Battle of Ideas 2014

Now in its tenth year the Battle of Ideas aims to remain as relevant as ever in trying to face up to and understand the challenges confronting society, to dig beneath the surface and look behind the headlines.

Sessions include:
- Writers and war: reflecting or shaping our perceptions?
- What is architecture for?
- Our morals, their moralism?
- Ukraine: Cold War rebooted?

Appropriately, this intellectual buzz all takes place at the Barbican, one of the world's leading arts centres and a building where, as the Guardian put it, 'there is always something rich and strange going on.'

The festival's flexible format allows attendees either to follow particular strands through one day, or mix and match discussions. The wide variety of partners from the arts, academia, business, science, and media both new and old, and the 350 speakers from a wide range of disciplines and viewpoints, results in a potent mix of perspectives, and should produce debates that give us all plenty to think and talk about.

The festival's motto is FREE SPEECH ALLOWED. You are all invited.

LET BATTLE COMMENCE!