Tag: lectures

TED Talk: We should focus on wellbeing, says First Minister

In a speech to the TED Summit in Edinburgh, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon argued that a focus on policies that promote wellbeing, and not just economic growth, could help address the rise of alienation and disaffection from politics.

The First Minister said the time for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to be seen as the only measurement of a country’s success was over. Continue reading TED Talk: We should focus on wellbeing, says First Minister

Napier University to host acclaimed security guru

WORLD-renowned cybersecurity expert Bruce Schneier is to outline his vision of the future in a special event at Edinburgh Napier University.

The influential author of Click Here to Kill Everybody will discuss Trust, Privacy and The Future in a speaking engagement at the Craiglockhart campus on Wednesday June 19. Continue reading Napier University to host acclaimed security guru

Science Festival programme launched

The_Ideas_Factory___photo_Aly_Wight__2__JaduThe Edinburgh International Science Festival today announced the programme for Spring 2015.

The Festival, which will bring together hundreds of events, activities and exhibitions to celebrate science, will take place over Saturday 19 March – Sunday 4 April taking in the Easter school break.

This year, the Festival aims to transform into ‘The Ideas Factory’ – a hub of information, ideas and innovation. Some of the events taking place include:

  • Brainwaves – a series examining the mysteries of Brain, Mind & Consciousness
  • Light & Enlightenment – UN International Year of Light 2015 illuminates Scotland’s greatest minds
  • GastroFest – our mini-festival about the science of food and drink returns
  • Energy & Environment – a series debating our global climate future featuring IPCC Chair Dr Rajendra Pachauri
  • Numbers That Matter – probing big data and the stats behind our lives
  • The Reading Experiment – a celebration of science writing in all its forms
  • How the Light Gets In – an exhibition showcasing artists working with light
  • Moral Philosopher Mary Midgley announced as recipient of the Edinburgh Medal 2015
  • Nobel Prize winner Prof Peter Higgs heads a list of world-leading scientists and speakers
  • Science Festival launches #SciPals half-price scheme for students supported by Siemens

The City of Edinburgh Council is a major funding partner of the Festival. Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion for the city, commented: “The Edinburgh International Science Festival is always a key highlight in the Spring calendar for both local Edinburgh residents and visitors to the city.

“Anyone visiting the Festival is in for a treat as this year’s programme  is as jam-packed as ever. The Council’s City Art Centre will once again be transformed into a place of pioneering science and magic, and there will be a host of events and activities on offer for families.

“Every year the festival also features lectures from world-leading scientists and speakers, and a highlight for 2015 will be an insight from Professor Peter Higgs who was a recipient of the Edinburgh Award for his influence on the city.”

Full details of the 2015 programme can be found at sciencefestival.co.uk.

Tickets for all events can be booked online via the website or through the Box Office on 0844 557 2686.

African Tudors remembered

African people in sixteenth century Scotland
– A forgotten population. But remembered today

Wednesday 3rd December 2014
12.45pm-1.30pm
Join historian Onyeka at the Scottish National Gallery as he discusses the untold story of African people in Scotland during the Tudor period.

Onyeka is the author of Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, their Presence, Status and Origins, a groundbreaking publication that unearths the hidden history of African people in Tudor England and Scotland. The research in Blackamoores highlights the contribution African people made to the development of cities such as Edinburgh and challenges the commonly held belief that these people were slaves or placed at the lowest rung of society.

In his groundbreaking book, Onyeka argues that African people were present in cities and towns throughout England, but that they did not automatically occupy the lowest positions in Tudor society. This is important because the few modern historians who have written about Africans in Tudor England suggest that they were all slaves, or transient immigrants who were considered as dangerous strangers and the epitome of otherness. However, this book shows that some Africans in England had important occupations in Tudor society, and were employed by powerful people because of the skills they possessed. These people seem to have inherited some of their skills from the multicultural societies that they came from, but that does not mean all of those present in England were born in other countries: some were born in England.

 The arguments in this book are supported by evidence from a variety of  sources both manuscript and printed, most of which has not been widely  discussed – whilst some of it Onyeka has discovered, and this may be the first  time that it has been revealed. Other evidence is taken from texts that are the  subject of popular discussion by historians, linguists and so on, but Onyeka  encourages the reader to re-examine these works in a different way because  they reveal information about the presence, status and origins of Africans in  Tudor England.

African people in sixteenth century Scotland
– A forgotten population, But remembered today

Wednesday 3rd December 2014  12.45pm-1.30pm

Free admission

Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL

This will be a thrilling afternoon and one of the last opportunities to hear Onyeka discuss this subject matter.

For more information please visit www.narrative-eye.org.uk or email admin@narrative-eye.org.uk

 

Celebrate the history of Circle

Best wishes to all at Circle Scotland, the national children and families charity based in West Pilton Park, who are holding their annual lecture tonight in the Botanic Gardens Lecture Theatre.

Tonight’s speaker is Dr Mark Smith, Head of Social Work at the University of Edinburgh, and the theme of the lecture is ‘Celebrating the history of Circle’.

Circle was born as an independent charity in 2006, but the organisation has a long and illustrious history – Circle was created from Family Service Units, which were established in areas of deprivation just after World War Two.

Circle’s is a story worth telling and tonight’s event promises to be fascinating. Hope it goes well.CIRCLE