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Battle of Ideas

This year’s Battle of Ideas, a major weekend festival of debates, is taking place in London, on Saturday 28 - Sunday 29 October 2006.  Tickets are now on sale for the festival, which invites hundreds of people to engage in robust and lively debate with leading thinkers on key issues of our time.

Over 50 events will be taking place over the weekend, featuring over 150 speakers debating keynote topics such as Happiness vs. Affluence, Human Enhancement, Artistic Autonomy, Reassessing Liberty and themed strands on Innovation, Law, Media and Nature. Free speech is allowed! 

The event is held at the Royal College of Art and is organised by the Institute of Ideas in conjunction with The Times, Research Councils UK and Pfizer, among others.

Nick Crafts Professor of Economic History, University of Warwick, will be speaking in the strand “The Battle for Affluence”

Other speakers include: David Aaronovitch, Myles Allen, Julian Baggini, Michael Baum, Marcel Berlins, George Brock, Anne Brogan, Paddy Coulter, Sir Bernard Crick, Mark Easton, Kevin Fong, Eliot Forster, Claire Fox, Sir Christopher Frayling, Frank Furedi, Conor Gearty, Kate Green, Steve Hewlett, Philip K. Howard, Brian Iddon MP, Wendy Kaminer, Sajjad Khan, Richard Koch, Richard Koeppel, Adam Kuper, Colin Lawson, Kenan Malik, Minette Marrin, Chris Meade, Munira Mirza, Jeremy Myerson, Avner Offer, Sara Parkin, Dr Raj Persaud, Chris Pond, Richard Rees, Philippe Sands QC, John Ralston Saul, Tallis, Peter Tatchell, Zoe Williams, Nick Wilson and John Zarnecki.

The full programme can be found at: www.battleofideas.co.uk  AC Grayling said of last year’s sell out event: 'The Battle of Ideas 2005 was invigorating, absorbing, and highly educative - delicious and nourishing food for thought, which already makes me hungry for the Battle of Ideas 2006.' Tickets are now on sale for the Battle of Ideas both online and via the hotline: 020 7269 9220