Festival of Ideas Returns to York

This year sees the return of highly praised Festival of Ideas, titled under the theme ‘The Next Chapter’.

The festival is hosting over 150 free events which are taking place both in person and online for anyone to enjoy in the hopes that they will educate, entertain and inspire people in the process.

Director of the festival, Joan Concannon first set up the event 11 years ago, whilst tuition fees were about to treble in price and they wanted to create something open to a diverse range of people, especially to those who may not have considered University.

Joan Concannon told YorNews: “We wanted to create a programme partnership model whereby we had an ability to work with other organisations to co-programme and cocurate events that would allow us to reach our audiences. It was important to make it free to audiences to ensure that there were no barriers.

“There was a realisation that if we all worked together alongside organisations within the city, that were struggling to make their voice heard, we could make more noise and be more impactful.

“It was really about accessibility and that created our ethos of educating, entertaining and inspiring in equal part.”

Some key highlights of the event which are recommended to YorNews readers are:

Carnival of the Animals with Michael Morpurgo, 19th June at 7pm

Beloved author Michael Morpurgo is returning to York Minster to speak about his work around environmentalism and sustainability. The talk will be based on his collection of poems which discuss the impact of humanity on animals’ habitats whilst being set to some amazing music. Be sure not to miss out as it will be only the second time Michael will have performed the piece. Michael is a regular at the festival and loves to perform in the Minster and particularly loves the fact that its free to audiences to attend. More information and free tickets to the event can be found here.

(Re)telling stories at York Theatre Royal with Joe Walker, 12th June at 2:30pm

Multi-award-winning British film editor Joe Walker is at the festival to discuss his career path to how he received an Academy Award for his work on science fiction film, Dune (2021). This event is perfect for anyone interested within storytelling and filmmaking. Be sure to claim a free ticket to the event here.

(Re)telling Stories at York Theatre Royal with Professor Mary Bly / Eloisa James, 12th June at 1pm

Chair of Fordham University’s English Department Mary Bly has an entire other life writing historical romantic fiction. The novels are along the lines of Bridgeton, and sell millions of books yearly under the pen name of Eloisa James. The event will explore romance fiction and explore the rise of popularity in books and videos from past to present day. Tickets and venue information can be found here.

My Podcasting Year with Tim Dowling, 12th June at 7:30pm

Hosted at the Museum Gardens, author and Guardian columnist Tim Dowling is returning to the festival to discuss the journey he undertook in creating podcast ‘Insult My Intelligence’. The podcast series is focused on him interviewing experts on subjects he does not understand. The in-person event is free to attend and tickets can be sourced here.

Ukraine: Causes, consequences and implications for global security panel discussion, 19th June at 11am

A panel of experts consisting of Gavin Esler, Olesya Khromeychuk and Stefano Pontecorvo are coming together to discuss Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine with reference to the history that has led to the conflict and what the overall consequences will be both in Ukraine and globally. This event is held both in-person and online and further information on Zoom links and locations can be found here.

Additionally, there are many more events focused on different topics, from healthcare, to geopolitics to starting your own business, with events being held all across York, including at the Guildhall.

Importantly, every session has at least half an hour of engagement and interaction with the audience to allow people to express their thoughts and attributes.

Director, Joan Concannon expressed: “no idea is bad, the idea of us all learning from each other is key, we want to be opportunistic in how we allow people to have their voice heard.”

For further information and to see a full event schedule, visit York Festival of Ideas.