Munira Mirza

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Munira Mirza is the Advisor for Arts and Culture Policy of the Greater London Authority under the Conservative administration of Boris Johnson and is associated with the libertarian anti-environmental LM network.

According to her former employer, centre right think tank Policy Exchange, “Munira - author of the Policy Exchange pamphlet Culture Vultures - is not a card-carrying Tory member, but is one of a new generation of thinkers behind David Cameron's makeover of the party that is attracting money and fresh ideas.” [1]

Early years

Munira Mirza was born in Oldham in 1978 of Pakistani parents and educated at Breeze Hill comprehensive”. [2]

Student days

Munira studied English at Oxford, graduating in 1999. She has lectured at the University of Kent and the University of East London. She completed a PHD at the University of Kent in 2008 for the sociology department which Frank Furedi heads.

Career

In 2001 she worked as a fundraiser for the Royal Society of Arts. In 2005 she presented ‘The Business of Race’, a two part series for BBC Radio Four on race and diversity. In 2005, she was also conducting interviews for the University of East London’s Rising East initiative, which is run by Andrew Calcutt. In 2006 she was an arts consultant for the London East Research Institute. She edited the report Culture Vultures: is UK arts policy damaging the arts? in February 2006 and was the co-author of the report Living Apart Together: British Muslims and the Paradox of Multiculturalism in 2007, both published by the Policy Exchange, of which she was an Associate Research Fellow and for whom she also worked as a fundraiser. The Policy Exchange shares offices with conservative think tank CChange, of which Dougie Smith, her now husband, was the co-ordinator. In 2007, she also presented a further BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Fighting Chance’ on professional Sikh fighter Akaash Bhatia. In early 2008, she was working for Tate. In June 2008, she became the Advisor for Arts and Culture Policy of the Greater London Authority under the Conservative administration of Boris Johnson.

LM associations

Mirza’s career is somewhat parallel to that of James Panton who also studied at Oxford, co-founded the Manifesto Club and was published by Policy Exchange.

  • 1999
Conducted interview on behalf of Culture Wars[3]
  • 2001
Began regular articles for Culture Wars[4]
  • 2002
First article in Spiked [5]
Wrote for pro-Choice Forum [6]
  • 2003
Began writing regularly for Spiked [7]
  • 2004
Conducted research on behalf of the Institute of Ideas, [8]
Spoke in the Institute of Ideas Teenage Kicks schools debating event
  • 2005
Convened the Culture strand of and chaired a debate at the first Battle of Ideas [9]
Spoke at the Institute of Ideas ‘The Right To Be Offensive’ event
Led a session of the Institute of Ideas Education Forum [10]
  • 2006
Sat on the organising committee of the 2006 Battle of Ideas
Spoke at the Institute of Ideas ‘The Battle for Diversity’ event
Co-founded the Manifesto Club with Brendan O'Neill, following which she sat on its steering committee until 2008 and of which she remains a member[11]
The report Mirza edited for the Policy Exchange, ‘Culture Vultures’ included contributions from Josie Appleton and James Heartfield.
  • 2007
The report Mirza co-authored for the Policy Exchange, ‘Living Apart together’ included references to work from Josie Appleton, Andrew Calcutt, Kenan Malik and Brendan O'Neill.
Edited Printed Project 08 artistic freedom – anxiety and aspiration, containing pieces by Josie Appleton, Andrew Calcutt, Dolan Cummings and Pauline Hadaway.
Spoke at the 2007 Battle of Ideas
Spoke at the Huddersfield Salon
  • 2008
Contributed a reading to the 2008 Battle of Ideas
  • 2009
Contributed a ‘Battles in Print’ article to the 2009 Battle of Ideas
Introduced a session of the Institute of Ideas Culture Forum
Led discussion on a WORLDbytes programme [12]
Interviewed by Kenan Malik for BBC Radio 4 episode ‘Are all Muslims the same?’, part of the ‘Islam, Mullahs and the Media’ series
  • 2010
Spoke at the 2010 Battle of Ideas
The GLA’s Story of London festival 2010, originated and fronted by Mirza and part of her Art and culture portfolio, while it referenced 100 events, highlighted its Future City series of debates on its website. [13]The name of the Future City strand is similar to the Future Cities Project while debates are a LM speciality. The debates provided a platform for Daniel Ben-Ami, James Heartfield, director of Audacity and author of its principal publication Let’s Build, Norman Lewis, Austin Williams, who runs the Future Cities Project and chaired one of the sessions, and James Woudhuysen, another director of Audacity.
Spoke at the launch of the Big Potatoes Manifesto [14]
Judged the ManTownHuman Winter School [15]
Reviewed ‘The Death of the Subject Explained’ by James Heartfield in the International Journal of Cultural Policy [16]
Was used as a resource by Debating Matters [17]
  • Undated
Became signatory no. 230 of the Academics for Academic Freedom Statement [18]
Registered as a tour guide trainer for WORLDwrite [19]
Reviewed Furedi’s Therapy Culture for The Great Debate.[20]
On BBC Radio Four’s Great Lives, Mirza’s selection as someone who has inspired her life was political philosopher Hannah Arendt. Arendt has been frequently cited by Frank Furedi as the inspiration for his academic theories.

Personal

Mirza is married to Dougie Smith, the ex-vice Chairman of the extreme Federation of Conservative Students, ex-co-ordinator of influential Tory think tank Conservatives for change CChange and ex-Cameron speechwriter. They live in Balham, South London.

Publications

Author, Response to Strength in Diversity, 2004, Institute of Ideas website, acc 9 Jan 2011
Editor, Culture Vultures:is UK arts policy damaging the arts?, 2006, Policy Exchange website, acc 9 Jan 2011
Editor, Printed Project 08 artistic freedom – anxiety and aspiration via Institute of Ideas website, acc 9 Jan 2011
Co-author, Living apart together: British Muslims and the paradox of multiculturalism, 2007, Policy Exchange website, acc 9 Jan 2011

Affiliations

Resources

Contact

GLA profile Munira Mirza London.gov.uk ac 8th Jan 2011

Notes

  1. ↑ Thinkers behind fresh Tory politics move up in party hierarcy, Policy Exchange website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  2. ↑ A blast of fresh air for London, The Telegraph, acc 8 Jan 2011
  3. ↑ Interview with Oliver Grey, Illyria website, acc 9 Jan 2011-01-09
  4. ↑ Contributors, Culture Wars website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  5. ↑ The offended university Spiked website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  6. ↑ A Posthuman Future?, Pro-Choice Forum website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  7. ↑ Mirza - Articles, Spiked website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  8. ↑ Response to ‘Strength in Diversity’ Institute of Ideas, 2004acc 8 Jan 2011
  9. ↑ For arts sake…?, Battle of Ideas website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  10. ↑ Multiculturalism and the promotion of faith schools – steps backwards in education?, Institute of Ideas website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  11. ↑ Munira Mirza London.gov.uk acc 8 Jan 2011
  12. ↑ Don’t shout at the telly: Hate speech, WORLDbytes website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  13. ↑ Story of London GLA website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  14. ↑ Event Big Potatoes website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  15. ↑ ManTownHuman Winter School Future Cities website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  16. ↑ Vol. 16, IFACCA website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  17. ↑ Resource, Debating matters website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  18. ↑ Third 100 AFAF website, acc 8 Jan 2011
  19. ↑ Trainer bios WORLDwrite website, acc 9 Jan 2011
  20. ↑ Furedi, The Great Debate website, acc 9 Jan 2011
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