Sydney Ideas

Stranded Down Under: Are fossil fuels bankrupting our nation both financially and ecologically? Numerous industrialised nations are taking to reduce their emissions and shift the world's energy system from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Yet Australia is set to invest over AUD 100 billion in new coal mining developments over the next 15 years. Who is footing the bill for these projects in Australia? All Australians are, through compulsory superannuation schemes that invest in the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. Ben Caldecott, founder of Oxford University’s Stranded Assets Programme and author of the recent report Stranded Down Under? Environment related factors changing China’s demand for coal and what this means for Australian coal assets, sheds light on the ramifications of Australia’s fossil fuel addiction and how individuals can divest in funding this industry. Introduction by Dr John Hewson, chair of The Asset Owners Disclosure Project, an independent not-for-profit global organisation whose

Tom Szaky dropped out of Princeton University to found TerraCycle, a company that started by selling an organic fertiliser for plants made from worm poo in reused soft drink bottles. Today his company collects and recycles over 100 different kinds of products that were considered 'non-recyclable' garbage, in over 24 different countries. TerraCycle has been called the “Google of Garbage” by the New York Times and the “the coolest little start-up in America” by Inc. Magazine. Tom's first book was 'Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle Is Redefining Green Business'. His latest book is 'Outsmart Waste: The Modern Idea of Garbage and How to Think Our Way Out'. For his Sydney Ideas presentation he detailed the research in the book that reveals how by mimicking nature and focusing on the value inherent in our by-products, we can transform the waste we can’t avoid creating from useless trash to a useful resource. A Sydney Ideas event on 3 March, 2014 http://sydney.edu.au//sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/tom_szaky.shtml

Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20 In the lead up to the OECD G20 Leaders Summit to be held in Brisbane in November in 2014 we we were delighted to welcome Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, to the University of Sydney. In her exclusive presentation for Sydney Ideas she underlined the economic dimension and imperative (beyond the moral and fairness issue) of reducing the gender gap and enhancing the role of women in economies and societies at large. Introduction by Marian Baird Professor of Employment Relations and Director of the Women and Work Research Group in the University of Sydney Business School. A Sydney Ideas event on 2 October, 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/gabriela_ramos.shtml

An Arts Matters Forum - Why Feminism Matters Compared with 30 years ago women are now better represented in politics but there is still more to be done. Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard are examples of women gaining important leadership positions, but not the top job. So how far have women come in terms of political leadership and shaping the public policy agenda? Do men and women do politics differently? Do women have different interests to men and how should these be incorporated into political decision-making? How might contemporary feminism contribute to improving women's position in politics. This forum included leading international political scientists along with Australian academics and researchers in a robust discussion on the state of contemporary feminism. Forum Participants: Rebecca Huntley, writer and social researcher Karen Beckwith, Flora Stone Mather Professor in the Department of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Stephen and Evalyn Milman P

BAFTA and MOBO award-winning UK hip hop artist and writer Akala joins a panel of local hip hop artists, students and activists to talk about the evolution of socially conscious hip hop music, and its inspiration for a new generation of artists and activists. After an acknowldegment of Country by DOBBY, and an introduction by Uncle Ken Canning and Dr Omid Tofighian the first panel discuss 'Race Consciousness and Hip Hop'. Chair: Frank Trotman-Golden (Indij Hip Hop Show) Panel: Kaiya Aboagye, PhD Candidate, the University of Sydney Akala, BAFTA and MOBO award winning UK hip hop artist and writer Tasman Keith, Emcee and performer Kween G Kibone, Emcee and performer, radio producer and presenter and youth activist More information: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/akala_and_artists_in_conversation.shtml

BAFTA and MOBO award-winning UK hip hop artist and writer Akala joins a panel of local hip hop artists, students and activists to talk about the evolution of socially conscious hip hop music, and its inspiration for a new generation of artists and activists. 'Community Empowerment' Chair: Frank Trotman-Golden (Indij Hip Hop Show) Panellists: Professor Juanita Sherwood, Academic Director of the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney Akala, BAFTA and MOBO award winning UK hip hop artist and writer Evelyn Araluen Corr, PhD Candidate, the University of Sydney Emelda Davis, Australian South Sea Islanders NSW State Alliance More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/akala_and_artists_in_conversation.shtml

If a Climate Emergency is Possible, is Everything Permitted? Professor Stephen Gardiner, Professor of Philosophy and Ben Rabinowitz Endowed Professor of Human Dimensions of the Environment, University of Washington In the face of escalating climate change, some scientists are pushing for a serious research program on a dramatic global ‘techno-fix’: the injection of sulphate particles into the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight. This approach to geoengineering - roughly, the ‘intentional manipulation of the planetary environment’ - is often justified by appeal to the threat of a climate emergency. Professor Stephen Gardine argues that this argument threatens to be ethically short-sighted and to encourage creative myopia. It also underestimates what some opponents mean when they refer to sulfate injection as ‘a necessary evil’. As a result, even if the emergency argument is in some sense valid, it misses much of what is at stake in thinking about geoengineering, especially from an ethical point of view

One of America’s leading political scientists, Peter Katzenstein, is particularly interested in the relevance of cultural categories for the analysis of world politics. In his lecture for Sydney Ideas he offered a critique of the Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilization theory that conflict between distinct groups based on religion and cultural identities (eg Western, Islamic, Sinic) is inevitable, and will dominate in the post cold–war period. The emphasis on the unity and uniformity of different civilizations and hence on sharp differences among civilizations is misguided. Civilizations are better thought of in pluralist rather than unitary terms. Civilizations are unique in important respects, but equally they are embedded in a global context of interactions with other civilizations that influence them without robbing each of its distinctiveness. Instead of focusing on the clash of civilizations, we should concentrate on studying encounters and engagements among civilizations that shape their futures as m

Loretta Napoleoni is an expert on financing of terrorism and advises governments and international organization on counter-terrorism. In her lecture for Sydney Ideas she outlines how the response of George Bush to 9/11 triggered a chain of events which led to the credit crunch and to the current crisis of the Euro. A Sydney Ideas event on 30 August, 2010 sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/loretta_napoleoni.shtml

Professor Esther M Sternberg MD and Professor Ian Hickie AM How do the emotions affect our physical and mental health? What is the science that shows how brain and body interact to make us sick or well? Two of the world’s leading researchers exposed and explored the pathways within the brain through which our emotions connect with our bodies. Professor Sternberg presented the results of her decades of research showing how nerves, molecules, and hormones connect the brain and immune system, how the immune system signals the brain and affects our emotions, and how our brain can signal the immune system, making us more vulnerable to illnesses. She illustrated how these links work and discussed what the implications can be for treatable and chronic diseases. Professor Hickie discussed studies conducted by the Brain and Mind Research Institute that indicate the role the emotions play in the developing adolescent brain and identify, which factors are likely to lead to serious mental illnesses such as schizophren

Michael Oppenheimer was the Lead Author on the Third and Fourth Assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). His scientific understanding of global warming provides a framework for developing response policies at the local, national and international levels. Oppenheimer reviews this evidence in order to present a framework for policies to mitigate emissions and adapt to some level of inevitable warming. He also discuss changes in the relations among nations in the climate arena which were evident at Copenhagen and recent developments related to the public communication of the science of climate change. A Sydney Ideas event on 23 Feb, 2010 : http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/professor_michael_oppenheimer.shtml

Paul Gilding argues that we have entered a period of global ecological crisis and economic stagnation that will last for decades. This will lead to an economic and social transformation of significance in the history of humanity. Paul Gilding has been an activist and social entrepreneur for 35 years, his personal mission is to lead, inspire and motivate action globally on the transition of society and the economy to sustainability. A Sydney Ideas talk on 29 April, 2009 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2009/great_disruption.shtml

Maude Barlow is a Canadian activist and author who travels the world telling a simple and compelling truth: we are running out of water. And with that, comes devastating consequences. The author of Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right of Water explains the phenomena of “hot stains”, where large areas of the earth’s surface are running out of clean, drinkable water and describes this as “the most important ecological and human threat of our time.” Barlow is informed and passionate and gives a frank assessment of the state of water in Australia. “You have a right to be really angry with your governments,” she says. “What we’re looking at here are years and years of mismanagement, collusion with corporate and special interest organisations and industries, ignoring scientific, environmental warnings that were crystal clear at the time when some of these crises could have averted much more easily.” A Sydney Ideas talk on 3 September, 2008 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas

Environmental laws as presently conceived are incapable of addressing the fundamental challenges of the 21st Century such as climate change and the degradation of ecosystems. Cormac Cullinan makes the the case for an eco-centric approach to law and governance and explore the potential of Earth Jurisprudence and wild law to radically reshape law and society as we know it. He explores the implications of the rapidly emerging global movement for the rights of nature and the potential to use Earth rights as a platform for building the global solidarity necessary to bring about the rapid and far reaching cultural change necessary to ensure a viable future for all. Cormac Cullinan is an author, practising environmental attorney and governance expert based in South Africa. His groundbreaking book Wild Law: A Manifesto for Earth Justice, has played a significant role in informing and inspiring a growing international movement to recognise rights for nature A Sydney Ideas event on 23 September, 2011 http://sydney.edu

The Mexican Revolution (1910–20) gave birth to a radical regime which, during the 1920s and 1930s, innovated in terms of state-building, social reform, and cultural policy, thus becoming a magnet for foreign journalists and intellectual tourists. But while American cultural commentators (John Reed, Frank Tannenbaum, Carleton Beals and others) were often sympathetic, the British – D H Lawrence, Graham Greene, Aldous Huxley, Evelyn Waugh, and Malcolm Lowry – were highly critical. This talk by Professor Emeritus Alan Knight (University of Oxford) focuses on the British, asking why they were so negative, what they objected to, and what they tell us about the Mexican revolutionary project – or about themselves, and the interwar British society to which they belonged. More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_alan_knight.shtml

Ordinary atoms that make up the visible universe, from the smallest molecules to planets and stars, constitute only 5% of all matter and energy in the cosmos. The remaining 95% is invisible, and comprises two mysterious components commonly dubbed dark matter and dark energy. In this talk Professor Manfred Lindner (Director at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and a professor at the faculty for physics and astronomy of Heidelberg University, Germany) reviews what we currently know about the 'dark side' of the universe, and discuss the state-of-the-art of the ongoing hunt for the dark matter being pursued in underground laboratories, using satellites in space, and at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. More info:http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/professor_manfred_lindner.shtml

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise 27% of the prison population but represent only 3 % of the Australian population. Justice health professionals often grapple with providing culturally competent care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody. However these clinical challenges cannot be viewed in isolation without interrogating broader organisational, societal and political structures and attitudes. Efforts to reduce Indigenous prison numbers and provide meaningful correctional health care require a multi-levelled approach across a variety of sectors with an accompanying honest socio-political discourse. This presentation by Dr Stephane Shepherd, Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar in Cultural Competence will canvas some of the broader societal influences underpinning Indigenous imprisonment and consider potential medico-legal and community responses to address these issues. More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/NCCC_stephane_shepherd.shtml

Professor Rajesh Thakker FRS FMedSci from the University of Oxford delivers a lecture in the 21st Century Medicine series of public lectures.

The educational landscape today is marked by numerous texts for teachers that identify ‘what works’ in the classroom and ‘best practices’ for bolstering student achievement in different subjects. Although these guides may provide valuable information for educators, they frequently ignore a central imperative of critical studies in education to situate educational knowledge within the contexts in which it is produced. This lecture by Professor Frances Vavrus (Program in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota) draws upon research at the intersection of postcolonial studies, anthropology of education, and global and comparative education to address a vital question: How do different epistemologies and material conditions of teaching affect educators’ conceptions of ‘good teaching’ and its potential enactment in their schools? A Sydney Ideas event for the Education and Social Work Dean's Lecture Series http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/ESW_deans_lecture_

For our 2016 Chaser lecture we bring you Indonesia’s first female Muslim stand-up comedian and freedom of expression advocate, Sakdiyah Ma’ruf (winner of the 2015 Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent). In conversation with Julian Morrow from The Chaser, Sakdiyah talks comedy, religion and where to draw the line. MORE ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Sakdiyah Ma‘ruf is a standup comedian based in Jakarta who has become known in her country and around the world as one of the most distinctive voices of Indonesian Muslim women. She was named one of the Laureates of Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent for her work in comedy, joining various unknowns such as Ai Weiwei, Pussy Riot and Aung San Su Kyi. She holds a Masters Degree in American Studies and does research and academic writing with specific interests in women, identity, minority, comedy, humor, and pop culture. Her work as an interpreter has gained her trust from international organisations such as UNFPA, ICRC (International Committee for Red Cros