To take advantage of this offer, visit Eventbrite and choose 'Student Champion' ticket.
FREE TICKETS FOR SCHOOL PUPILS
We are delighted to make the following special offer to school pupils: a free day-ticket to the Battle of Ideas festival, for either Saturday 15 or Sunday 16 October. And if you want to attend the whole weekend you can do so for just £10 for the other day!
Just email schoolschampion@academyofideas.org.uk stating which day you would like to attend free, the name of your school and an email address to send your free ticket to.
Battle of Ideas festival 2022 sessions include:
DO THE CULTURE WARS MATTER? · ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? CHALLENGING THE COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS · POST-COLD WAR: RUSSIA AND ITS DEMONS · FROM ZERO-COVID TO ‘LET IT RIP’: DID ANYONE DO COVID RIGHT? · RWANDA OR BUST? THE FUTURE OF UK BORDER CONTROL · AGE OF ‘ISMS’: WHAT HAPPENED TO IDEOLOGY? · THE TRANS TEEN TREND: A CASE OF SOCIAL CONTAGION? · CLIMATE EMERGENCY: CATASTROPHE OR CATASTROPHISING? · SANITISED OR MODERNISED: STAGING SHAKESPEARE TODAY · TRADE UNIONS: THROWBACK, COMEBACK OR FIGHTBACK? · FROM INDYREF2 TO A BORDER POLL: ARE WE AFRAID OF DEMOCRACY? · TRUST ME I’M YOUR DOCTOR: ARE GPS IN CRISIS? · GLOBALISM IN CRISIS: HAS DAVOS MAN HAD HIS DAY?
Battle of Ideas festival 2022 speakers include:
VOLUNTEER AT #BATTLEFEST FOR FREE TICKETS
With thousands of attendees, hundreds of speakers and over a hundred debates over two days, we need a team of enthusiastic and committed volunteers to support us for the Battle of Ideas festival 2022.
Don’t let the cost of a ticket prevent you from joining our FREE SPEECH ALLOWED festival - volunteers get free access to the entire weekend.
Why should you volunteer?…
Battle of Ideas festival volunteers have access to:
Behind-the-scenes access to the Battle of Ideas festival
Meeting and debating with like-minded people
Gaining experience of working in a fast-paced environment with a customer focus
Developing teamwork and organisation skills – great for your CV!
No age limit or previous work experience/qualifications required
Additional opportunities in advance for marketing experience, press work and research
What do volunteers do?…
Stewarding
Event stewards are key to the smooth running of the debates. In working with your room team and venue staff, you will need to ensure that debates are ready to go, work with the chair to ensure that debates do not overrun and provide microphone support so that everyone’s contribution can be heard. With this role, you get the additional benefit of seeing lots of the festival’s debates!
Registration Desk
With lots of high-profile speakers, guests, volunteers and attendees arriving throughout the weekend, there are lots of people who require help and support. You will be there to give them information, register their attendance and support them in finding their contacts.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with volunteers coordinator Ella Whelan at ellawhelan@academyofideas.org.uk