Thank you to everyone who came to Ideas at the Powerhouse, a hectic
four days of ideas, innovation and invention. An estimated 15,000
people attended the festival with more than 10,000 sitting in on
speakers and sessions in the main theatres.
featured sessions
Ideas was inundated with requests to publish speakers' papers on
the website. Here selected highlights from the festival including
audio extracts and full papers from many sessions are published.
Remember, all papers and session recordings are protected by copyright
and remain the property of the author. No paper or recording can
be reproduced without the author's permission.
audio extracts index
The following selection of Ideas at the Powerhouse sessions include
summaries and transcripts of the session interspersed with audio
downloads of the speakers presentation.
If your browser is configured to use a plug-in to play MP3 files,
they will play from a controller in a pop-up window when you click
on the DOWNLOAD AUDIO button. Otherwise, the audio extracts will
be downloaded to your computer and you can play the files using
any MP3-capable player such as QuickTime Player, Windows Media Player,
RealPlayer and many others.
A morass of ethical quandaries
Robert Winston considered a morass of ethical quandaries in
the medical and biotechnology field.
Hostility, turbulence and disorder
Gilberto Gallopin mapped the Barbarization Scenario and considered
the hostile, turbulent and disorderly future that might await us.
Recipes for managing uncertainty
Eva Cox mixed up some recipes for managing uncertainty and talked
us through making ours a better society.
The world will get weirder,
the end of the human era
Damien Broderick explained that the speed of change is producing
a spiking world with immortality, biotechnology and nanotechnology
about to make our world much weirder.
The last 1000 years, the next
1000 years
Sohail Inayatullah took us on a road trip through the grand
trends of the last and next 1000 years. What lies in wait for us
as the third millennium unfolds?
Can we free ourselves?
Elaine Wainwright asked can inclusive storytelling free us for
transformation. What happens when traditional stories are brought
into dialogue with contemporary stories to impact on our spiritual
lives?
Very simple miracles
Sulak Sivaraska and John Seed encouraged us to listen
to the earth, contemplate our own breathing, and then use this awareness
for an environmentally and socially just world.
Once the genie is out of the bottle,
there's no putting it back
Peter Doherty inquired into biotechnology and its impact on
our lives. What about cloning, stem cell research and the myriad
ethical questions that arise?
Humanity thinking out
loud
Barbara Piscitelli and Anita Heiss considered the relationship
between literature and learning.
The pros and cons of death
Both Philip Nitschke and Petrea King work with people
who are dying and have very different ideas about death. They explored
social attitudes towards death and consider the rights of the individual
presenting their different perspectives on dying with dignity.
As well Radio National's Late Night Live broadcast some
sessions. To find our what's on and what has been on Late Night
Live just visit the website.
Broadcasts are archived and retained online for at least a month.
session transcripts index
The following selection of Ideas at the Powerhouse sessions includes
papers and speaking notes provided by ideas speakers.
Hostility, turbulence and disorder
Gilberto Gallopin mapped the Barbarization Scenario and considered
the hostile, turbulent and disorderly future that might await us.
Survival and Subversion: Toward
guidelines for those working within the system
David Heilpern addressed a range of ideas about social justice,
ethics and how we get through our days working in a system we don't
believe in.
We Are Not Happy Natives
Haunani-Kay Trask raised the pressing global issue of genocide,
racism and colonialism and called for sovereignty, awareness and
action.
On the hype and pitfalls of the
new economy
Gianni Zappalà cut through the hype of the new economy
and discussed the new inequities arising from the new economy.
Of Virgin Births and Eunuchs
Michael Carden presented queer readings of the biblical texts
and asked if we labour under the spell of a heterosexual Christianity
The Post Traditional Volunteer
Mark Creyton introduced the post traditional volunteer who challenges
community views about volunteering.
Your Ideas about Ideas
More than 500 people shared Your Ideas about Ideas by completing
surveys. Here's a sample of what was said.
- Please do it again, great concept, wonderful for stimulating
community discussion, getting ideas out into the community and
breaking down barriers between academics and ordinary people.
Wonderful that so many sessions were free!
- The Powerhouse is accessible and comfortable for the many people
interested in ideas but not part of the elite ideas-factories
(universities, parliament, etc) that normally monopolise our intellectual/cultural
debate.
- I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere of camaraderie amongst
participants; the Powerhouse seems to be a venue which encourages
strangers to talk to one another. I appreciated the fact that
I felt safe to let my 12-14 year old art students wander freely
about the building, and that there are spaces in the Powerhouse
which feel as comfortable for them as for adults.
- It was terrific! Thank you for not excluding any age group or
ability. It was so child friendly and we all felt fabulously looked
after and welcome. Please, do it again!
- Absolutely fabulous idea!
- The concept of Ideas at the Powerhouse, is such a wonderful
and positive way to challenge the cultural, political and spiritual
beliefs of so many varied people.
- Generation of ideas is at the forefront of a more prosperous
and civil society. Great concept. We should have had this years
ago. Well done.
Everything that you told us about Ideas at the Powerhouse - the
brickbats and bouquets - will be used to inform the development
of this event.
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