Battle of Ideas

The Battle of Ideas is a project of the Institute of Ideas, which is associated with the libertarian LM network.

It commenced in 2005 and is an annual two-day debating event held in London with both LM network and third party speakers. It claims that it "makes virtues of free-thinking and lively exchanges of views" and "fosters an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and open-ended exploration of new ideas, research and social trends".

Funding

According to its website, its 2007 event was supported in part by Pfizer and BT.

Battle of Ideas 2007: supporters

Speakers

Battle of Ideas speakers for the 2010 conference, as listed on the website in April 2010, were:

• Beccy Allen, researcher, Hansard Society; project manager, HeadsUp, an online forum for 11-18’s, politicians and policy-makers.
• Dave Clements, social policy writer; convenor, IoI Social Policy Forum; co-editor, The Future of Community.
• Joel Cohen, politics student, SOAS; member, Battle of Ideas Committee
• Dolan Cummings, convenor, Battle for Politics; associate fellow, Institute of Ideas; editor, Culture Wars.
• Nick Dusic, director, Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE)
• Tim Finch, director and head of migration, equalities and citizenship, IPPR
• Claire Fox, director, Institute of Ideas; panellist, BBC Radio 4's Moral Maze
• Frank Furedi, professor of sociology, University of Kent, Canterbury; author, Wasted, Politics of Fear, Where Have All the Intellectuals Gone?
• Pam Giddy, director, Power 2010; co-founder and former director, Power Inquiry
• Tony Gilland, science and society director, Institute of Ideas; director,Debating Matters Competition
• Norman Ginsburg, professor of Social Policy, London Metropolitan University; author, Divisions of Welfare: A Critical Introduction to Comparative Social Policy
• David Goodhart, founder and editor, Prospect magazine
• David Green, director, Civitas; author, Individualists Who Co-operate: Education and welfare reform befitting a free people
• Shane Greer, executive editor, Total Politics; political consultant and commentator
• Matt Grist, director, RSA's Social Brain project; author, Changing the Subject - how new ways of thinking about human behaviour might change politics, policy and practice
• Kamaljeet Jandu, national officer, Equality through Inclusion, GMB
• Geoff Kidder, director, membership and events, Institute of Ideas; convenor, IoI Book Club; IoI’s resident expert in all sporting matters
• George Lee, prospective parliamentary candidate, Conservative, Holborn & St Pancras; founding member, Black Police Association
• Kirk Leech, freelance journalist; researcher, development and environment
• Kevin Maguire, associate editor, Daily Mirror
• Brendan O'Neill, editor, Spiked; author, Can I Recycle My Granny and 39 Other Eco-Dilemmas
• Ben Page, chief executive, Ipsos MORI; Editorial Board, International Journal of Market Research
• James Panton, politics tutor at St John’s College, University of Oxford; co-founder, radical civil liberties campaigning group, the Manifesto Club
• Jo Phillips, journalist, former spin doctor; co-author Why Vote – a guide for those who can't be bothered.
• Mike Savage, professor of sociology, University of Manchester; Director, ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change; author, Culture, Class, Distinction
• David Seymour, co-author Why Vote – a guide for those who can't be bothered; former political editor, Mirror Group, leader writer, Daily Mail; founder, Student Mirror
• Gerry Stoker, professor, Politics and Governance, University of Southampton; director, Centre for Citizenship, Globalization and Governance; author, Why Politics Matters: making democracy work
• Wes Streeting, president, National Union of Students (NUS)
• Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner; Green Party human rights spokesperson
• Robin Walsh, editorial assistant, medical publishing company; co-founder, Current Affairs Forum.
• Bruno Waterfield, Brussels correspondent, Daily Telegraph; author, No Means No!
• Jeremy Webb, editor-in-chief, New Scientist
• Richard Wilson, founder and director, Izwe; founder, leading public engagement think-tank, Involve

Contact

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Website: http://www.battleofideas.org.uk