Holyrood's festival of politics to debate Scotland's future

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-23225473

Version 0 of 1.

The three-day festival of politics at Holyrood will see journalists, politicians and academics debating Scotland's place in the world.

The annual get-together at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh will have sessions on defence, immigration and the power of social media.

The festival takes place between Friday 23 and Sunday 25 August.

Holyrood's Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick said the event was "where politics and people come together".

She added: "This is one of the most interesting times in our history, a time when questions about who we are as a nation and what the future holds makes daily headlines.

"This year's Festival of Politics will explore many of these questions through lively debate and discussion in the unique setting of the parliament building.

"The Festival of Politics is where politics and people come together and I am delighted that once again the Scottish Parliament is supporting this exciting and intelligent addition to Edinburgh's festivals' season."

Tickets for the numerous sessions go on sale from 09:00 on Tuesday.

The event schedule includes:

This event will explore the power of cultural diplomacy in overcoming cultural conflict. The session will be chaired by Mark Muller QC, barrister and international mediator, chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee. He will explore the key role that small nations, such as Scotland, can play in world cultural diplomacy with panellists Manny Ansar, founder of the Festival in Exile; William Burdett-Coutts, Artistic Director Assembly Edinburgh; and US Ambassador Cynthia P Schneider, non-resident senior fellow in the Project on US Relations with the Islamic World at Brookings.

This session will look at what ability the EU has to further absorb new members and asks the questions - might a widening of membership come at the expense of deeper integration and what are the potential consequences for smaller member states? Peter Jones will chair panellists Professor Charlie Jeffery of the University of Edinburgh, Sir David Edward, a former judge in the European Court of Justice, Fabian Zuleeg, chief economist at the European Policy Centre in Brussels and Tim Phillips, a member of the Advisory Committee for the Club de Madrid.

This session will open with a presentation from Dr Angus Armstrong of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and Centre for Macroeconomics. Chairman Jeremy Peat, economist and director of the David Hume Institute, will be joined by panellists Professor David Bell, University of Stirling; Bill Jamieson, executive editor of The Scotsman; Jo Armstrong of the Centre for Public Policy for Regions and honorary professor at Glasgow University Business School; and Dr Brian Quinn, honorary professor of economics at the University of Glasgow.

In partnership with the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Academy and forming part of the series Enlightening the Constitutional Debate, this event will focus on the impact of constitutional change on the culture of Scotland. This event will be chaired by Magnus Linklater, former editor of The Scotsman and also of the Scottish edition of The Times, and will include contributions from Professor Seona Reid, director of the Glasgow School of Art and former director of the Scottish Arts Council; James Boyle, chairman of the National Library of Scotland, chairman of the British Council in Scotland and formerly director of BBC Scotland and Radio 4; Ruth Wishart, journalist and commentator; and Dr David Elstein, chair of Open Democracy and the Broadcasting Policy Group.

This session will focus on people's attitudes towards independence both in Scotland and the rest of the UK. The session will be started by a presentation from Professor John Curtice of the University of Strathclyde, who currently holds an economic and social research council fellowship specifically to study and report on public opinion towards Scotland's constitutional future. The session will be chaired by Iain Macwhirter, journalist and commentator, and the panel will comprise Mandy Rhodes, editor Holyrood Magazine; David Walker, writer, journalist and commentator; Professor Richard Wyn Jones, director of the Wales Governance Centre, Cardiff University; and Dr Nicola McEwen, senior lecturer in politics at Edinburgh University.

The Happy Lands is a film focussing on Fife's mining communities around the time of the great strike in 1926. It maps the events that many say laid the foundation of Scotland's identification with socialism and internationalism and asks the questions that many Scots feel are not being asked within the current Yes/No campaign. The film will be screened and it will be followed by a discussion exploring notions of identity and community. The session will be chaired by Henry McLeish, former first minister, with panellists director Robert Rae; actor George Wallace; Tom Brown, political commentator and author; and Polly Toynbee, journalist and writer for The Guardian.

Join in the discussions about how artists create art in a social and political context, and what happens when art challenges the political status quo. Experts will discuss international instances of when artists are also activists as well as the context when Scotland's artists express concerns about political, social and environmental issues. Chair Linda Fabiani MSP, who is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, will be joined by a number of experts including artists Matthew Dalziel and Louise Scullion, whose artistic practice seeks to challenge existing attitudes towards nature and raise awareness of ecological issues.

Scottish Youth Theatre presents highlights from a piece devised by a large cast of performers from all over Scotland, first performed as part of Summer Festival 2013.

US commentators Jason Boxt and Robert Moran, respectively Democrat and Republican campaign managers' pollsters, will discuss US opinion and reaction to the current political and economic debates in the UK, with particular emphasis on Europe, Scotland and defence matters.

This discussion will explore current immigration policy in the UK and Scotland and examine what kind of immigration Scotland might need in the future. Topics will include the potential need for different approaches to immigration in Scotland and the UK; economic and social issues related to immigration; and what future policies might look like. The session will be chaired by John Wilkes, chief executive, of the Scottish Refugee Council, with panellists Professor Robert Wright, University of Strathclyde; Professor Alison Phipps, University of Glasgow; Craig Douglas PHD student at the University of Strathclyde; and Aamer Anwar, lawyer and human rights campaigner.

US historian David Nasaw will discuss his recent work on the Kennedy dynasty and introduce and discuss his new biography, The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P Kennedy. It will be introduced by Martyn Evans, chief executive of the Carnegie UK Trust.

This event will seek to answer some of the defence questions associated with the referendum debate. It will be chaired by Professor Louise Richardson, principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews with panellists Angus Robertson MP, the SNP's defence and foreign affairs spokesman; Professor Sir Hew Strachan, fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford, former director of the Scottish Centre for War Studies and adviser to the Ministry of Defence; and Jim Murphy MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence and former Secretary of State for Scotland.

This session will debate whether the spirit of the welfare state may yet be rediscovered in the face of increasing austerity and wide ranging welfare reforms. It will be chaired by Professor Emeritus Adrian Sinfield, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, and panellists including Bill Scott, Manager Inclusion Scotland; and George Lamb, co-ordinator Disability History Scotland.

This session will ask whether social media has the power to increase the influence of small independent nations on world affairs or whether their messages will be lost amidst the chatter. Panellists include Professor Rachel Gibson of the University of Manchester; Gregor Poynton of Blue State Digital, the company that drove the Obama social media campaign; and journalists, commentators and tweeters Kate Higgins and Michael White.