Ethics & Politics: Does Culture Lead & Parliament Follow.

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Join us at this meeting with the Conway Hall Ethical Society where we discuss whether grass roots cultural change is more effective than change through Parliament in making a difference to our world.

The world is changing so fast that we often wonder if we can have any influence at all. Politicians also face this situation and often feel impotent in the face of global forces. Brexit was partly an expression of this frustration.

So can we effect change through politicians and Parliamentary politics or does real change happen elsewhere?

Well some argue that real change comes from the bottom up through our collective activity that changes our culture. It is cultural change that is important and parliamentary politics is often the froth on the top.

Cultural change in civil society, the arts and science all have an impact on our culture, the way we behave and the direction that society is travelling. And it can often influence decision makers who follow the changes that we are all collectively making through our culture.

To help us discuss this we have three speakers deeply involved in cultural change.

Speakers include,

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Matt Scott has worked in the Voluntary Sector for over 25 years as a community development worker. He is currently overseeing the London for All programme at London Voluntary Service Council (LVSC) and teaches at Goldsmiths College and London Metropolitan University. He is on the board of the Community Development Journal and is a director of the Community Sector Coalition CIC. He believes that Civil Society is an important and vital arena for political and cultural change.

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Charlie Blowers is a Director of Moving Pieces Physical Theatre Company. She is also a performer, psychotherapist and Clinical Supervisor. She has had twenty years of clinical experience working with young people and adults experiencing significant mental health challenges in a variety of therapeutic and educational settings. She also works with London Playback Theatre that involves storytelling and improvised drama. She is currently writing a thesis on “art and social prescription.” Charlie believes art is a vehicle for social change.

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Professor Evan Parker from Warwick University where his expertise is in nanotechnology. He also works on climate change including developing a new policy on how to deal with it, and new approaches to geo-engineering. He is active in the Ethical Society and also coordinates the GN21 Voices project set up to focus on key themes and create an action programme.

Discussing the importance of how we can all be involved in cultural change is very empowering as it shows us that the path to making a better world can rest with us all and not just Parliamentarians.