Integrity 20'17
Griffith University
Griffith University’s Integrity 20’17 brings philosophers, activists, innovators, educators, journalists, rule breakers, artists and visionaries to Brisbane for a fascinating 3-day exploration some of our greatest social, moral and political challenges.
The program features over 40 speakers and performers from Australia and around the world including human rights barrister, author, and broadcaster Geoffrey Robertson QC, economist and former Leader of the Australian Liberal Party John Hewson AM, lawyer and former US ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich, CEO of UK-based Index on Censorship Jodie Ginsberg, Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge Rae Langton, British broadcaster and lecturer Kenan Malik, one of Australia’s finest political satirists Bryan Dawe, co-founder of The Chaser Julian Morrow and author, journalist and activist Masha Gessen, among many others.
Within the theme of ‘truth, disorder and optimism’, this year’s event examines issues such as post-truth and the ethics of deceit, the power of satire, multiculturalism and politics of fear, free speech, the arts and censorship, the global rise of populism and much more.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Fame, Brand, Spin & Debt: Facing up to the Slow Violence of Moral Neglect
Free opening lecture and conversation with former U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Jeffrey Bleich. Jeffrey served as the U.S. Ambassador to Australia from 2009 to 2013, and as Special Counsel to President Obama in the White House. In 2016 he was named one of the United States’ 500 most influential lawyers by the LawDragon 500.
Keynote: How to Destroy Democracy
Masha Gessen is a journalist and the author of ten books of nonfiction, most recently The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, to be published in October 2017. She is also the author of the national bestseller The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin (2012).
Panel: The Innovative Optimist
James O’Loghlin, Mark Pesce, Stefan Hajkowicz and Gaia Grant proffer their optimistic vision for the future; one empowered by a culture of creativity and innovation that cuts across all fields of human and scientific endeavour to solve the great challenges for humanity.
Performance: Army Dreamers: Unfit for Broadcasting
Award-winning singer-songwriter Emma Dean, reimagines Kate Bush’s famous anti-war song Army Dreamers. Army Dreamers was one of a rumoured 67 songs deemed inappropriate for airplay by the British Broadcasting Corporation during the Gulf War.
Panel: Power to the People
Geoffrey Robertson, Greg Sheridan, Masha Gessen, Rachel Kleinfeld and Luke Stegemann examine a range of interconnected trends that are both fuelling, and being shaped by, rising populism.
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