Is international governance facing a pivotal moment? Seventy years on from the creation of the UN, the list of issues requiring international co-operation is lengthy and complex, ranging from the conflict in Syria to infectious disease outbreaks, and from nuclear weapons threats to food security. Even where concord has been achieved, as with the recent COP21 climate agreement, the road ahead will be long, hard and fraught with conflicting needs and desires.

With considerable humanitarian and environmental challenges facing the world, Baroness Amos, Director of SOAS, will draw on her distinguished career in development to look at how the international community can work together, what the UN could and can do, and at the likely obstacles to overcome on the road to helping secure global peace and security.

Registration required.

Mitigating climate requires a transition to low carbon energy systems and renewable energy looks increasingly likely to play a key role, but the most important resources are intermittent.

This lecture will describe the research of the Oxford Martin Programme on Integrating Renewable Energy, on how intermittency and related challenges can be addressed, technically and in markets and policy.

Registration required

Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School, looks at what we mean by development and what citizens, governments and the international community can do to encourage it.

Goldin explains how the notion of development has expanded from the original focus on incomes and economic growth to a much broader interpretation. He considers the contributions made by education, health, gender and equity, and argues that it is also necessary take into account the rule of law, the role of institutions, and sustainability and environmental concerns.

There will be a book signing and drinks reception after the talk, all welcome.

Registration required.

In this talk Professor Daniel Kammen, Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at INET Oxford, will discuss the strategies emerging to cost-effectively decarbonise energy systems worldwide. This work integrates elements of the science and engineering of energy systems, regional and global energy and environmental policy, and mandates and mission objectives that have emerged from the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, and energy and climate planning in both developed and developing nations.

As Science Envoy for the US Secretary of State, Kammen will also examine opportunities that have arisen as result of the Paris Climate Accord, and US and Chinese climate agreement.

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

Registration required.

The Technology and Management Centre for Development at the Oxford Department of International Development invites you to our upcoming research seminars.
These research seminars are intended to connect active researchers and students on the topics of innovation, technology and management for development. This is a chance to exchange ideas, learn and connect not just with TMCD staff, researchers and fellows but also the innovation research community at large at Oxford. These afternoons are a great opportunity to seek feedback and learn new viewpoints on our research interests.
Sandwiches and refreshments will be provided.
Open to students, lecturers, practitioners and researchers.

Prevention and management of infectious diseases remains one of this century’s biggest challenges. As drugs and vaccinations have proliferated, protection from disease has increasingly been seen as an individual problem, requiring individual action. But due to the evolution of anti-microbial resistance, vaccine refusal and rapid disease transmission through global trade and travel, the impact of the drugs and vaccines that we have come to take for granted is undermined.

This lecture will explore the importance of understanding the ‘Human Factor’ in disease management, looking at the effects of policy on individual and group behaviour and at the role psychology plays in developing a new understanding of collective moral responsibility for infectious disease. The lecture is an introduction to the Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Disease, an interdisciplinary team from zoology, history, philosophy, psychology and medicine.

Registration required.

Professor Ian Goldin, Director of the Oxford Martin School, and fellow author Chris Kutarna preview their forthcoming book about the risks and rewards of a new Renaissance taking place in our modern world. They will show how we can achieve our own golden age, given the will. But many of the factors that undid the first Renaissance are rising once again: warring ideologies, fundamentalism, climate change, pandemics. Can we weather the crises and seize the moment to leave the world a legacy it will still celebrate, 500 years later?

There will be a book signing and drinks reception after the talk, all welcome.

Registration required.

For most of the world’s toughest challenges, there exists a tension between the needs of an individual and what is best for the common good. Income derived from fishing may be vital to one country’s economy but overfishing depletes stocks to dangerously low levels. Low income countries need to develop in order to lift people out of poverty but this increases demand for fossil fuels at a point where global efforts to reduce carbon emissions have become critically important.

Some of Oxford’s leading thinkers on how to manage global commons and shared resources come to together for a lively panel debate to address the tension between individual rationality and collective responsibility, drawing on examples from the four lectures in this term’s series.

Panellists:

Professor Ian Goldin, (Chair), Director, Oxford Martin School
Professor Richard Bailey, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Sustainable Oceans
Professor Nick Eyre, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Integrating Renewable Energy
Professor Cameron Hepburn, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Net Zero Carbon Investment Initiative
Professor Angela McLean, Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Collective Responsibility for Infectious Diseases

Registration required.

How has humanities scholarship influenced biomedical research and civil liberties and how can scholars serve the common good? Entrepreneur and scholar Donald Drakeman will discuss his new book exploring the value and impact of the humanities in the 21st century with:

– Stefan Collini (Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature, University of Cambridge and author of What Are Universities For?)
– Richard Ekins (Tutorial Fellow in Law, St John’s College, University of Oxford)
– Jay Sexton (Associate Professor of American History, University of Oxford)

Chaired by Helen Small (Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford and author of The Value of the Humanities)

Free, all welcome. Join us for a sandwich lunch from 12:30, with discussion from 13:00 to 14:00. No booking required, seats will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

About the book

An entrepreneur and educator highlights the surprising influence of humanities scholarship on biomedical research and civil liberties. This spirited defence urges society to support the humanities to obtain continued guidance for public policy decisions, and challenges scholars to consider how best to fulfil their role in serving the common good.

The event is part of Book at Lunchtime, a fortnightly series of bite size book discussions, with commentators from a range of disciplines.

Is there anything wrong with putting a price on health, education, citizenship, and the environment? Where do markets serve the public good, and where do they not belong?

Join us for a lively discussion with Professor Michael J. Sandel about money, markets, and the good things in life.

Registration required

Welcome to Future Debates, a series of public events supported by the British Science Association.

A genome is an entire set of DNA; all the instructions for making every part of a living thing. Research into our genomes could improve our understanding of diseases, cancers and passing on certain traits. The application of this research through genomic medicine is at the cutting edge of science. There’s large potential for the technology to help us create new treatments and preventative approaches.

Someone’s genome can explain lots of things about them, and we don’t yet understand all of what the genetic code means. Genome data is being collected from a group of patients with rare diseases and cancers across the UK, as part of the Genomics England 100,000 Genomes Project. This information needs to be collected and stored securely, interpreted by experts and viewed in a way that protects the donor’s identity. There have been discussions among scientists about the implications of genomic medicine for privacy and the NHS, and the British Science Association believes that it is vital to open that conversation up to the public.

Come and join our panel of scientists and other experts to discuss who should have access to this data. Should genomic data be used outside medicine? Should private companies share any profits they make from genomic data with participants? Does the right to privacy outweigh the societal benefit of genomic research?

Doors open from 6.00 pm, and the debate will run from 6.30 pm until 8.00 pm.

Future Debates events are part of the British Science Association’s work to make science a fundamental part of British society and culture. We want to empower many more people – not just scientists – to constructively engage in debates over the applications and implications of science in their lives, their local economy and the UK’s future.

Follow us on twitter @LivingWellOx @HumanGeneticsOx @BritSciAssoc and use the event hashtag #FutureDebates

Leopold Eyharts flew on the Atlantis Shuttle to the International Space Station in 2008. Part of his mission included the installation of the Colombus Space Laboratory, the main contribution of Europe to the International Space Station. In 1998, Leopold flew
on a Soyouz Space Shuttle to the Russian MIR station. Engage in a conversation about his adventures and the future of manned exploration of space. Chaired by Valerie Jamieson, Editorial Content Director, New Scientist.

Visualise the world in the 21st century in seven new maps! Geographers Ben Hennig and Danny Dorling present some of the key challenges and questions relating to the future of people across the world, using a series of seven thought-provoking maps about our lives on the planet.

How to create in the lab the process taking place at the heart of the stars? How to harvest this energy to power the world? Nuclear fusion is arguably the hardest technical challenge humanity works on at the moment. The UK significantly contributes to this world-wide research effort with the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. Get insights from the lab, and learn everything you need to know about nuclear fusion!

Book here: http://www.oxfordshiresciencefestival.com/sun-opening-weekend.html

In the era of the development of technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence, machines are more and more capable of outperforming human beings at work tasks. What will be the decline of today’s professions? What are the prospects for
employment, and how will professions like doctors, teachers, architects, the clergy, lawyers, and many others adapt to this emerging world? What could be the new models to produce and distribute expertise in society?

Book here: http://www.oxfordshiresciencefestival.com/monday.html

Join engaging physicist and Guardian science blogger Jon Butterworth in a lively and fun science adventure about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Share the excitement of the discovery of the Higgs boson, and the latest developments in the investigation
of the fabric of the Universe!

Date/Time: Sunday 3 July, 19:00
Venue: Amey Theatre, Abingdon School, Abingdon-on-Thames
Admissions: £7/£5(conc.)/£22(fam.)
Suitability: 16+
Book here: http://www.oxfordshiresciencefestival.com/grand-finale.html

What are the next steps for human evolution? Natural changes or technologies? Combining gene splicing and trans-humanism, medical advancement and surgical enhancement, biology and ambition, Level Up Human takes a light hearted look at what it means to be human, and what the alternatives might be. Join science writer and TV presenter Simon Watt, and his guests, for the live recording of an exciting podcast series.

Finding Atlantis: The Archaeology of Sunken Cities

Atlantis remains one of marine archaeology’s most enduring mysteries. But what is the archaeological reality of sunken cities? Discover the incredible story of the oldest submerged town so far identified ‒ Pavlopetri off the coast of Greece.

Saturday 16 July, 11am‒12pm
Ashmolean Museum Lecture Theatre
FREE
With Dr Jon Henderson, maritime archaeologist

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Part of the Ashmolean’ Storms, War and Shipwrecks Day
Saturday 16 July
Discover incredible submerged cities, meet underwater archaeologists, hear tales from the deep, handle objects, and explore how computer games are re-creating real historical warships and battles.

Activities for all ages inspired by our summer exhibition Storms, War and Shipwrecks.
Part of our Festival of Archaeology 16–28 July 2016.
All events are free and no booking is required.

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Image: Artwork for the game Rome: Total War, by Rado Javor for Creative Assembly

https://www.facebook.com/events/996567903774127/

Jonathon Porritt and Shaun Chamberlin celebrate the launch of the late Trinity alumnus David Fleming’s extraordinary book, ‘Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy’.

This intimate event will be held in the Sutro Room at Trinity College, Oxford University, and will be recorded for a short film. Various themes in Fleming’s wonderfully diverse work – from carnival to climate change, religion to resilience, manners to markets – may be explored in response to the interests of those present.

Interview with Shaun Chamberlin on David Fleming, Brexit and the book: http://www.darkoptimism.org/2016/08/21/interview-on-david-fleming-music-and-hippos/

More information on David Fleming’s books:
http://www.chelseagreen.com/surviving-the-future
http://www.chelseagreen.com/lean-logic

Copies of both books will be on sale on the day.

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“David Fleming was an elder of the UK green movement and a key figure in the early Green Party. Drawing on the heritage of Schumacher’s Small Is Beautiful, Fleming’s beautifully written and nourishing vision of a post-growth economics grounded in human-scale culture and community—rather than big finance—is both inspiring and ever more topical.”
~ Caroline Lucas MP, co-leader, Green Party of England and Wales; former Member of the European Parliament

“I would unreservedly go so far as to say that David Fleming was one of the most original, brilliant, urgently-needed, underrated, and ahead-of-his-time thinkers of the last 50 years. History will come to place him alongside Schumacher, Berry, Seymour, Cobbett, and those other brilliant souls who could not just imagine a more resilient world but who could paint a picture of it in such vivid colours. Step into the world of David Fleming; you’ll be so glad you did.”
~ Rob Hopkins, cofounder of the Transition Network

“Why do some of the truly great books only emerge and exact their influence upon us after the death of their authors? Perhaps it takes a lifetime to accrue and refine the necessary wisdom. Or perhaps it simply takes the rest of us too long to catch up. Like Thoreau, Fleming’s masterpiece brims not only with fresh insight into every nook and cranny of our culture and what it means to be human, but with such wit and humour that its challenging ideas and radical perspectives become a refreshing delight. If we’re to have a future worth surviving, this book demands to be read, re-read, and—ultimately—acted upon.”
~ Mark Boyle, author of The Moneyless Manifesto and Drinking Molotov Cocktails with Gandhi

Pen Hadow is one of the world’s leading polar explorers; in 2003 he made history and became the first, and so far only, person to trek solo without resupply from Canada to the North Pole. It was an astonishing achievement that included traversing huge boulder fields of broken ice and swimming open water in the arctic ocean, completely alone, whilst hauling a sledge weighing up to 125kg.

Just months later he became the first Briton to make unsupported journeys to both the North and South poles. Pen’s experiences in the polar regions haven’t just been limited to adventurous journeys; he developed a keen focus on scientific return and was the driving force behind the vision for the 2009-11 Catlin Arctic Surveys. Pen’s efforts surveying sea ice thickness, alongside Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley, led to them being named TIME magazine “Heroes of the Environment”.

Join us to hear Pen’s extraordinary journey as a polar explorer first hand. From his record breaking expeditions to stories of fending off a polar bear with a saucepan – it promises to be a fantastic evening.

Image Credit: Martin Hartley

Inequality is centre-stage in political debate both globally and in individual countries, being blamed for everything from Brexit to stagnating wages and growth. Professor Brian Nolan, Director of the Oxford Martin Programme on Inequality and Prosperity, will seek to tease out why this is so and identify central unanswered questions about the drivers of inequality, and what policy responses to it should be.

Our present laws attacking conflict of interest and corruption came into existence during years of blistering financial and political corruption scandals in early Hanoverian England, notably the 1720 South Sea Bubble. But there was also a lot corruption surrounding war finance and the buying of offices and elections. Were the anti-corruption laws made in the 1720s a clean-up effort in the wake of breakdown and crisis? If political-legal change worked like that today, we would by now have a highly regulated financial industry in the United Kingdom and highly honest and ethical politicians and political media. In the early 18th century, and perhaps in all times in British legal history, crisis might be a trigger for legal reform, but the reform process was always played out on a wider canvas of domestic politics, religious conflict, international affairs, and personal rivalries within an elite. In this lecture I tell the story of conflicts in the realm of politics, finance and family life in the early reign of the Hanoverians, looking at a colourful caste of characters including many miscreants from Oxford.

Professor Joshua Getzler is Professor of Law and Legal History at St Hugh’s College. His book A History of Water Rights at Common Law (Oxford, 2004) won the Peter Birks Prize for Outstanding Legal Scholarship in 2005. He is interested in modern property and commercial law, and the interconnections of legal, financial, political, religious and economic history.

One of the world’s leading inequality economists, Professor Branko Milanovic, presents a bold new account of the dynamics that drive inequality on a global scale. Drawing on vast data sets and cutting-edge research, he explains the benign and malign forces that cause the rise and fall of inequality within and among nations. He also reveals who has been helped the most by globalisation, who has been held back, and what policies might tilt the balance toward economic justice.

Professor Branko Milanovic’s book, Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of Globalization, will be available to buy after the lecture.

Sam Hampton who recently went to Leiden will be talking about what Oxford can learn from its twin city’s cycling infrastructure and culture.

Ready to go on an expedition? Your health is of the utmost importance! OUEC is dedicated to provide you with a wealth of information for any expedition and wilderness medical advice or training! Our speaker, Dr Tariq Qureshi, has been an expedition advisor to Oxford University for many years. Last year he traveled to Greenland on an exploratory mountaineering expedition, including three first ascents.

He is also an instructor for Wilderness Medical Training, a rapidly evolving field providing vital emergency care in remote environments. Wherever you’re planning to go, this is your first stop! 🙂

Tuesday October 25th
7.30pm – Department of Earth Sciences
Members: Free
Non-Members: £5

As always, you can get your OUEC membership by speaking to a member of the committee before or after our talks in Earth Sciences. Life membership is £30, Year is £15, Term £7. We take cheque and cash 🙂

An unwinnable battle?

Zika and Ebola. Two viruses that are emerging as huge global threats to human health.

What can we learn from the past? How must we approach the future? Some of Oxford’s leading scientists host an exciting day of lectures, seminars and films providing insight into how the world should respond to these threats.

Join the Richard Doll Society for our annual conference! For ticket reservations, timetable information and poster abstract submissions, please visit the registration site.

The deadline for poster abstarct submission is Friday, 14th October: https://goo.gl/forms/YBDDVO7bIFS3l2F82

This year’s lecture will be given by David Altshuler MD PhD, Executive Vice President for Global Research and Chief Scientific Officer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and will be titled ‘Human Genetics and the Discovery of New Medicines’.

The lecture will take place on Wednesday 9 November 2016 at 17.15 in Lecture Theatre 1, Mathematical Institute, Andrew Wiles Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG. Refreshments will follow.

Please email cpm@well.ox.ac.uk with any queries.

8 countries, 50 days, 2300km, countless encounters – Between March and May of this year Christian cycled from Munich along the Western Balkan refugee route to Athens. Attempting to understand what European and national politics meant for people fleeing their homes, he engaged with NGOs, border guards and refugees along the route. He described and portrayed his fascinating encounters and experiences bilingually under https://chrisbikes.wordpress.com/ and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/chrisbikestoathens/).

On Thursday, 17 November, Chris will talk about his insightful tour, his touching impressions and the lessons to be drawn from his journey in the context of European and national migration and border policies.

Internationally acclaimed mountaineer Stephen Venables is one of the best-known climbers of his generation. In 1988 he became the first Briton to summit Everest without supplementary oxygen, pioneering a new route up the huge Kangshung Face in Tibet. Stephen summited alone and was then forced to bivouac in the open at around 8,600m during the descent, before finally returning to the South Col the following day.

However, Stephen’s exploits over a 40-year career go well beyond Everest – from pioneering climbs across the Himalaya to first ascents in Patagonia. He is a past president of both the Alpine Club and the South Georgia Association and has authored multiple books which have gone on to win a number of awards, including the prestigious Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature.

Stephen is a well-regarded public speaker with a fantastic ability to entertain and his lectures always feature a stunning collection of photography. His talk takes the name from his autobiography “Higher Than The Eagle Soars” and will focus on the early days of his mountaineering career, through first ascents in Himalaya before culminating in his Everest expedition.

Image Credit: Ed Webster

Drawing on his expertise as former Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, Director of the Oxford Martin School, will present the latest trends and explore the varied challenges of a global transition towards an inclusive green economy.

This event will be followed by a drinks reception, to which all are welcome.