The University of Cambridge will open its doors from 22nd October to 2nd November for over 100 free events for all ages, including a family day for the kids, at the first Cambridge Festival of Ideas.
The event, the first of its kind in the UK to celebrate the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, will offer visitors of all ages the chance to understand more about the world we live in, on a global and local scale and will include well known figures such as the BBC's Evan Davis, Michael Howard MP, Doug Richard of Dragon's Den, Professor John Carey and linguist David Crystal. Subjects covered will range from politics, Europe, arts entrepreneurship, different cultures and the stories behind paintings to hidden trails around the city of Cambridge and beyond. There will be thought-provoking talks by leading academics, visits from well-known alumni, performances, department open days, language workshops, school visits and discussions, all held in colleges, departments, galleries and museums around Cambridge.
The event follows on from the success of the Cambridge Science Festival, held earlier in the year. One of the key launch events will be a debate with Professor John Carey, Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas, philosopher Julian Baggini and Adrian Monck, professor of journalism at City University, about the point of studying the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in today’s "knowledge economy". The launch will also feature a discussion of social entrepreneurship and arts enterprise entitled ‘What’s your big idea?‘ and led by Doug Richard of Dragons Den. The BBC’s Evan Davis will be taking part in a discussion about the importance of economics in everyday life. He will speak about five things everyone should know about economics. Renowned Nazi historian Richard Evans will talk about the erosion of civil liberties under the ***.
Other debates lined up include a discussion on the limits of European integration with MPs Michael Howard and Vince Cable and Stephen Wall, former UK ambassador to the European Union, and a panel discussion on social networking with AOL Europe’s director of social networking, the head of social networking at The Guardian and a representative from a new study by BT into the impact of social networking on relationships.
An important part of the Festival will involve reaching out to young people and stimulating their interest in history, literature, politics, art and much more. The first Saturday of the fortnight - 25th October - will be a Family Day with scores of activities for children of all ages on offer, including sessions on how to write a mystery story with author Caroline Lawrence, a family open afternoon dispelling myths about Vikings, Celts and Anglo-Saxons with hands-on activities such as making paper model Viking ships and poetry readings and a drumming workshop.
A full programme of events will be available shortly.
For more information, go to www.cambridgefestivalofideas.org