Festival
On Campus
Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
The Politics and International Relations Festival is an annual series of events held by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for anyone interested in how politics shape our lives.
The festival celebrates research highlighting how the world of politics and international relations enables us to understand and tackle issues like conflict, war, inequality, poverty and government decisions on education, health, and economic development.
Enjoy a wide range of events that bring together UK and international policymakers and activists to debate many of the pressing challenges currently facing political leaders today. Our events include panel discussions with local politicians and expert analysts, a performance by human rights activists, a live recording of Peace Wanted podcast and a special event developing Women in Leadership.
Come join us as we discuss some of the world’s most challenging political issues of the day!
Sessions
Date & Time: Monday 27th November 10:00 - 11:00
Location: James Graham, Headingley Campus
We’re very excited to announce that Professor Danny Dorling from the University of Oxford will be a key speaker at the PIR festival. “Global, European, and UK trends in inequality - where are we heading?” will be the focus incorporating his human geographical expertise and insights into the widening gap between the ‘have nots’ and the ‘have yachts’. Dorling will grab your attention with his subtle humour, such as showing the ‘narcissistic 1%’ as in need of our support in curbing their greed, and his passion for contributing towards improving the lives of those who are exploited by this group. Danny offers optimistic hope in his latest publication - Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of a Failing State - with the potential for the growth of inequality to be reversing, and for its growth to be deliberately reversed if, where and when it is not falling.
Please note: Open for Leeds Beckett students only.
Date & Time: Tuesday 28th November, 13:00 - 14:00
Location: Calverley CL303, City Campus
This talk explores the role of familial ties in war. How does family as a gendered social institution legitimise and sustain war? What are the familial ties that emerge and transform through war? What might be some of the challenges in researching affective ties in a war’s aftermath? The talk explores these questions in the context of the Maoist People’s War in Nepal, drawing on feminist and ethnographic approaches to studying conflict. The talk aims to prompt reflections on what kinds of stories we tell and hear about family in contexts of war, and the ethics and politics of telling and re-telling stories in research. The discussion will integrate listening to story excerpts produced from the field research material and a Q and A session.
Date & Time: Wednesday 29th November, 11:30 - 15:30
Location: Knowledge Exchange Boardroom, Ground Floor, Rose Bowl, City Campus
"The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough." - Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia (Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent efforts to promote peace and her struggle for women's rights).
Leadership is a key aspect of politics and women are often underrepresented in mainstream leadership roles. Our Women in Leadership event aspires to grow confidence in young women and give them the opportunity to grow their leadership potential. Through the event we’ll explore a number of areas key to effective leadership, including: Confidence, Networking, Online Presence and lots more!
You’ll have the opportunity to:
- Hear a from various inspirational leaders
- Learn about different career paths and experiences of leadership
- Develop your understanding of leadership and define what this means for you
- Build your internal and external networks
- Build your confidence
Please note: Open for Leeds Beckett students only.
Date & Time: Wednesday 29th November, 11:30 - 13:30
Location: Portland PD406, City Campus
Come and join our very own Dr. Anna Ankowska from Leeds Business School for this interactive learning experience. Dr. Ankowska will use board games to illustrate the complexity of policy making.
Date & Time: Wednesday 29th November, 14:00 - 15:00
Location: Rose Bowl RB407, City Campus
This presentation will focus upon the potential impact of AI technologies on patterns of inequality, both in the UK and globally. It will look at issues including job displacement and impact on employment patterns; ownership of, and unequal access to, AI technologies and their potential benefits; and the potential for biased AI systems to exacerbate existing inequalities and power relationships within society. It will go on to explore the potential for the AI revolution to undermine the very foundations of the global capitalist system itself, and ask whether such a development might lead to a new era of human emancipation, or to a global dark age for the masses of humanity.
Date & Time: Wednesday 29th November, 15:00 - 16:00
Location: Rose Bowl RB407, City Campus
In the last three years, there have been eight coups in West Africa and the Sahel with six being successful. This event will explore the reasons for the spate of military takeovers and the implications for security and democracy in the region.
Please note: Open for Leeds Beckett students only.
Date & Time: Thursday 30th November, 11:00 - 14:30
Location: Calverley CL104, City Campus
James Darley (Founder & CEO, Transform Society) has more than 25 years’ experience in graduate recruitment. He has served as a Trustee and as part of Senior Leadership for a range of public and charity sector graduate schemes and brings a wealth of knowledge.
Join us for this mini challenge where you will have a go at ‘gamification’ and situational judgement tests (both used widely in graduate scheme recruitment) and develop your presentation skills ready for your real-life job applications. You’ll also have chance to work on a live challenge focused on youth crime, where you’ll work in a team to research and present your solutions. There will be a winner announced on the day and you’ll get valuable feedback to take away with you.
Please note: Open for Level 6 students only.
Date & Time: Thursday 30th November, 12:00 - 14:00
Location: Rose Bowl RB539, City Campus
Virtual reality technologies consist of consoles, headsets and hand-held controllers. Wearing a head-mounted display and becoming immersed in virtual reality can be regarded as an invitation to encounter a pre-programmed world, of visual imagery, text and sound. This can be computer-generated virtual environments or cinematic VR which uses 360 degree footage. Virtual Reality is now used to recreate historical events and provide news stories. But what happens when we become immersed in a historical-based virtual reality recreation? Join Dr. Melanie Chan for a lecture on how VR experiences extend or differ from other archive material such as books, television or newspaper reports.
Please note: Open for Leeds Beckett students only.
Date & Time: Thursday 30th November, 13:00 - 14:00
Location: Rose Bowl RB444, City Campus
Peace Wanted is a podcast on civilian protection and how the unarmed are kept unharmed amidst violence. This recording brings local Leeds voices, dealing with violence, and how they use nonviolence to protect others.
Date & Time: Thursday 30th November, 13:30 - 15:00
Location: Portland PD102, City Campus
Is knowledge neutral or political? Does the historical connection between academia and colonial power matter? Are academic knowledge and ways of knowing still structured by racial logics? A cross-disciplinary panel explores these issues and more, in a round-table discussion open to staff, students and members of the public.
Date & Time: Thursday 30th November, 14:00 - 16:30
Location: Portland PD106, City Campus
This Is Who I Am shares first-hand accounts from LGBT+ people about their experiences in their own country and on arrival in the UK, addressing the particular challenges they face going through the UK asylum system. The session consists of a creative participation and team work workshop followed by a reading and a Q&A Panel Discussion. Please be aware that the testimonies include accounts of state, sexual and homophobic violence. The session is led by Ice & Fire (Exploring Human Rights Stories through Performance) with the participation of Actors for Human Rights.
Please note: Open for Leeds Beckett Students only
