Events

SDW UK – Past Activities

Year Month Topic Location
2004 March Jazz Café und Gründung London
2004 April Waste Management Manchester
2004 May Deutsche Botschaft London
2004 November B&N Negotations Seminar London

2005 February PhD Seminar London
2005 April Wandern im Lake District Lake District
2005 May Corporate Social Responsibility Seminar Cambridge
2005 November B&N Seminar London
2005 December PhD Seminar Cambridge

2006 January Cool Britannia Seminar
2006 February SDW/ SDV Meeting, German Embassy London
2006 February Theatre Seminar London
2006 March Sustainability Seminar Cambridge
2006 November McKinsey Olympia 2012 Seminar
2006 December Brainpower Seminar Cambridge

2007 January Music& Dance &Theatre Seminar London
2007 February Branding Seminar London
2007 March Gruppenreise Scotland
2007 April Aviation Seminar
2007 October BT Communication Seminar London
2007 December PhD Seminar Natural Scienes

2008 February McKinsey Seminar Climate Change and Risk Management
2008 March Politics of War Seminar
2008 April Luxus Seminar
2008 May SDW Furture 2020
2008 May Sailing Cambridge
2008 October Kick-off Seminar London
2008 November Innovationworkshop: How to make ideas happen Cambridge

2009 January Literature Oxford
2009 March Corruption
London
2009 April Scotland: Outdoor and Independence Edinburgh
2009 Oktober Kick-off Seminar London
2009 November Football Seminar London

2010 January Role of the UK in the EU Seminar Oxford
2010 February Energy and Technology Seminar Cambridge
2010 Marz Art and Culture in London, Seminar London
2010 April Reinventing Microfinance Scotland

2011 October Kick-off Seminar London
2011 December Education Seminar London

2012 January Game Theory Seminar Oxford
2012 February Religion and Toleration Seminar York
2012 March London’s Burning Seminar London
2012 April Braveheart 2012 – Scottish Independence Edinburgh

Impressions of past events organised by the UK group.

Opening Seminar in London 4 – 6th November 2011

Seminar: Gentrification in London 11 – 13th March 2011

Being a socio-cultural displacement process in urban development, Gentrification was first described in London districts and shapes the city’s look in the most vibrant neighborhoods.

In March 2011, 25 students participated in the seminar “Gentrification in London” to get introduced to the origin and outcome of Gentrification, both for the area and the people living there.

Through combining lectures and excursions, the seminar aimed to link the theory of Gentrification with the possibility to experience the changes by visiting different areas.

On Friday, we thus initiated the seminar with Geocaching, a modern treasure hunt, to explore the area of Shoreditch, one of the current gentrified hot spots of London. Saturday was dedicated to the theoretical introduction to Gentrification given by urban planner Judith Ryser. The lecture was followed by excursions to Hackney, Brixton and Bermondsey to get an active impression of the changes in the areas through guided tours led by a citizen’s initiative (London Coalition against poverty – “Hackney isn’t crap” walk), urban planner (Stephanie Butcher – Town Centre Director Brixton) and academic (Jamie Keddie – PhD Gentrification in Bermondsey) covering very diverse points of view. In the final discussion on Sunday, the groups then presented their expressions and pictures and debated about the consequences of Gentrification and the possibilities and responsibilities to balance different groups’ needs when sharing urban spaces.

We are very thankful for the speakers, who gave us fascinating insight into several different aspects of the topic and contributed to an enlightening weekend.

Islam and the Muslim world – the Seminar in Edinburgh (21. – 23.01.2011)

For our first seminar in the year 2011, about 35 fellows gathered in the wonderful city of Edinburgh, Scotland, to learn more about Islam and the Muslim World, the culture and the perceptions in politics, media and society. The seminar, organised by students from Sheffield, Leeds, Durham, Edinburgh, St. Andrews and Aberdeen, took place in the magnificent setting of Old College of the University of Edinburgh.

The introductory speech on Friday was given by Dr. Ewan Stein from the University of Edinburgh who talked about the concept and the emergence of Political Islam with the help of the example of Egypt. Prof. Marilyn Booth of the University of Edinburgh followed with a talk on Feminism in the Arab World, using examples from literature and poetry.

Saturday was started off with a very interesting talk about mutual perceptions of Christianity and Islam as well as common views and beliefs held by Professor Hugh Goddard, the Director of the HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World. Following this, Dr. Anthony Gorman of the University of Edinburgh gave interesting insights about Foreign Communities in the Arab World, their integration, the early development of foreign communities in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire as well as examples of today’s world.
In the afternoon, Yousef Dar from NAMP, the National Association of Muslim Police, talked about his work as a member of police and the role of his organisation in creating more awareness, clearing misconceptions about Islam and the fight against rising “Islamophobia”. NAMP, an open and inclusive organisation on a voluntary basis, supports Muslims in the police force and consults various institutions.
Our last guest of the day was Humza Yousaf, a member of the Scottish National Party from Glasgow. In a very open round, we discussed the political aspects of immigration and integration, personal opinions and a mentality which enables successful integration.

The seminar ended on Sunday with a visit to the King Fahd Mosque in Central Edinburgh. After a short tour, and an introduction to the Quran, we talked with members of the Muslim community about their belief in a friendly, open and very informative Q&A session.

We would like to thank all our guest speakers and hosts for their time and the efforts they put into this, all guests of the seminar for their contributions which made this a very interesting and insightful weekend.

Your Orga-Team!

Seminar: Security vs. Liberty in London (03.12.2010 – 05.12.2010)

From the 3-5.12.2010 a group of 25 students gathered in London to take part in a seminar titled “Security vs. Liberty”. The major topics covered on the weekend gathered around the question if surveillance measures like CCTV and other data-collection done by the state actually ensure our safety or endanger our liberty. Another notion was discussed if we should be willing to give up personal liberties to ensure personal safety.

We are very thankful for the speakers who agreed to speak to and discuss with us this highly interesting issue.

Guy Herbert (General Secretary of “No2ID”) who talked to us about “What data the UK government collects and what benefits and dangers this collection entails”

Robin Simcox (Centre for social cohesion) who talked about “Liberty and security in a time of terrorism”

The knowledge accummulated was then used in an Oxford dabate by the whole group. A visit to the exhibition on “Secret State” in the Imperial War Museum concluded this informative, intersting and fun-filled weekend.