Byron Writers Festival’s Ideas Salon will feature leading experts and thinkers on the topics that matter, with ideas and solutions to inspire us all. Join us to get across the latest thinking and walk away with the resolve to get out there and make your own mark on the world; be it a delicate ripple or a roaring tidal wave.
Let’s take a look at some of the sessions that will light up your mind in the Ideas Salon at this year’s festival.
Friday highlights
Friday packs a punch with two massive highlight sessions; the first being Gough: The Myth and the Reality. The influence of Gough Whitlam on Australian politics and our society looms large and leading historians Michelle Arrow, Frank Bongiorno and Julianne Schultz will explore the lasting impact of the late Labor Prime Minister.
Another not-to-be-missed session on Friday is Lutruwita Stories. The history of invaded lutruwita (Tasmania) is bloody and full of horror, resistance, and courage. Historians Joel Birnie, Nicholas Clements and Henry Reynolds, who have each uncovered the stories of First Nations individuals and families on this frontier, discuss their impact with Frank Bongiorno.
Saturday highlights
Saturday’s line-up is also guaranteed to stir both emotion and intellect with the iconic Thea Astley Address, this year presented by Henry Reynolds. When Reynolds began teaching Australian history in the 1960s he discovered that the history books of the period covered very little about north Australia and nothing about First Nations people. He set out to remedy this situation and ended up transforming Australian history in ways he could not have imagined. This important lecture will reveal how the award-winning historian changed the way we look at Australian history, forever.
From the influence of corporate interests on climate policy, the way data controls us in everyday life, to the Israeli munitions industry’s global reach, the Invisible Strings panel, comprising of Jeff Goodell, Suneel Jethani, Antony Loewenstein and Paul Barclay will uncover the invisible strings of influence and power at work in our world today. It’s a must-see session for anyone who wants to understand the forces that are shaping our world today and tomorrow.
Power Plays is set to be an empowering session, with original thinkers Paddy Manning and Victoria McKenzie-McHarg speaking with Misha Ketchell about how powerful people and corporations are obstructing our pathway to saving the planet and what we can do about it.
Sunday highlights
Overcoming the Overwhelm takes a look at the minefield that is modern motherhood. In this Sunday session, Eliza Hull, Isabelle Oderberg and Kristine Ziwica explore with Jacinta Parsons the challenges facing mothers in modern society and some strategies that could be adopted to overcome them.
With the rapid change that is underway in the world of media right now, The Mungo Panel: The Future of Journalism will be packed full of ideas, debate and deep discussion. Panellists Monica Attard, Osman Faruqi, Paddy Manning and Amy Remeikis will explore how the current changes can threaten democracy itself and how the Fourth Estate can retain its key tenets, safeguarding its role as the public’s watchdog.
Ideas Salon is one of five venues accessible via a 1-Day or 3-Day festival pass, available to purchase at byronwritersfestival.com/tickets.
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