We are excited to be sharing and involving people, from right across the world, in the forward-thinking work of the University and its collaborators during the 10 days, and very much look forward to welcoming our online guests to the very first Cambridge Festival.
Naomi Clements-Brod
The inaugural Festival, which brings together the hugely popular Cambridge Science Festival and the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, aims to tackle and offer solutions for humanity’s most pressing issues, from pandemics, climate change and global economics, to human rights and the future of democracy.
Over 350 events, including debates, discussions, talks, exhibitions, lab tours, workshops, films and performances, present new ideas, research and insight into our daily lives and the issues that are affecting all of us.
The Festival features hundreds of prominent figures and experts in the world of science, current affairs and the arts, including: broadcaster and natural historian Sir David Attenborough; leading expert in carbon footprinting Professor Mike Berners-Lee; statistician Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter; marine biologist, broadcaster and writer Helen Scales; Tom Rivett-Carnac, widely credited for achieving the Paris agreement; Professor of politics David Runciman; theatre director and producer and Founder of the WOW Foundation, Jude Kelly; psychologist Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen; human rights barrister and author Philippe Sands; TV presenter Liz Bonnin; author and broadcaster Nina Schick; and Dr Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury.
The Cambridge Festival programme is divided into four key themes: health, environment, society and explore. Highlights include:
On environment there are talks by internationally-known experts, including an exclusive interview and Q&A with Sir David Attenborough in Hope for Our Planet with Sir David Attenborough; environmental expert Mike Berners-Lee takes us through the facts and figures to help us understand the big picture and how we can respond to it in our everyday lives in There Is No Planet B; and Helen Scales eloquently and passionately brings to life a series of tales, based on her new book (July 2021) about deep-sea discovery in The Brilliant Abyss. Other events include:
On society there are panel discussions on everything from democracy in an age of upheaval with Professor David Runciman and Nina Schick to the impact of Black Lives Matter with Professor of Black Studies Kehinde Andrews, who has a new book coming out shortly, and award-winning behavioural scientist Pragya Agarwal, who has also recently written an acclaimed book, SWAY: unravelling unconscious bias. There are further talks by distinguished academics including Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen on the links between neurodiversity and innovation, and James Otteson discusses his forthcoming book, Seven Deadly Economic Sins (April 2021) on the seven central economic fallacies. Other events include:
On health, there are panel discussions on everything from COVID-19 research and the impact on children of growing up in an increasingly insecure world, to the future of genome editing. Events include:
On explore there is a panel discussion on how Cambridge is contributing to global development challenges, and a tour of the ‘Nobel prize factory’ – a look inside the labs of a world-class research institute, the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, whose scientists have won 12 Nobel Prizes for important work that has helped us understand and tackle major problems in health and disease. There are live demonstrations of zero carbon technologies, and Professor Tim Minshall looks at the ways in which engineers are trying to address the many challenges we read about in the news, from COVID-19 to climate change, from toilet paper shortages to living on Mars. Other events include:
As always there are numerous events for all the family – from gameshows, escape rooms, live experiments, hands-on workshops and more. Highlights include a fun, interactive gameshow, Battle of the Beasts with the Museum of Zoology; the chance to watch spring arrive during the visually stunning Wildlife Diaries at the Botanic Garden; and the Department of Pathology's Virtual Escape Room, involving a series of on-line activities, quizzes and puzzles specially selected for the ages of each team.
Speaking ahead of the Cambridge Festival, Naomi Clements-Brod, Festival Manager (Sciences), said: “Through its sheer volume and scope, the Cambridge Festival is a true reflection of the immense impact the University of Cambridge continues to have on our world through its research. We are excited to be sharing and involving people, from right across the world, in the forward-thinking work of the University and its collaborators during the 10 days, and very much look forward to welcoming our online guests to the very first Cambridge Festival.”
View the full programme via www.festival.cam.ac.uk from 22nd February.
Keep up to date with the Festival on social media:
Instagram @Camunifestivals
Facebook: @CambridgeFestival
Twitter: @Cambridge_Fest
The Festival sponsors and partners are AstraZeneca and RAND Europe. The Festival media partners are BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and Cambridge Independent.