A few gigs...

18th April 2009
Cities in Literature
22: 30pm – 4:00pm
British Library, Conference Centre, Main Auditorium, 96 Euston Road, London
With over half the world’s population now living in cities, and Mumbai set to become the world’s largest by 2015, questions about what makes the experience of living in cities distinctive take on a new urgency.
Speakers: Mani Sankar Mukherji (Sankar), novelist & biographer of Swami Vivekananda; Suketu Mehta, author of "Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found"; Namdeo Dhasal, 'maverick' Marathi poet; Austin Williams, author "Enemies of Progress"
Chair: James Boyle, founder of Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature

30th April 2009
Broken Britain: Can we fix it?
Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4QH
Today, there is a widespread conviction that we live in a "broken society" with endless stories of feckless parents or feral children, and a collapse of "respect" and "trust".
Speakers: Yvonne Roberts, senior associate, The Young Foundation; Eamonn Butler, director, Adam Smith Institute; author, "The Rotten State of Britain"; Alastair Donald, urban designer, researcher and co-editor, "The Future of Community";Steve Wyler, director, Development Trusts Association;
Chair: Austin Williams, author, "Enemies of Progress" & Battle of Ideas' committee member.

19 May 2009
Population: Movements and limitations
Royal Insitute of British Architects, 66 Portland Place, London
9.00 - 11.30am
Economic collapse has brought into question once thought sound notions of growth. What will be new European trends? What areas of the UK will suffer from depopulation as a result of the current economic climate? What impact will this have on growth strategies and sectors of the economy - in particularly the housing market? Can we champion non growth, but maintain stability?
Prof. David Fisk, Imperial College London, Roger Martin, Optimum Population Trust, Austin Williams, author "Enemies of Progress", Alasdair Murray, Centre Forum.