Sydney Ideas

In recent years, we have seen an explosion in the number of community organisations that orient themselves around the production and distribution of food. These food justice groups often focus on improving the availability and quality of food in urban environments, on reducing food waste, and on building local economies. How, though, does the “justice” of food justice manifest itself in practice? How do groups articulate, value and embody social and environmental justice concerns? And how is it that we can best achieve these goals? This event draws together academic and community perspectives on these questions. Panel David Schlosberg is Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, Luke Craven is a PhD student at the University of Sydney and the Sydney Environment Institute. Sharelle Polack, Community Gardens Team Leader at Cultivating Community A Sydney Ideas and Sydney Environment Institute event in the Food@Sydney series http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2015/food@sydney_series_2015.shtml

Stranded Down Under: Are fossil fuels bankrupting our nation both financially and ecologically? Numerous industrialised nations are taking to reduce their emissions and shift the world's energy system from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Yet Australia is set to invest over AUD 100 billion in new coal mining developments over the next 15 years. Who is footing the bill for these projects in Australia? All Australians are, through compulsory superannuation schemes that invest in the expansion of the fossil fuel industry. Ben Caldecott, founder of Oxford University’s Stranded Assets Programme and author of the recent report Stranded Down Under? Environment related factors changing China’s demand for coal and what this means for Australian coal assets, sheds light on the ramifications of Australia’s fossil fuel addiction and how individuals can divest in funding this industry. Introduction by Dr John Hewson, chair of The Asset Owners Disclosure Project, an independent not-for-profit global organisation whose objective is to protect members' retirement savings from the risks posed by climate change by improving the level of disclosure and industry best practice. A Sydney Ideas event on 27 March 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/ben_caldecott.shtml

Tom Szaky dropped out of Princeton University to found TerraCycle, a company that started by selling an organic fertiliser for plants made from worm poo in reused soft drink bottles. Today his company collects and recycles over 100 different kinds of products that were considered 'non-recyclable' garbage, in over 24 different countries. TerraCycle has been called the “Google of Garbage” by the New York Times and the “the coolest little start-up in America” by Inc. Magazine. Tom's first book was 'Revolution in a Bottle: How TerraCycle Is Redefining Green Business'. His latest book is 'Outsmart Waste: The Modern Idea of Garbage and How to Think Our Way Out'. For his Sydney Ideas presentation he detailed the research in the book that reveals how by mimicking nature and focusing on the value inherent in our by-products, we can transform the waste we can’t avoid creating from useless trash to a useful resource. A Sydney Ideas event on 3 March, 2014 http://sydney.edu.au//sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/tom_szaky.shtml

Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20 In the lead up to the OECD G20 Leaders Summit to be held in Brisbane in November in 2014 we we were delighted to welcome Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, to the University of Sydney. In her exclusive presentation for Sydney Ideas she underlined the economic dimension and imperative (beyond the moral and fairness issue) of reducing the gender gap and enhancing the role of women in economies and societies at large. Introduction by Marian Baird Professor of Employment Relations and Director of the Women and Work Research Group in the University of Sydney Business School. A Sydney Ideas event on 2 October, 2014 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/gabriela_ramos.shtml

An Arts Matters Forum - Why Feminism Matters Compared with 30 years ago women are now better represented in politics but there is still more to be done. Hillary Clinton and Julia Gillard are examples of women gaining important leadership positions, but not the top job. So how far have women come in terms of political leadership and shaping the public policy agenda? Do men and women do politics differently? Do women have different interests to men and how should these be incorporated into political decision-making? How might contemporary feminism contribute to improving women's position in politics. This forum included leading international political scientists along with Australian academics and researchers in a robust discussion on the state of contemporary feminism. Forum Participants: Rebecca Huntley, writer and social researcher Karen Beckwith, Flora Stone Mather Professor in the Department of Political Science at Case Western Reserve University Mary Fainsod Katzenstein, Stephen and Evalyn Milman Professor of American Studies and Professor of Government at Cornell University Fiona Macka, Director of the Graduate School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland Sue Goodwin, Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney MC: Lisa Forrest A Sydney Ideas forum on 22 March, 2010 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/why_feminism_matters_forum.shtml

BAFTA and MOBO award-winning UK hip hop artist and writer Akala joins a panel of local hip hop artists, students and activists to talk about the evolution of socially conscious hip hop music, and its inspiration for a new generation of artists and activists. 'Community Empowerment' Chair: Frank Trotman-Golden (Indij Hip Hop Show) Panellists: Professor Juanita Sherwood, Academic Director of the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney Akala, BAFTA and MOBO award winning UK hip hop artist and writer Evelyn Araluen Corr, PhD Candidate, the University of Sydney Emelda Davis, Australian South Sea Islanders NSW State Alliance More info: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/akala_and_artists_in_conversation.shtml

BAFTA and MOBO award-winning UK hip hop artist and writer Akala joins a panel of local hip hop artists, students and activists to talk about the evolution of socially conscious hip hop music, and its inspiration for a new generation of artists and activists. After an acknowldegment of Country by DOBBY, and an introduction by Uncle Ken Canning and Dr Omid Tofighian the first panel discuss 'Race Consciousness and Hip Hop'. Chair: Frank Trotman-Golden (Indij Hip Hop Show) Panel: Kaiya Aboagye, PhD Candidate, the University of Sydney Akala, BAFTA and MOBO award winning UK hip hop artist and writer Tasman Keith, Emcee and performer Kween G Kibone, Emcee and performer, radio producer and presenter and youth activist More information: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2016/akala_and_artists_in_conversation.shtml

If a Climate Emergency is Possible, is Everything Permitted? Professor Stephen Gardiner, Professor of Philosophy and Ben Rabinowitz Endowed Professor of Human Dimensions of the Environment, University of Washington In the face of escalating climate change, some scientists are pushing for a serious research program on a dramatic global ‘techno-fix’: the injection of sulphate particles into the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight. This approach to geoengineering - roughly, the ‘intentional manipulation of the planetary environment’ - is often justified by appeal to the threat of a climate emergency. Professor Stephen Gardine argues that this argument threatens to be ethically short-sighted and to encourage creative myopia. It also underestimates what some opponents mean when they refer to sulfate injection as ‘a necessary evil’. As a result, even if the emergency argument is in some sense valid, it misses much of what is at stake in thinking about geoengineering, especially from an ethical point of view. Responses by Professor Jim Falk, Professorial Fellow at the Melbourne School of Land and Environment and Lauren Rickards, Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, at the University of Melbourne A Sydney Ideas and Sydney Environment Institute on 29 July 2014 sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2014/professor_stephen_gardiner.shtml

One of America’s leading political scientists, Peter Katzenstein, is particularly interested in the relevance of cultural categories for the analysis of world politics. In his lecture for Sydney Ideas he offered a critique of the Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilization theory that conflict between distinct groups based on religion and cultural identities (eg Western, Islamic, Sinic) is inevitable, and will dominate in the post cold–war period. The emphasis on the unity and uniformity of different civilizations and hence on sharp differences among civilizations is misguided. Civilizations are better thought of in pluralist rather than unitary terms. Civilizations are unique in important respects, but equally they are embedded in a global context of interactions with other civilizations that influence them without robbing each of its distinctiveness. Instead of focusing on the clash of civilizations, we should concentrate on studying encounters and engagements among civilizations that shape their futures as much as their unique foundations do. This is the right lesson to draw from approaches as distinct as American liberalism and Chinese Confucianism. A Sydney Ideas event on 25 March, 2010 sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/professor_peter_katzenstein.shtml

Loretta Napoleoni is an expert on financing of terrorism and advises governments and international organization on counter-terrorism. In her lecture for Sydney Ideas she outlines how the response of George Bush to 9/11 triggered a chain of events which led to the credit crunch and to the current crisis of the Euro. A Sydney Ideas event on 30 August, 2010 sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2010/loretta_napoleoni.shtml