Skip is a World-Class speaker, one of Anthony Robbins master trainers and has become increasingly well-known on the international stage. He is dedicated to changing lives globally and has just returned from a yoga retreat in Peru and speaking at the largest Asian conference on dietary health – an event which saw over 5,000 attendees and 200 doctors speaking; Skip opened the event and was one of the keynote speakers.

http://www.oxfordyesgroup.org/?q=node/110

£7 (£4 conc) on the door or £5 in advance.

Sunday Assembly, the phenomenal godless congregation, has come to Oxford. It is one hour pure celebration of this life we share. With sing along, readings (from poetry), and a guest speaker. it takes the format of a church service, but it does not have the backdrop of any deity (you can have yours in your heart and keep yours there).

This launch party is on a Saturday, to accommodate the schedule of Sanderson Jones, who is doing this amazing and tiring 40 dates roadshow, who is going to be our host of the day. Our speaker is Mark Leonard. He will give a talk on mindfulness. Hence the theme of the party is “Be Here Now – Appreciating the Present” This is definitely fit for the motto “live better”. Sunday Assembly Motto: “live better, wonder more, help often.”

This is an event catered for all ages, children are welcome, and there are activities for them to do.

Get ready to Party!

Water: perspectives from science and industry

Is climate change science a barrier to flood management decision making? | Jon Wicks, Global Technology Leader – Flood Modelling, CH2M HILL

What is the risk of drought in the Thames basin? | Jim Hall, Environmental Change Institute

Seminars are open to everyone and are followed by a drinks reception. Please register to attend at: https://bookwhen.com/7seqd

The Activities Development Service (Coasters) find ways of engaging with users of the mental health services using a non-medical model of approach, and a philosophy of shared experience and challenge, through sport and outdoor activities to promote recovery and challenge negative perceptions. The lecture will discuss the impact of the approach in terms of well being and development, and in terms of the growing movement fuelled by participants, on the National and International stage.

Join us for our screening of Pandora’s Promise, which will be followed by a conversation between Robert Stone, Academy-Award ® nominated Director of Pandora’s Promise, and Professor Ian Goldin, Director, Oxford Martin School

Film synopsis: The atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we’ve got nuclear power wrong? Pandora’s Promise asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty. In his controversial new film, Stone tells the intensely personal stories of environmentalists and energy experts who have undergone a radical conversion from being fiercely anti to strongly pro-nuclear energy, risking their careers and reputations in the process. Stone exposes this controversy within the environmental movement head-on with stories of defection by heavyweights including Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger. Undaunted and fearlessly independent, Pandora’s Promise is a landmark work that will forever change the conversation about the myths and science behind this deeply emotional and polarising issue.

Speaker: Robert Stone, Cinematographer, Director, Writer and Producer

The screening and discussion will be followed by a drinks reception. All welcome, please register http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/event/1718

Councillor John Tanner will be discussing Oxford City Council’s plans to tackle air pollution in Oxford. Hosted by Oxford Friends of the Earth. Free, all welcome!

Circus ring mistress and founder of the delightful Gifford’s Circus Nell Gifford, will be here in the Pitt Rivers Museum to talk about Gifford Circus, about how this year’s show ‘Lucky 13’ came together and how puppets were used to fabulous and entertaining effect.

This year’s set designs and visual aesthetic were heavily influenced by shadow puppets here in the Pitt Rivers Museum collections and the Gifford Circus puppets from ‘Lucky 13’ are currently on display here at Pitt Rivers Museum until the 17th of November.

Further information and tickets from:
http://www.oxfordyesgroup.org/?q=node/107

Professor Harry Witchel is our invited speaker for the coming SciBar. Join us for this fascinating talk on the subtle ways we communicate with our bodies…. This is a free event open to all

As Artist in Residence, choreographer Rosie Kay has been mining the Pitt Rivers for inspiration for several professional works and in April choreographed the first dance work ever performed at the Pitt Rivers Museum as part of the Twilight Takeover. Rosie will discuss her various approaches to working with the museum objects, and how she translates objects or spaces into dance works.

Renowned for her in-depth research processes, including an embedment with the British Military, Kay will discuss the importance of understanding your inspiration, as well allowing the reverse to occur. In not knowing the full history of an object, an intuitive conversation can occur. Focusing on ideas of transformation, Kay asks how the inanimate can be animated, and if performance in unusual spaces transforms the space, the performer, or the audience.

FREE, no pre-booking required. All welcome

Climate extremes, water stress and collective management: lessons from irrigation systems and transboundary rivers in three contested basins

Speakers: Dustin Garrick (Oxford University) and Sergio Villamayor-Tomas (Humboldt University)

Over 40% of the world population will live in river basins experiencing severe water stress by 2050 according to the OECD Environmental Outlook. This is not a distant challenge, however. Droughts, floods and rapidly growing demands already present ‘stress tests’ for semi-arid regions facing scarce water supplies and limited infrastructure to manage floods. Such disturbances unfold over different scales from the local to the global and span over short and long periods of time. This presentation presents theory and evidence about issues of scale, disturbances and policy responses in community-based and transboundary water management. Field work in Australia, Spain, and the US is used as the launching pad for a new collaborative project in the Rio Grande Basin along the US-Mexico border.

This seminar is open to all and is part of the OISD seminar series for Autumn 2013.

The speaker will be Dr Tim Chatterton, Senior Research Fellow, University of the West of England

Tim has worked at the interface of science and policy for over 15 years, including numerous local authorities and a number of government Departments including DECC, Defra, DfT and DCLG. From an original background in air pollution, his work has increasingly encompassed public health, carbon emissions/climate change, and energy demand. He works across both environmental and social sciences and has become convinced that the challenge of communicating climate science is matched by that of communicating social science

The seminar will begin at 5pm and will finish at 6:15pm with drinks.

Princeton University Press Europe requests the pleasure of your company at the first Princeton in Europe Christmas Lecture.

Princeton author and BBC producer David Edmonds will be discussing the ideas within his new book “Would you Kill the Fat Man? The Trolley Problem and What Your Answer Tells Us about Right and Wrong” with Nigel Warburton, followed by a reception of drinks and canapés.

This is a great opportunity to attend a festive book talk held in the grandest of venues!

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10074.html

FREE EVENT
Thursday 12th December, 6.15pm for a 6.30pm start
The Randolph Sculpture Gallery
The Ashmolean Museum
Beaumont Street
Oxford, OX1 2NP

Please RSVP to Katie Lewis on 01993 814 506 or princeton_publicity@pupress.co.uk

The next few years are crucial for the global climate. There are suggestions from many quarters that previous approaches to international co-operation on climate change have been misguided and that fresh thinking is needed. At the same time, the processes of the international climate negotiations are a mystery to many, including those who take an active interest in climate change as academics and/or engaged citizens.

The aim of this session is therefore twofold:

to allow such people to gain an understanding of the current state of play in global climate negotiations
to debate the future priorities for international action on climate change.
The panelists will speak for 10 minutes, giving their own perspectives on the most recent COP meetings, especially the recent events in Warsaw and the most important issues, challenges and constraints that will be or should be discussed at the Paris COP. There will then be a moderated Q&A session.

Participants:
Andrew Light, Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy on Climate Change in the US Department of State and Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, George Mason University
Jake Werksman, Principal Advisor in DG Climate Action, European Commission

Chair: Dr Benito Müller, Associate Fellow, Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford

This debate will be followed by a drinks reception, all welcome.

John Bowers QC (Littleton Chambers) – Tolerating the intolerant: what rights do British National Party members have to profess their views?’

John Bowers was leading council in Redfearn v UK, a landmark ECtHR which discusses the intersection between freedom of association and employment discrimination claims

Nancy Fraser is a renowned scholar on the theories and conception of justice. She is the co-author of Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange and the author Fortunes of Feminism: From State-Managed Capitalism to Neoliberal Crisis

Visiting Fellows Lunchtime Seminar Series – Critical Social Innovation in the ‘Smart City’ era for a City-Regional European Horizon 2020

Igor Calzada (COMPAS)
Chair: Kalypso Nicolaïdis (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Thanks to new technologies , citizen science has seen huge growth over the past decade, opening up important scientific research to the masses and harnessing the power of the crowd. Ranging from classifying new galaxies to monitoring wildlife in the Serengeti, the Zooniverse stable of citizen science projects led by Dr Chris Lintott has seen incredible success. But what does the future hold for citizen science – does it have the power to help in real life situations such as disaster zones? And what are the implications when dealing with huge amounts of potentially sensitive data in real time?

Speakers:

Dr Chris Lintott, Director, Programme on Computational Cosmology, Oxford Martin School
Dr Brooke Simmons, James Martin Fellow, Programme on Computational Cosmology, Oxford Martin School

Join us for the first in a series of three seminars discussing the notion that information communication technologies can be used to break down boundaries to learning and participation in society. ‘Digital Communities’ will address the role of online communities and social networks in promoting participation in political, social and educational interest groups and community perspectives on digital inclusion.

See our website for more information: www.breakingboudariesoxford.org

We will also have a live online stream for those of you who are not able to make it in person – http://breakingboundariesoxford.org/?page_id=414

BBC Arts Editor, Will Gompertz talks to Modern Art Oxford Director, Paul Hobson about the galleries 2014 exhibition programme.

Edward’s talk will highlight
many of the country’s most magnificent ancient trees and also discuss the various methods used to determine their ages, based on his work documenting, and promoting the protection of, ancient trees over the last 15 years, during which time he has been co-author and photographer for the book Ancient Trees –
Trees That Live For A Thousand Years. He will also talk about
the environmental and cultural importance of ancient trees such as oak, yew, chestnut and lime.
All Winter Lecture Series lectures take place at 8.00pm at the Saïd Business School (adjacent to the railway station) in Oxford. Tickets cost £12 per lecture or £54 for the whole series of 5 (ticket price includes a glass of wine).

For more details, visit: http://www.botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk/whatson

Mansfield Lecture Series, Convenor Baroness Helena Kennedy QC

Natalie Bennett – leader of the Green Party – will be delivering a speach questioning the government’s hardline stance on immigration.

Ask your questions about mental health to the Human Search Engine. Our panel of voices of experience will give your answers, and let you have an insight into mental health, stereotypes and stigma. FREE.

Children and Theology – Religion at School: PRO et CONTRA
Talk and discussion by Dr Alexey Kostyanovsky
Magdalen College, the Oscar Wilde room
Alexey is head of Theology at Magdalen College School, Oxford. He studied Theology at Moscow and holds a Ph.D. from Manchester university. His thesis was on the interpretation of the Royal Psalms. He has been teaching religious studies and theology in British schools for the past ten years.

Oxford Orthodox Christian Student Society,
Refreshments are provided.
Voluntary donations of £3 are welcome (on door)

Robin Ince is a tirelessy touring comedian whose act often delves into science and philosophy and all that. He is the host of Radio 4’s “Infinite Monkey Cage” and its stage show, and is responsible for the much-loved “9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People”.

Robin will be talking about his mind, the minds of others and their various shortcomings. He’ll also be discussing the worst of the online complaints and abuse that he has received about science and explaining how he has come to accept his inner idiot.

A short talk of around twenty minutes followed by questions to the speaker and discussion. All welcome.

British, French and American Attitudes and Policies Towards the Rebirth of Poland, 1914-1921
Denis Clark (Faculty of History, Oxford)
Chair: Mikołaj Kunicki (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

An experimental screening of the first lecture in Bruno Latour’s eight-part Scientific Humanities MOOC (Massive Open Online Course).