Women are seriously underrepresented as composers, engineers, scholars and creators. In academia, for instance, 90% of applicants for undergraduate music technology courses were reported to be male (Born & Devine, 2015). Indeed, similar figures persist throughout all quarters of the music industry, as seen for instance at the Proms where over 90% of composers programmed are typically male (Women in Music, 2016).

Our talk explains how all-women spaces provide a possibility for change. We introduce socioculturally-framed research on collaborative learning (e.g., Claxton & Wells, 2002) and collaborative creativity (e.g., John-Steiner & Mahn, 2002), and relate stories of community orientated interventions for confidence building, risk taking and learning which led to the creation of the Yorkshire Sound Women Network in 2015. We subsequently outline the measurable achievements, narratives and insights gained from an all-women approach as a meaningful portal for change.

Dr Amy V Beeston

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sheffield, working in the ‘Speech and Hearing’ and ‘Music Mind Machine’ research groups. I develop tools to extract meaningful data from audio signals, and am particularly interested in using principles of human audition to improve the performance of machine listeners in everyday environments.

Dr Liz Dobson

I am a senior lecturer in music technology at the University of Huddersfield with an OU PhD in education and social psychology. My academic work examines relationships between community, learning and creative practice in music technology, leading me to create informal communities for knowledge sharing.

Featuring Professor Glen O’Hara (Oxford Brookes) and more TBC.

Dr John Reader launches his new book, published by Palgrave Macmillan – Theology and New Materialism: Spaces of Faithful Dissent. A panel presentation will preface a wider debate following chapters in the book which include not only issues of human agency and transcendence, but also the search for a New Enlightenment and practical issues of politics, aesthetics and technology.

The first synthetic virus self-replicated in 2002. Its DNA molecules were created in a laboratory, using genetic information copied from nature. In 2016 an international project, the Human Genome Project – Write, was launched to synthesise and recode entire human genomes.
Join a panel to discuss biosecurity and ethics, science fiction, practical limits and
possible futures related to our species.

Marianne Talbot is a bioethicist and Director of Studies in Philosophy at the University
of Oxford Department for Continuing Education.
Piers Millett is a Senior Research Fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute, where he
focuses on pandemic and deliberate disease and the implications of biotechnology.
Justina Robson is a science fiction author. Her novel Natural History, was reviewed by The Guardian: “clarity of vision now demonstrates itself as her major asset, making her one of the very best of the new British hard SF writers.”

Join us for the first in Blackwell’s free summer series of lunchtime events, where we will be joined by Greg Garrett author of ‘Living with the Living Dead’.
The zombie apocalypse is one of the most prominent narratives of the post 9/11 West, represented by popular movies, TV shows, games, apps, activities, and material culture. Greg explores why stories about the living dead serve a variety of functions for consumers and explains how representations of Death and the walking dead have appeared in other times of great stress and danger, including the Middle Ages and World War One.
Greg Garrett blogs on books, culture, religion, politics, travel, and food for The Huffington Post. He is the author or co-author of twenty books and one of America’s leading authorities on religion and culture.

Is it time to decolonise the curriculum?

The demand to decolonise education is growing ever louder. From Rhodes Must Fall in South Africa, and here in Oxford, to the “Why is my curriculum so white?” campaign at University College London, there is a call to make school and university curricula more representative and diverse. In January this year, students and academics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London hit the headlines with their campaign to Decolonise Our Minds because of newspaper reports that this would mean dropping Plato, Locke and Kant from the Philosophy syllabus. Meanwhile, the Faculty of History at the University of Oxford announced a major shakeup to its curriculum last month, as undergraduates will now have to sit a compulsory paper on non-British, non-European, history.

Are these sensible steps towards a more inclusive and diverse educational system, or an attempt to rewrite history around contemporary obsessions with identity and culture? Does the focus on recognising excluded voices serve to make a more inclusive educational system, or does the demand to decolonise risk reflecting back to students their own cultural identity rather than taking them beyond their existing cultural and intellectual horizons?

Speakers:

Rekgotsofetse (Kgotsi) Chikane is National President of InkuluFreeHeid, a non-partisan youth-led organisation that seeks to deepen democracy in South Africa. He is a former Mandela Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, and a recent YALI Mandela Washington Fellow, and a founding member of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign in South Africa.

Dr Cheryl Hudson is Lecturer in American History at the University of Liverpool. She was formerly the Academic Programme Director at the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford and was an Associate of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Kent, 2015-16. She has taught at Oxford, Sheffield, Coventry, Vanderbilt and Sussex. She is the author of, amongst other things, A Century of Academic Freedom (2016).

Professor Pekka Hämäläinen is Rhodes Professor of American History at the University of Oxford, and a fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford. He is a historian of early and nineteenth-century North America, specialising in indigenous, colonial, imperial, environmental, and borderlands history. His book, The Comanche Empire (Yale, 2008), received twelve awards, including the Bancroft Prize, the Merle Curti Award, and the Caughey Prize and has been translated into Spanish and French.
Kenan Malik is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster. He has presented Analysis, on BBC Radio 4, and Nightwaves, on BBC Radio 3, and was a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4’s The Moral Maze. Kenan is the author of numerous books, including Multiculturalism and its Discontents (Seagull, 2013), From Fatwa to Jihad: The Rushdie Affair and its Legacy (Atlantic, 2009 ), Strange Fruit: Why Both Sides are Wrong in the Race Debate (Oneworld, 2008), and The Meaning of Race: Race, History and Culture in Western Society (Palgrave, 1996). His latest book is The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics (2014).

Arts Festival website details: http://www.artsfestivaloxford.org/whats-on/debates-and-discussions/the-education-debate

A limited number of free tickets available – email jpanton@mcsoxford.org to reserve.

Join us for what promises to be an amazing evening filled with passion and opportunity to have fun!

The evening will feature a panel discussion on the experiences of the generation that became known as the Windrush generation.
The experiences from post-Windrush generations in the United Kingdom will be discussed by Professor Patricia Daley, Nigel Carter, Junie James and Hannah Lowe.

This will be followed by an evening of celebration of culture including African dance, Asian drums, poetry from Siana Bangura and spoken word including creative work from Brookes students.

Food and refreshments freely available.

Book here or contact Pam Fortescue pfortescue@brookes.ac.uk to register your interest.

What does it mean to be a feminist? Who can be a feminist? And is there a right and wrong way of doing it?

Join us on a unique journey through feminist history, adding your voice as we discuss key moments in literature, art, politics, music, sport, and science to develop our understanding of feminism.

You’ll discover knowledge you didn’t realise you had as we join together the pieces of feminist history and women’s achievements in this fun, interactive workshop.

We will identify different stages and criticisms of feminism and consider intersections with race, LGBTIQ, age, and disability politics. We look for silences and unacknowledged voices, and consider the privileges and biases in our own perspectives.

Andy will take you on a journey from the creation of ghetto’s to the rise of Hip-Hop as a critique against social and racial injustice. He will discuss the empowerment that has emerged through this form of art the consequences of its commercialisation. His talk will also question ‘what makes something a piece of art?’ and ‘how can creative wealth arise from financial poverty?’

Andy Ninvalle is a versatile artist, entrepreneur and renowned educator. In addition to leading the Dutch dance company Massive Movement. He has recently collaborated with Curtis Richardson, songwriter for Jeniffer Lopez and Rihanna and wrote and produced for the latest album of Polish Jazz Legend Michał Urbaniak. As a rapper and beatboxer, he breaks down barriers between different art forms through his collaborations with Earth Wind and Fire, the Polish National Philharmonic Orchestra and Jazz musician Candy Dulfer.

Growing up on the streets of Guyana, hip hop was Andy’s first language for self-expression. He is passionate about sharing his love for art, as well as advancing the education of black history and culture. He is a frequent speaker at high-schools throughout the Netherlands. He has given guest lectures and workshops at Penn State University and University of Troyes.

www.andyninvalle.com

How does the curriculum shape our society? Who decides what is important? How can it be improved? Our diverse panel of academics, activists and educators will dive into these and other questions related to the decolonisation of our curriculum.

Karma Nabulsi is Fellow in Politics at St Edmund Hall, lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) and UCU’s Equality Officer at the University.
She has won OUSU’s Special Recognition Award and the Guardian’s ‘Inspiring Leader’ award for her active involvement in improvement to education, including the open-access online course learnpalestine.politics.ox.ac.uk and the reform of the university’s PREVENT policy.

Neha Shah chairs the Oxford SU Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE) and Preventing Prevent Oxford. She organised the “Decolonise Oxford Now” rally. Previously, Neha was the BME rep at St Peter’s college. As part of this role, she set up a scholarship for refugees. She also writes for the New Statesman.

Nomfundo Ramalekana is an MPhil student in law, focussing on affirmative action. She is an active member of the Rhodes Must Fall movement.

Peggy Seeger is a singer, song-maker, multi-instrumentalist, feminist icon and member of one of America’s most loved folk dynasties. Now in her 80s she continues to tour and record with her two sons. Her memoir First Time Ever is published by Faber & Faber.

This seminar aims to address the difficulties met by disabled students and teachers in school and university and to hear more about what we can all do to ensure that those meeting such challenges enjoy the fullest possible access to education. The three speakers have direct personal experience of this issue and will share with the audience some of what has been done – and can still be done in future – to ensure that the education system allows disabled students the chance to thrive.

Speakers will include:

Dr Marie Tidball (Faculty of Criminology and Wadham College)
Luke Barbanneau (Teacher of Physics, Cherwell School)
Noah McNeill (Music Student and JCR Disability Representative, St Anne’s College)
All are welcome to attend.

Topical Talk by scientist, environmentalist and author COLIN TUDGE addressing the need for a radical approach to food and food production. Everyone in the world could be well fed without destroying our fellow creatures if only we farmed properly and re-learned how to cook. But governments and big business have lost the plot.
– So we – all of us – need to take control.

Ever felt like there was something you really wanted to say but you just weren’t sure how? We’re exploring the why and how of women’s speech and writing with the help of some amazing women writers and gender experts.

This is our fabulous launch for a feminist writing course to run in Oxford in early 2018.

The event will include presentations from rising-star feminist writers sharing their work and discussing what it means to express their gender in their writing.

There will be a chance to share your ideas about what feminist poetry means to you, how gender is expressed through poetry and language, what it means to write as your gender, and some of the challenges of writing women’s experiences, platforming a variety of voices in conversation.

We also invite presentations from YOU of your own work and/or that of your feminist heroes.

Kids and people of all genders welcome.

East Oxford Community Centre
Doors open 7.30pm (the bar will be open)

The Oxford constituency of the Spanish Researchers in the United Kingdom (SRUK) is holding a discussion panel entitled “Women in science and the glass ceiling” where three invited speakers will give a short talk about the topic, followed by a discussion where the attendees can actively participate.

The invited experts will highlight how the world of science needs to become accessible for everyone, women and girls. The discussion will cover the earlier stages of education, where children become interested in science, to the later stages of the scientific career, where excellent science and innovation require the talents of both women and men. We will evaluate why women’s progress in research is slow and why there are too few female scientists occupying top positions in scientific decision-making, limiting the important potential of highly skilled human capital.

The event will take place on the 18th of November at the The Jam Factory (Hollybush Row, Oxford, OX1 1HU) and it will start at 10:30AM.

This is a free event and open to the public, but registration is needed via Eventbrite.

Business today is intensely focussed on innovation, but what do we mean when we talk about ‘innovation’ and how do people innovate in practice? Standard approaches tend to involve case studies of innovative companies, where styles of innovation can differ markedly depending on the size, sector, and orientation of the business. Questions of creativity are approached in a variety of ways, ranging from methods of enhancing personal creativity to techniques of creative engagement for teams and corporations.

But are there enduring principles of innovation, and if so what are they? One stimulus to creativity is to step away from one’s immediate focus: listening to music and engaging with historical issues offer forms of such detachment. A focus on classical Greece brings one in contact with notable stories of innovation (the Greeks invented, among other things, the alphabet, money, and logic), while classical music of the 18th and 19th centuries provides clear examples of how creators build on the past to make something new. This talk aims to combine both approaches to present ‘classical perspectives’ on creativity and innovation.

Andrew Scheps is a multi-Grammy award winning music producer, engineer, mixer and record label owner based in Los Angeles and the UK.

His production and mix credits include the likes of Jay-Z, U2, Beyoncé, and Lana Del Ray; winning Grammys for his work with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Adele. He is also a long-time collaborator of Def Jam label boss Rick Rubin.

Andrew will present an overview of the effects of technology on the art of music making, from creation to transmission.

He will attempt to put recording and mixing into perspective as they relate to music and the music industry, looking at how the production process has evolved to become an art form in itself.

There will be an open Q&A at the end of the talk. Andrew is happy to cover anything from the art and science of studio production to his experiences working in the music industry and beyond.

Free and open to all. Advance booking advised. Please email reception@music.ox.ac.uk to reserve your seat.

In this Keynote Lecture, renowned philosopher A. C. Grayling will set out the case for a written constitution, to address the centuries-old anomaly that the UK has no formally agreed written Constitution, despite forming the model for constitutions around the world.

Professor Grayling will examine the constitutional questions raised by Brexit, and argue that now more than ever, it is time for the UK to debate and confirm a written constitutional Agreement of the People for the twenty-first century.

Professor Grayling lays out the terms of the debate:

The debate about the merits of written versus unwritten constitutions comes down to a debate about the merits of clarity versus flexibility in the intertwined operations of the political, legal, and governmental orders of a state.
It should also be a debate about consistency and transparency versus expediency and political over-plasticity, as recent events have demonstrated: on which ground, I argue for a written constitution.

A. C. Grayling is the Master of the New College of the Humanities, London, and its Professor of Philosophy, and the author of over thirty books of philosophy, biography, history of ideas, and essays. He is a columnist for Prospect magazine, and was for a number of years a columnist on the Guardian and Times.

He has contributed to many leading newspapers in the UK, US and Australia, and to BBC radios 4, 3, 2 and the World Service, for which he did the annual ‘Exchanges at the Frontier’ series; and he has often appeared on television. He has twice been a judge on the Booker Prize, in 2015 serving as the Chair of the judging panel.

He is a Vice President of the British Humanist Association, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

CARU | Arts re Search Annual Conference 2017

“What does it mean to research art / to research through art?”

CARU brings together artists and researchers for yet another day of cross-disciplinary exploration into arts research! The event will consist of an exciting mixture of talks and performances from a variety of creative and academic disciplines, including Fine Art, Live Art, Social Practice, Art History, Anthropology, Education, Science and Technology, to question and debate various areas of arts research, such as themes, material/form, documentation and practice methodology.

Keynote talk: ‘Resonances and Discords’
Speaker: Prof. Kerstin Mey
PVC and Dean, Westminster School of Media, Arts and Design, University of Westminster
“The presentation will explore research in art at the interface to other epistemological systems and approaches. Drawing on case studies, it will explore key strategies and tactical manoeuvres of knowledge making in order to explore the hermeneutics of practice led inquiry in the space of art.”

Presentations include:

“The artist in the boardroom: Action research within decision-making spaces”

“Exploring the Art space as fluid cultural site through the immediacy of the performance and its inherent collaborative ethos”

“Chapter 1 (draft): Using text in performance: a range of strategies”

“Memory and identity within Bosnia’s Mass Graves”

“Fermenting conversations”

“Arcade Interface Art Research”

“Making sounds happen is more important than careful listening (with cups)”

“Shadow:Other:myself / photographic research from 2010”

“Un-knowing unknowing in painting as research”

“Developing an artistic epistemology”

Register at: www.ars2017.eventbrite.co.uk

Our Marriages: When Lesbians Marry Gay Men 奇缘一生 —Documentary Screening and Talk with Director He Xiaopei and Dr Bao Hongwei

The Oxford Chinese Studies Society welcomes all to an exclusive screening and discussion of “Our Marriage: When Lesbians Marry Gay Men” with Director He Xiaopei and Dr Bao Hongwei.

How do gays and lesbians negotiate their social identities in postsocialist China? Are the so-called “fake marriages 形式婚姻” between them a pragmatic choice made out of social pressure or a queering act of subversion against the traditional institution of marriage? How do these phenomena tie into China’s revolutionary past and connect to Asia’s current wave of gay marriage legalisation and rising pink economy? These are the questions provoked by Dr. He Xiaopei’s documentary Our Marriage.

“The film, Our Marriage, is an exploration of the lives of four lesbians who decided to marry gay men in order to secretly pursue their relationships with their girlfriends and at the same time fulfil their families’ deep-seated desire that they get married. The sense of respect and responsibility that the marriage partners feel towards their parents, and the avoidance of social ridicule and tricky questions about their child’s sexuality, also play a large role in their decision to stage elaborate and glamorous sham ceremonies…In China, as one of the women in the documentary explained, nobody is allowed to be single. Whilst a burgeoning lesbian social scene is becoming more visible in large cities, heteronormative attitudes force people, heterosexual and homosexual alike, into marriages which they would rather avoid. Marriage can provide social acceptance, but it also gives you certain economic benefits such as access to social housing. Whilst homosexuality is not illegal in China there are no plans to introduce same sex marriage. Activists like He have argued against campaigns for same sex marriage suggesting that the institution of marriage itself should be challenged as it supports patriarchal norms and is detrimental to all people, whether they are gay, straight or bisexual.” — Kate Hawkins, Sexuality and Development Programme International Advisory Group

This event will be of interest to those of you who work on Chinese society, queer studies, film studies, as well as gender studies. The documentary is 45 minutes long, followed a brief talk on queer filmmaking and LGBT activism in China by Dr Bao Hongwei from the University of Nottingham, and then both of them will engage in audience Q & A and discussions.

Speaker biography:
Dr He Xiaopei completed a PhD at the University of Westminster in 2006, titled ‘I am AIDS: Living with the Epidemic in China’. She co-founded an NGO called the Pink Space Sexuality Research Centre in Beijing to promote sexual rights and sexual pleasure among people who are oppressed.

Dr Hongwei Bao is Assistant Professor in Media Studies at the University of Nottingham, UK. He holds a PhD in Gender Studies and Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney, Australia. His research primarily focuses on gay identity and queer politics in contemporary China. He is author of Queer Comrades: Gay Identity and Tongzhi Activism in Postsocialist China (Copenhagen: NIAS Press, forthcoming in 2018).

70 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, has the UN Human Rights Council lost its credibility?

The Oxford Israel Forum and The Oxford Forum are delighted to host Hillel Neuer, renowned international lawyer, diplomat, writer, activist and Executive Director of UN Watch, a human rights NGO based in Geneva. This is a rare opportunity to gain an insight into the inner workings of the UN from a leading expert on the UN Human Rights Council.

Hillel Neuer is an acclaimed speaker who has testified before the United Nations and the U.S. Congress. The Tribune de Genève has described Neuer as a human rights activist who is “feared and dreaded” by the world’s dictatorships. The Journal de Montreal wrote that he “makes the U.N. tremble.” Israel’s Ma’ariv newspaper named him in its list of the “Top 100 Most Influential Jewish People in the World.” On September 14, 2016, the City of Chicago adopted a resolution, signed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, declaring “Hillel Neuer Day,” in recognition of his role “as one of the world’s foremost human rights advocates,” and for his contributions to “promote peace, justice and human rights around the world.”

This talk will be followed by a Q&A and is free to attend, simply click ‘going’ on the Facebook event to register.

Revd. Kate Seagrave studied linguistics here at Oxford before becoming ordained, leading to her return to work with the postgrads at St Aldates and the Oxford Pastorate. In this research presentation we will get to hear more about an academic hero of hers: Jan Amos Comenius. More than an educational theorist, he was also a noteworthy theologian and hymn writer.

Dr Peter Lovatt (AKA Dr Dance) will talk about the relationship between movement, health, hormones and thinking.

The simple act of dancing can change us in fundamental ways. It can make us more creative, improve our mood, and even alter some of the negative symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease. So why would some people rather have their fingernails pulled out than dance?

Peter will explore the surprising and fascinating psychology of dance and dancing – so get your dancing shoes on and be happy!

Rediscovered Taiwanese Film Screening with Prof. Chris Berry: Dangerous Youth 危險的青春 (1966)

2018/Feb/07 Wednesday 7-9:30PM Lecture Theatre, Lecture Theatre, China Centre, St Hugh’s College, Oxford

Supported by: Oxford Chinese Studies Society

For our third film screening event in Hilary Term, we have invited renowned Chinese film scholar, Professor Chris Berry from King’s College London, to screen one of Taiwan’s lost commercial films from the Martial Law period and discuss the relevant issues of language politics and cultural censorships with us. This event is part of the project, Taiwan’s Lost Commercial Cinema: Recovered and Restored, directed by Prof. Chris Berry and Dr. Ming-yeh Rawnsley, which includes a symposium (7 Oct 2017) and a film screening tour of old Taiwanese cinema in the UK and Europe throughout October and November 2017.

Synopsis
Shi Ying is a deliveryman for a cosmetics company. He is a womaniser and dreams of making a quick buck. He meets a romantic 20-year-old girl, Qingmei (Zheng Xiaofen), who feels trapped by her mother’s small restaurant and is eager to escape. Kueiyuan earns a commission fee by introducing Qingmei to a cabaret, run by Yuchan (Gao Xingzhi). Qingmei falls in love with Kueiyuan and sleeps with him. However, under pressure from Kueiyuan and Yuchan, Qingmei agrees to become a mistress to an old millionaire. Meanwhile, Yuchan seduces Kueiyuan and controls him with money and sex. When Qingmei discovers that she is pregnant by Kueiyuan, the latter demands an abortion. Qingmei runs away and hides. When Kueiyuan proposes marriage to Yuchan and is rejected by her, he finally realises that he is in love with Qingmei and goes out to look for her.

Commentary
‘The stark, dark social realism of this film is rendered through a modernist, even avant garde form, reminding audiences of French New Wave or early Nagisa Oshima (in particular Cruel Story of Youth, 1960): a long take of an angry young man on his motorcycle circling, its engine howling; a variety of pop songs raging on soundtrack; a montage of neon lights at urban night; composition-in-depth in conflict scenes; a daunting shot overlooking a sex act done on the floor; an open ending. Dangerous Youthremains a classic of Taiwanese cinema.’

This event will be of interest to those of you who work on Taiwanese history, Sinophone studies, translation studies, and film studies. The film is 95 minutes long and Prof. Berry will talk for around 10 minutes afterwards and we will leave plenty of time for critical dialogues, Q & A and discussions. There will be information handouts designed by Prof. Berry available on the day for all participants.

Speaker biography:

Prof Chris Berry is Professor of Film Studies at King’s College London, and his academic research is grounded in work on Chinese-language cinemas. Prof. Berry has recently served as a judge for the Golden Horse Awards 金馬獎 2017 in Taiwan. Primary publications include: (with Mary Farquhar) Cinema and the National: China on Screen (Columbia University Press and Hong Kong University Press, 2006); Postsocialist Cinema in Post-Mao China: the Cultural Revolution after the Cultural Revolution (New York: Routledge, 2004); (co-edited with Luke Robinson) Chinese Film Festivals: Sites of Translation (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017); (co-edited with Koichi Iwabuchi and Eva Tsai) Routledge Handbook of East Asian Popular Culture (Routledge, 2016); (edited with Nicola Liscutin and Jonathan D. Mackintosh), Cultural Studies and Cultural Industries in Northeast Asia: What a Difference a Region Makes (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2009); and (co-edited with Feii Lu) Island on the Edge: Taiwan New Cinema and After (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2005).

Event open to all postgraduate students. Advanced Booking essential.

7.00 pm Drinks reception, 7.40 Private view of the ‘Imagining the Divine’ exhibition, Panel discussion

Each of our speakers will respond to an object in the exhibition from the perspective of their Christian faith and will explore wider questions, including: Does all religious art ‘imagine’ the same divinity? How do Christians respond to art from diverse religions? Are works of art beneficial or prejudicial to Christian faith?

7.00 pm Drinks reception
7.40 pm Private view of the ‘Imagining the Divine’ exhibition
8.15 pm Panel discussion

Cover image used with permission of Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Discussion event with top academics. Bring your lunch, relax and share your thoughts.

The Oxford Israel Forum, Oxford PPE Society and Oxford International Relations Society are delighted to host Dan Meridor, former Deputy Prime Minister of Israel. Mr Meridor will be discussing the current political situation in Israel and the wider Middle East, including the peace process, recent developments in diplomacy and the future of the region.

Dan Meridor has served the Israeli Government in various distinguished positions, including as Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy and as Deputy Prime Minister. In power during the Obama administration and a collapsed peace process attempt under Kerry, Meridor has been at the centre of the Israeli Government through pivotal times. He is now the President of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A and drinks reception. All three are free to attend, simply click ‘going’ on our Facebook event to register: https://www.facebook.com/events/143239079681080/

This event is kindly facilitated by the Pinsker Centre.

An international debut. Two major creative talents from within our Alumnae, composer Nicola LeFanu and poet Wendy Cope, have come together to create this piece for the 125th Anniversary of St Hilda’s College. The pre-concert talk is at 4.45pm. The concert starts at 5.30pm and will be followed by a drinks reception.

In conjunction with Oxford International Women’s Festival , Oxford Community-led Housing* research project and Transition by Design is organising a session on “Taking Control of our Housing: Women Leading the Charge”, to celebrate the efforts of a number of women pioneering community-led housing in various forms in Oxfordshire. In line with the festival’s broader theme of “Winning the Vote: Women’s Suffrage 100 Years On”, the session aims to raise awareness around community-led housing and an opportunity to gain fresh interest and broaden the movement.

Join us in the much needed discussion to highlight that affordable, safe and secure housing is a basic human right. The session will champion the idea that women can and are taking action to tackle the housing crisis in Oxford, and to generate discussion that homes and housing shape our identity as women and as human beings. We’re also very keen to find out more about the challenges you’re facing with the housing market. And to top it up, let’s celebrate the efforts of women in community-led housing.

Event format:

Interactive panel discussion

Panel speakers from Kindling Housing Coop, Edge Housing, Dragonfly Housing Coop, Oxford Fairer Housing Network, Oxford Housing Crisis Group and many more!

For more info or queries, please contact katie@transitionbydesign.org

*Oxford Community-Led Housing research project is a new partnership project by Oxford Community Foundation, Community First Oxfordshire and Oxford Community Land Trust. We have been commissioned by Oxford City Council to conduct a research project on how community-led housing could be delivered sustainably in Oxford. Community Led Housing (CLH) is about local people playing a leading and lasting role in solving local housing problems, creating genuinely affordable homes and strong communities in ways that are difficult to achieve through mainstream housing.