Shaping the future through debate
Join our Substack and get discounted tickets to Battle of Ideas festival.
From anxieties over hate speech to fears that we are all trapped in echo chambers, there’s no shortage of people keen to downplay the potential for us, the public, to come together to debate the important issues of the day – and importantly, to change the world for the better.
We beg to differ. In just over a month’s time – on 28 & 29 October, at Church House in central London – a crowd of 3,000 people will gather at Battle of Ideas festival, the flagship annual event convened by Academy of Ideas. They will include those from all walks of life, coming together to engage in intelligent discussion, often on challenging and controversial topics – and to hear around 400 speakers on around 100 different panels.
Such spaces are in short supply. Last week, for example, a session at the Rethinking Education conference, on the topic of indoctrination in education, had to be scrapped because some anonymous speakers and delegates wouldn’t take part alongside Don’t Divide Us director Alka Sehgal Cuthbert. Her crime was to call into question Critical Race Theory and the notion of ‘white privilege’.
At Battle of Ideas festival on the other hand, we operate according to the mottos Free Speech Allowed and Free Thinkers Welcome. We are particularly pleased to have Alka as a speaker, and perfectly confident that all those at the festival will rise to the challenge of listening to, engaging with and interrogating the views they encounter.
This is why the festival matters so much. It’s a chance to regroup and determine the shape that political debate and action should take over the next year. And it’s a chance to gather together people of all ages and outlooks – not because they agree on all issues (echo chambers are unhelpful) but because they agree we need a new approach to social change.
We have a special offer for all our AoI associates and Substack subscribers. Free subscribers to this Substack get 10% off weekend and one-day tickets using promo code Substack-BOIF23 (or just use the special link here).
AoI Associates get even bigger discounts and our paid Substack subscribers can use these Associate rates, too. And now is the time to buy, with the deadline for our ‘Early Bird’ prices coming up this week. Buy tickets here.
Over the coming weeks, our regular Substack will home in on many of the discussions planned for the festival – bringing you insights into the debates, feature views of some speakers through guest posts and you’ll hear from many of the huge array of organisations and campaigners who will be at festival
This Substack is one of our contributions to building a new solidarity that will allow us to be brave enough to grasp freedom. Get the word out and invite friends, frenemies, colleagues and family to join our community committed to free speech and civil disagreement. A community free from the toxic name-calling, instead using Reason to tackle today’s social, cultural and economic challenges, and breaking through the fragmentation and isolation that characterises how so many experience contemporary trends.
Sign up to receive this Substack and then buy your discounted Battle of Ideas festival ticket. See you there!
