At the United Nations Indigenous peoples have been at the forefront of discussions regarding the human rights abuses committed by corporations since the 1970s. Today, little has changed in relation to this situation. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, Special Rapporteur for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations, reflects on the reasons why local Indigenous communities continue to suffer disproportionately the negative impact of corporate activities. For more info and speaker's biography see...
Jul 30, 2015•1 hr 24 min
Health experts are divided over the benefits of cancer screening – are we saving lives or harming lives? Some experts argue that widespread screening, such as for breast and prostate cancer, can lead to over-detection and over-treatment of illnesses which are not life threatening. Healthy people can be unnecessarily alarmed, falsely diagnosed, or subjected to invasive procedures that can cause emotional and physical harm. Critics say cancer screening does little to prevent deaths or extend life ...
Jul 29, 2015•1 hr 42 min
The Pacific region boasts a third of the world’s total living languages. A panel of experts examines ideas around national policies that recognize and protect minority languages, education systems that promote mother-tongue instruction, and creative collaboration between community and linguists. Indigenous language expert Professor Jakelin Troy, joins linguistics professor Nick Enfield, Professor of Oceanic Languages and Cultures, Bernard Rigo, founding member of the Australian South Sea Islande...
May 25, 2015•1 hr 25 min
The panel brings together scholars who have direct experience of the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain. They discussed the historical roots, recent developments and challenges that civil societies in these countries are currently facing. Chaired by Dr Lucia Sorbera, University of Sydney, speakers include: Larbi Sadiki, Assoc Professor of International Affairs at Qatar University; Walid El Khachab, Assoc Professor and Coordinator of Arabic Studies, York University; and Dr Ala'a Shehabi, co...
Apr 13, 2015•1 hr 35 min
In recent years, interest in contemporary Chinese art has exploded in Australia and across the world. Tonight some of Australia's most prominent curators share their thoughts on what makes certain artists stand out, and what might be the challenges of putting up the exhibitions in a cross-cultural context. For more info and speakers' biographies see: tinyurl.com/of4lc9k
Mar 24, 2015•1 hr 30 min
Training in cultural competence to allow people to work better in cross-cultural environments is becoming increasingly important in our globalised community. American trailblazer Professor Tawara Good, Director of the National Center for Cultural Competence, Georgetown University, shares her experiences of establishing perhaps the world’s first cultural competence thought centre. For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_tawara...
Dec 09, 2014•1 hr 36 min
If research 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, why has the recent review of the Australian Curriculum recommended reducing arts learning in our schools? Speakers include: Professor Michael Anderson (panel chair), Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney; Tom Alegounarias, President of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (BOSTE...
Nov 11, 2014•1 hr 24 min
One of Australia’s highest profile media executives Kim Williams talks about the enduring impact of arts education on his life and advances a strong case for the primacy of music education from a young age. "Music is a bedrock for good thinking," says Williams. Presented with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/kim_williams.shtml
Sep 30, 2014•1 hr 21 min
Cancer does not occur in a vacuum - it has a major impact on family, friends and colleagues. When a parent has cancer, the whole family experiences cancer. For a parent, there are many questions to answer. How much, and what to tell the children is a frequent concern. Do young children need different information to teenagers? What do we know about how children really feel regarding a cancer experience in the family? Professor Kate White from the University of Sydney Nursing School answers these ...
Sep 24, 2014•1 hr 7 min
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 University of Sydney Faculty of Health Sciences and Tracy Adams from Boystown discuss the issue. A Sydney Ideas talk on 10 September, 2014 http://whatson.sydney.edu.au/events/archived/sydney-ideas-dr-andrew-camp...
Sep 10, 2014•1 hr 17 min
An expert panel on 'War, Death and Memory' with leading Australian historians explores consequences of the Great War on individual lives and the national psyche. The panel discussion marked the launch of the new University of Sydney 'BEYOND 1914' website, an interactive biographical database of students, staff and alumni who served in the First World War. Panellists: Joy Damousi, Professor of History University of Melbourne; Professor Stephen Garton, Provost and Deputy Chancellor University of S...
Sep 09, 2014•1 hr 34 min
Professor Raewyn Connell from the University of Sydney Faculty of Education and Social Work) gives her ‘last lecture’ celebrating 43 years of groundbreaking teaching and research, and a body of work that has reshaped the study of sociology. Professor Connell is a recipient of the American Sociological Association's award for distinguished contribution to the study of sex and gender, and of the Australian Sociological Association's award for distinguished service to sociology in Australia. Her te...
Sep 05, 2014•1 hr 23 min
How do different forms of urban life get ‘under our skin’ shaping our bodies, souls and mental states? Prominent British sociologist Nikolas Rose considers some recent work in the neurosciences and its potential to revitalize sociology of urban experience. A Sydney Ideas talk on 26 August, 2014: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_nikolas_rose.shtml
Aug 26, 2014•1 hr 21 min
In January 2011 Egyptian people took to the streets demanding the fall of a corrupt and authoritarian regime. A revolutionary movement including women and men from different generations, social backgrounds, and diverse political and religious affiliations joined forces to ask for freedom, dignity and social justice. More than three years on from this epochal moment, what are the main challenges that face the politicians, civil society, and the international community? H.A. Hellyer, Brookings Ins...
Jun 23, 2014•1 hr 23 min
Author Tara Moss on molded gender narratives, toxic silences, and damaging stereotypes. In conversation with Professor Elspeth Probyn and a fellow PhD candidate in the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, Paul Priday. More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/tara_moss.shtml
Jun 17, 2014•1 hr 23 min
Good conversation is a rewarding and important part of social interaction. Professor Leanne Togher from the University of Sydney Faculty of Health Sciences shares her research into teaching people with brain injury the art and science of conversation, and shows how basic principles can benefit all who seek the rewards of satisfying conversation with the people close to them. A Sydney Idea talk 14 May, 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_leanne_togher.shtml
May 14, 2014•1 hr 6 min
The year 2012 marked the 40th anniversary of UNESCO’s 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. It remains the only international instrument for safeguarding the world’s heritage. Director of the Stanford Archaeology Center, Professor Lyn Meskell asks: how are emergent rights to the past being presented, promoted and prevented by particular actors internationally? One of UNESCO’s millennium challenges was the very issue of sovereignty in an increasingl...
May 07, 2014•1 hr 12 min
What lessons should we draw from the First World War? Professor Glenda Sluga will discuss 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. For more info and speaker's biog...
Mar 28, 2014•1 hr 28 min
Deirdre McCloskey, a well-known economist and historian, was until 1995 known as Donald. She tells her story since then, of happy and unhappy endings–mainly happy–and how becoming a new woman affected her academic work and her spiritual life. A Sydney Ideas talk from 28 November, 2013 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/professor_deirdre_mccloskey.shtml
Nov 28, 2013•1 hr 21 min
Since the fall of President Ben Ali in Tunisia, followed by those of President Moubarak in Egypt and Colonel Kaddafi in Libya, France has been one of the West’s strongest and most vocal supporters of the "Arab" street protesters against their leadership. This support, however, has proven to be more declamatory than tangible. French diplomat EU chargé d'affaires to Syria, Anis Nacrour discusses the topic with Dr Rodger Shanahan, non-resident Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy. ...
Nov 05, 2013•1 hr 26 min
Historian and commentator on women, gender and feminism in Egypt, Margot Badran joins Sydney Ideas for a conversation with the University of Sydney’s Lucia Sorbera. Held on 15 October, 2013 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/margot_badran.shtml
Oct 15, 2013•1 hr 23 min
One of Chile’s leading political scholars, Professor Ana Maria Stuven, joins Sydney Ideas for an informative presentation on the changing role of women in the public sphere in her country. Held on 3 October, 2013 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/professor_ana_maria_stuven.shtml
Oct 03, 2013•52 min
2013 marks 150 years since the first of 55,000 Pacific Islander labourers (known as Australian South Sea Islanders or ‘ASSI’) were brought to Australia between 1863-1901, partly by kidnapping and in slave-like conditions to develop the sugar cane, pastoral and maritime industries. Over the past 20 years numerous community members have been involved in “The call for recognition” – a community initiated movement seeking federal government recognition of this community as a disadvantaged ethnic ide...
Aug 20, 2013•1 hr 11 min
I’m not creative, but... playfully investigates the role of creativity in all career paths, well beyond the so-called creative industries. Academics Rick Benitez, Wendy Davis, Iain McCalman AO, Judy Kay, and Martin Tomitsch, representing diverse disciplines including design, history, IT and philosophy, explain their views on creativity and its role in their careers to date. A Vivid Ideas event. For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/i...
Jun 03, 2013•1 hr 30 min
The Australian Constitution has not been amended for more than 35 years. In fact, with only 8 of 44 total referendums successful, changing our Constitution is a notoriously difficult task. With a referendum proposed for the near future and the daunting task of achieving a ‘yes’ vote, what is the likelihood of constitutional change? Will Australians be ready to erase the racial discrimination in our founding document and include significant recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aus...
May 23, 2013•1 hr 27 min
Vivien Lovell is a visual arts curator and founder of Modus Operandi, an independent public art consultancy organisation based in the UK. She has managed numerous national public art commissions for clients including London Docklands Development Corporation. She explores the fundamentally positive contribution public art can make to creating communities. For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/vivien_lovell.shtml
May 15, 2013•1 hr 20 min
Professor Rana Mitter, History and Politics of Modern China at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St Cross College, explores how the battered China of wartime became today’s superpower in the making – and why. For more information and speaker's biography see: tinyurl.com/jbga4ql
Apr 09, 2013•1 hr 29 min
American art historian and art critic, Professor Thomas Crow from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York, is best known for his influential writing on the role of art in modern society and culture. For this presentation he turns his attention to 1960s Pop Art, and examines it enduring legacy beyond the international counter-culture it originally represented. For more info and speaker's biography see this page: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2013/professor_thomas_crow.shtml
Mar 19, 2013•1 hr 33 min
A fascinating conversation with novelist and journalist Ahdaf Soueif who witnessed first-hand the Egyptian Revolution of January 2011. As the events in Egypt unfolded, she reported for The Guardian newspaper and her access to insider information played a key role in outsider understanding of the Arab Spring. Her published account of her participation in the revolution ‘Cairo: My city, our revolution’. She talks frankly about her compatriots’ commitment to revolution, and the hopes and dreams for...
Feb 27, 2013•1 hr 33 min
China is undergoing a radical transformation that is changing the lives of everyone who lives there – and reporters have a ringside sea. Five years as the BBC’s correspondent in China have given Michael Bristow a unique insight into daily life and the often perplexing political system in China. For more information and speaker's biography see: tinyurl.com/jma6l5o
Dec 06, 2012•1 hr
