Justin Lewis to present keynote at TEDx Cardiff
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Professor Lewis' talk is during Session 2 (6PM to 8PM) on Saturday 31 March
Head of School, Professor Justin Lewis, will be a keynote speaker at TEDx Cardiff 2012, which is being held at the Wales Millennium Centre.
--Please note this event has now passed, you can watch Professor Lewis' talk here Prof Justin Lewis at TEDxCardiff 2012 (YouTube)--
Professor Lewis will be pose the proposition that while consumer capitalism has been a successful model for creating wealth in the 20th century, it is no longer capable of driving positive human development. Indeed, he suggests, the model is becoming increasingly socially, economically and environmentally dysfunctional, so that the question we should pose is why we spend so little time imagining viable alternatives.
He will be joined on March 31 by Professor B.S. Sathyaprakash who is head of the gravitational physics group at Cardiff University, whose goal is to observe and understand black holes and gravity using gravitational radiation and John Haskell who is one half of the two-man crew Atlantic Dash that recently rowed unsupported across the Atlantic in 45 days.
Founded in California 25 years ago, TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading”. TEDx events follow the TED framework but are run as programs of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.
Ahead of the event, Professor Lewis described further the narrative of his talk “I'll be talking about how the commercial imperatives of the cultural and information industries keep us on the treadmill of consumption - and how they limit our vision of what constitutes progress.
“So, for example, the proliferation of products driven by capitalism has reached a point where increasing consumer choice makes our lives more burdensome, not less. The more we have, the less value each new possession has – which is why there is no longer a link between GDP growth and well-being. And the economic growth on which the system depends is enormously damaging to our environment, with potentially disastrous consequences.”
Although all tickets have sold out, the talks will be live streamed online. The live link will appear on the TEDxCardiff site closer to the day. All talks will also be archived online to watch for free after the event.
Professor Lewis concluded “I'm delighted to be taking part in such a rich festival of ideas - along with people with a passion for communicating those ideas.” His talk is during Session 2 (6PM to 8PM) on Saturday 31 March.
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