Panel:

Professor Charles Godfray, Director, Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Food and author of the chapter How can 9-10 Billion People be Fed Sustainably and Equitably by 2050?
Professor Ian Goldin, Director, Oxford Martin School, Editor of Is the Planet Full? and author of the chapter Governance Matters Most
Professor Sarah Harper, Director, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, Oxford Martin School and author of the chapter Demographic and Environmental Transitions
Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Director, Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests, Oxford Martin School and author of the chapter The Metabolism of a Human-Dominated Planet
Dr Toby Ord, James Martin Fellow, Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology and author of the chapter Overpopulation or Underpopulation?
The panel will discuss whether our planet can continue to support a growing population estimated to reach 10 billion people by the middle of the century.

The panel discussion will be followed by a book signing and drinks reception.

This panel discussion will be live webcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFIqDQP1Vjc

About the Book:
What are the impacts of population growth? Can our planet support the demands of the ten billion people anticipated to be the world’s population by the middle of this century?

While it is common to hear about the problems of overpopulation, might there be unexplored benefits of increasing numbers of people in the world? How can we both consider and harness the potential benefits brought by a healthier, wealthier and larger population? May more people mean more scientists to discover how our world works, more inventors and thinkers to help solve the world’s problems, more skilled people to put these ideas into practice?

In this book, leading academics with a wide range of expertise in demography, philosophy, biology, climate science, economics and environmental sustainability explore the contexts, costs and benefits of a burgeoning population on our economic, social and environmental systems.

Join us for a critical review of the extent to which businesses promote HR in practice. Talk of corporate responsibility, pro-bono schemes and language of sustainability and accountability continues to increase but in reality are businesses doing enough to promote and protect Human Rights? There will be the chance to talk more informally with the speakers after the event over drinks and nibbles.

Panel Speakers: Rae Lindsay (Clifford Chance), Peter Frankental (Amnesty International)

Chair: Dr Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, University of Reading

The Anglo-Scottish Border: a Photographic Tour
With Tim Porter, lecturer

Medieval Scotland Afternoon Tea Lecture Series

Tuesday 25 November, 2–4pm
At the Ashmolean Museum (Lecture Theatre)

With the 2014 referendum for Scottish independence, the historic relationship between Scotland and England has recently been a prevalent topic of political discussion. This year also marks the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn, a significant Scottish victory in the First War of Scottish Independence. These lectures explore three key aspects of the Anglo-Scottish relationship during the Middle Ages.

Tickets are £9/£8 concessions (includes tea & cake), and booking is recommended as places are limited.
Visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/events/Lectures/?id=132

This is a monthly free meeting. This week we have two main talks, one on creating 360degree tours of buildings using Google business, (basically using street view you can walk in and tour round certain buildings) and another creating a title sequence with After Effects & Photoshop. Guest speakers: Guy Henstock and Sathya Vijayendran

Public meeting. Twenty minute talk, one hour discussion. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or participate actively in the discussion. Free entry, no need to book.

Ever more people are interested in the social impact that organisations are creating beyond their contributions to the economy (gross value added, employment, etc.). Despite an existent tradition of cost-benefit analyses and other types of evaluations, a genuine interest in assessing ‘social effects’ rigorously is only about to manifest itself. Yet, available methods for assessing social impact often leave social aspects like the strengthening of social cohesion, the enhancement of participation or the reduction of conflict relatively unaddressed.

The talk will outline how we can grasp such perceptibly unfathomable social effects, both conceptually and empirically.

Gorgi Krlev is a DPhil student at Kellogg College and a research associate at the Centre for Social Investment (CSI) at the University of Heidelberg.

Professor Traute Meyer, Southampton

Twenty minute introductory talk, one hour discussion. Free entry, no need to book, all welcome.

Professor Neil Davidson (Glasgow) ‘Why wasn’t England like China? Western absolutism and the road to the tributary state’

Professor David Parker (Leeds) ‘Absolute Monarchy: Recharging Feudalism’

What does our “tax-competitive” regime mean, and whose interests does it serve? Discussion with John Christensen of the Tax Justice Network.

Ten years ago, New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman shone a light on how the world was ‘flattening’; how the convergence of world events and new technologies had opened up the global supply chain to previously excluded economies. His book The World is Flat captured a pivotal moment in the 21st Century, examining the trends, opportunities and challenges this ‘next new world’ presented to countries, companies and individuals.

Ten years on, the writer will offer new insights into the effects of technological change, globalisation, economic crisis and political turmoil, in a lecture that promises to be thought-provoking and challenging.

Registration required – http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/event/2122

What would it mean, in the 21st century, for economic growth to come to an end? Why might this happen? Is a growthless or steady-state economy to be avoided—or, instead, pursued—at all costs? Is it true, as Schumpeter said, that “a stationary capitalism would be a contradictio in adjecto” or is a postgrowth capitalism perfectly feasible? The talk will hazard answers to these questions, and another: What are the prospects for a steady-state socialism or communism (or whatever you wish to call it)?

Benjamin Kunkel is a founding editor of n+1 magazine and the author of Indecision, a novel; Buzz, a play; and Utopia or Bust, a collection of essays about contemporary left economic and cultural theory. He writes for The London Review of Books, Dissent, Salvage, and other publications. He is at work on a book about the past and future of capitalism.

https://www.facebook.com/events/495653777253176/

The Oxford Guild is very excited to welcome Larry Hirst CBE, former Chairman of IBM EMEA, to speak on Thursday 7th May. This will be an incredibly insightful talk and is not one to be missed, especially for anyone interested in technology, business, or issues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The event will include a Q&A session open to the floor, and promises to cover a wide range of topics, as Larry discusses his high-profile and varied career. ALL ARE WELCOME!

DATE: Thursday 7th May 2015 (2nd Week)
TIME: 6:40pm
VENUE: Habakkuk Room, Jesus College
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE: http://tinyurl.com/LarryHirstIBMGuildTalk

Until his retirement from IBM in July 2010, Larry Hirst was chairman of IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He represented IBM to the European Commission and other authorities such as NATO and the EDA on issues of international public policy and business regulation. During his time as Chairman, IBM EMEA revenues grew to $35bn, with a workforce of 110,000 people. Previous roles in his 33-year career included Chairman of IBM Netherlands (2002-2010), the leadership of IBM’s business in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa (2002-2008).
Larry is passionate about the issues of diversity and inclusion and is an Ambassador to the Everywoman company (https://www.everywoman.com/) and Black British Business Awards (http://www.thebbbawards.com/), as well as a supporter of groups including the Asian Business Networks Association, the European Women’s Achievement Award, the Afro Caribbean Group, Stonewall, Whitehall in Industry, Asian Business Women, and Investors in Diversity.
Larry was appointed C.B.E. in 2006, in recognition of Services to the IT industry.

This event will be particularly insightful for anyone considering a career in technology or business, and there will be a Q&A session as part of the event.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Hungarian ambassador to London will discuss Hungary’s Euro-Atlantic integration after regaining freedom in 1989. His Excellency will not skirt sensitive questions such as Hungary’s position on Russia, or European energy security and its consequences for Hungary. He will also talk about the new Hungarian constitution.

During a speech in 1957, Prime Minister Harold MacMillan declared “our people have never had it so good”. Now, more than half a century later, are we fundamentally any better off? Through discussion of technological advances, social changes, political reforms, and economic shocks and recessions, this panel will seek to question whether the world we currently live in is indeed a better place than it was in the 1950s.

Chaired by Professor Brian Nolan, Professor of Social Policy, the panel will consist of:

*Dr Max Roser, James Martin Fellow at The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School
*Dr Anders Sandberg, James Martin Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute
*Professor Robert Walker, Professor of Social Policy

A drinks reception will follow, all welcome.

Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 7.30pm @ Film Oxford – FREE
Drones – Aerial Filming & Photography.

Everyone’s talking about Drones, come and find what the fuss is about! Speaker, Matthew Nicholson of HOLLYWOOD DRONES

Hollywood Drones is an aerial filming company based in Oxford. Fully licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority they film up to Ultra 4K using the same equipment as used by major broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV. Since setting up in 2014 they have established work for Sky Sports the National Trust and Oxford University as well as other Oxfordshire companies.

Matthew Nicholson is looking forward to visiting Film Oxford in May. His plan is to bring along all the kit with him so you can get close up and see what it is all about. Matt will explain what is involved in setting up and running the business from a legal perspective, how to operate drones legally and demonstrate some of their more recent short films. (Photos Hollywood Drones)

ALSO we will be having our ADOBE GROUPS raffle draw – one lucky person attending will win a year’s subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud!

We prefer if you can RSVP at our meetup page (but not compulsory)

Digital Film Editors (Oxford) MEET-UP PAGE
also

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/premiereandpostoxford

Film Oxford page (includes all previous meetings) http://www.filmoxford.org/adobeusergroups/

Joint meeting with Adobe Groups: Digital Film Editors (Oxford) and Oxford Digital Creative

How can the human economy become more sustainable in the face of a rapidly changing climate? Professor Cameron Hepburn, Director of the Economics of Sustainability programme at The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, will discuss new ways of assessing climate and economic risk, how to stimulate innovation in greener technologies, and the impacts of climate policy on the economy.

Join in on Twitter #2015climate

Join the Weidenfeld Scholars for an engaging debate on economic inequality moderated by Jon Snow. We will be engaging with what drives inequality, what economic, social and political impact inequality has and what policymakers ought to do to respond.

Format: The ‘Intelligence Squared’ debate format (Two speakers debating for, and two speakers debating against the motion).

Speakers:
For the motion:
Josh Spero (Editor, Spear’s Magazine)
Andreas Wesemann (Financial Services Advisory Group, Ashcombe Advisors).

Against the motion:
Vicky Pryce (Chief Economic Advisor, CEBR)
Alan Gray (Chairman, London Economics).

Moderator: Jon Snow.

Venue of debate: Danson Room, at Trinity College.
Time: 5 to 6.30pm, followed by drinks.

Twenty minute talk, one hour discussion. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or to take an active part in the discussion. Free entry, no need to book.

Twenty minute talk, Q&As, and an hour of discussion. Free entry, no need to book. You’re welcome to come along just to listen, or to take part actively in the discussion.

Six members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), including comedian and journalist Mark Thomas are taking legal action against the Metropolitan Police’s monitoring and keeping of their information on a database that deals with extremists. An illustrated talk by four of those in the case discuss how journalists documenting protest are coming under surveillance. The panel includes photojournalist and campaign photographer Jess Hurd, Video Journalist Jason N Parkinson and Photographer David Hoffman, chaired by curator of OVADA’s current Resistance is Fertile exhibition, Adrian Arbib.

The award-winning video journalist and campaign filmmaker, Zoe Broughton, has spent more than 20 years putting herself on the frontline – going undercover at an animal-testing lab, being chased by police while filming on a high-speed motor boat and dodging landmines in Burma! Zoe presents an illustrated talk about her work at OVADA as part of their current Resistance is Fertile exhibition.

A discussion about the ethics of Arts Sponsorship with Jeremy Spafford, Director of Arts at the Old Fire Station, and representatives from arts activists Art Not Oil – a network is dedicated to taking creative disobedience against institutions such as Tate, National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum until they drop their oil company funding. Together the panel will explore the ethics of sponsorship at a time where funding for the arts continues to be drastically cut. Who is it acceptable to take money from and what is the price that we pay? [IMAGE: Liberate Tate]

Will Hutton will share his views on the ways in which we, as a community, can forge a better society.

‘TRADE IN UK-AFRICA RELATIONS’: Event taking place on July 1st at Oxford Brookes University.

This is part of an ESRC seminar series on British Policy after Labour: Coalition, Austerity, Continuity and Change.

This seminar, the fifth in a series of seven and the first since the Conservative election victory in May, will focus on Trade in UK-African Relations and will feature a number of prominent speakers from the worlds of academia, policy and civil society.

It starts with coffees at 1030 and ends at 1630 (a buffet lunch will be provided).

Places are limited so if you are interested in attending could you please confirm by sending an email to me (shurt@brookes.ac.uk) as early as possible.

If you would like to read more about the ESRC series and previous/upcoming seminars then please take a look at our website – http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/bisa-africa/uk-africa-policy/ – or follow us on Twitter @UKAfricaSeminar.

I have also written summaries of the main themes of the four seminars on my blog – http://internationalpoliticsfromthemargin.net/

Join Curator Katie Hill for an exhibition tour of WASTELANDS, a group show of contemporary Chinese art at OVADA this summer. Katie will provide background to the project and will introduce work by each of the eight exhibitors, which includes renowned artist, Ai Weiwei. Katie Hill is Director of the Office of Contemporary Chinese Art (OCCA) and course leader of Asian Art and its Markets at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London.

This is a FREE event – just turn up!

Venue: OVADA warehouse – 14A Osney Lane – Oxford – OX1 1NJ

For further information visit: www.ovada.org.uk/wastelands-tour

Join us for the Oxford launch of the new NoNonsense series

Panelists:

Maggie Black, author of NoNonsense International Development

A former co-editor of New Internationalist, Maggie has written numerous books on development subjects. She has worked as a consultant writer and editor for UN and other international organizations and for NGOs including Save the Children, WaterAid and Anti-Slavery International. She is also the author of the No-Nonsense Guide to International Development.

Peter Stalker, author of NoNonsense The Money Crisis

Peter is a former co-editor of the New Internationalist who now works as a communications consultant to UN agencies. He has edited the global Human Development Report, and produced many other UN reports on economic and social issues. He is also the author of the No-Nonsense Guide to International Migration.

Danny Chivers, author of NoNonsense Renewable Energy

Danny is an environmental writer, carbon analyst and performance poet. He is actively involved in climate justice groups such as Art Not Oil, Reclaim the Power and No Dash For Gas. He is also the author of The No-Nonsense Guide to Climate Change.

The launch will begin with a panel discussion, introduced and led by Chris Brazier (New Internationalist Co-editor) along with special guest Danny Dorling (Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford, and author of many books including the No-Nonsense Guide to Equality and Inequality and the 1%).

The discussion will be followed by an opportunity for questions from the audience, drinks and a chance to buy copies of the new series.

About the NoNonsense Series:

The all-new NoNonsense books cut through the noise and hype surrounding today’s big issues. Concise, comprehensive and critical, they get to the heart of the matter.

FAQs

What are the transport/parking options getting to the event?

Ruskin College is easily accessible by car with ample free parking on site.

Local buses: 280 and U1 — exit at Headington Shops.

After 1989, capitalism has successfully presented itself as the only realistic political-economic system – a situation that the banking crisis of 2008, far from ending, actually compounded.

So, what do you do about capitalism if you live in a world where it is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism?

As the Tories begin a new round of attacks on education and the welfare state, Mark Fisher the author of Capitalist Realism, comes to Ruskin to try and answer this question.

Room 2.09

All welcome, organised by Ruskin College students.

Contact: Peter Dwyer for more information: pdwyer@ruskin.ac.uk

Talk followed by questions and answers.

The extraction of oil and the mining of coal are devastating communities across the world. These operations have forced people from their land, polluted the environment, and led to widespread human rights violations.

According to the Colombia Human Rights Data Analysis Group, an estimated 9,000 people were murdered and 3,000 have disappeared in Casanare over the past two decades. One of those kidnapped was Gilberto Torres, who is bringing a case for compensation against BP and other oil companies in the High Court in London with the help of law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn (DPG) in the UK and Francisco Ramirez Cuellar in Colombia.

The Centre for Global Politics, Economy and Society at Oxford Brookes University, and UCU Oxford Brookes would like to invite you to a special event as part of the campaign tour ‘OIL JUSTICE NOW! Stop Corporate Impunity’ led by the NGO War on Want in partnership with the law firm Deighton Pierce Glynn and the organisation Cos-Pacc (see attached poster for further details).

Speakers are:

– Sue Wilman (Human Rights Lawyer, Deighton Pierce Glynn)
– Gilberto Torres (Former trade unionist with Union Sindical Obrera in Colombia)
– Dr Lara Montesinos Coleman (University of Sussex)
– Francisco Ramirez Cuellar (trade unionist and lawyer with the Colombian Unified Trade Union Federation)

Gilberto Torres is a former trade unionist with Union Sindical Obrera, representing workers in the oil industry. He was abducted and tortured by paramilitaries in 1992 and now lives in exile. Gilberto believes his abduction was ordered and assisted by Ocensa, a joint venture pipeline company part-owned and operated by BP.

Francisco Ramirez Cuellar is a trade unionist and lawyer with the Colombian Unified Trade Union Federation. He has been targeted and threatened because of his legal and campaigning work challenging multinationals who have committed serious environmental and human right abuses in Colombia.

Chaired by Dr Maia Pal (Oxford Brookes University)