North East Centre for Transformative Education and Research (NECTER)/RCE North East is pleased to announce a full programme of events running through 2011 in partnership with Newcastle University, Sunderland University, Teesside University, Northumbria University and many more. Events include a series of activities taking place throughout the year to celebrate Newcastle University’s world-leading work on sustainability in partnership with Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability, top class adult education organised by North East Centre for Lifelong Learning and our Regional Launch which includes over 25 events and festivals happening across the region. So, whether it be for film and video screenings, exhibitions, debates or public lectures, come and join us for the best in education for sustainable development. An outline programme is given below - watch this space for up-to-date information on RCE festivals and events 2011.
RCE 2011 events at a glance:
Sustainability Forum: Film and Video screenings throughout 2011
Cinema Politica Launch, 24th February
World Water Day, 22nd March
RCE European Planning Meeting, 6th - 8th July
Panganai Svotwa Photography Exhibition, Opening 18th August
Why save the planet?, Monday, 3rd October
Writing for Children, from 3rd October
Children's Literature Book Group, from 3rd October
The Roaring Twenties, from 3rd October
Philosophy Today: Allen on Animals, from 4th October
Great Composers - Reflecting Nature, from 4th October
The struggle for black British literature, Thursday 6th October
People's Philosophy Festival, Saturday 8th - Friday 21st October
French Film Noir – Crime Films with Undeniable ‘je ne sais quoi’, from 7th October
Black history month - Sixth form conference, Friday 12th October
Film Club at the Arts Centre: From Page to Screen, from 12th October
South Asians Making Britain, 1858-1950 [exhibition], From 18th October
skying: art, landscape and renewable energy, Wednesday 19th October
Extraordinary General Meeting of the RCE, Wednesday 19th October
An audience with Jackie Kay, Thursday 20th October
A Taste of Africa 2011, Friday 21st October
Eddie Botsio - in and out of the public eye, Friday 21st October
Here and now conference, Friday 21st October
Visions for the Future of the City workshop, Saturday 22nd October
Resilience for Future Energy Systems conference, Monday 24th October
3rd Newcastle Bicycle Film Festival, 28th - 30th October
The Great Debate: Facing the Future, Saturday 5th November
The Great Sustainability Debate: School debating competition, Monday, 14th November
Dying for Life: Global Student Forum regional conference, Thursday, 17th November
Press Play festival, Thursday 17th - Sunday 20th November
Newcastle Winter Book Festival, Thursday 24th - Sunday 27th November
The Future of Energy for the North East, Monday 12th December
Sustainability Forum: Film and Video Screenings 2011
H2Oil, Thursday, 24th February
Blue Gold: World Water Wars [Cinema Politica Newcastle] Wednesday, 6th April
The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena), Tuesday, 10th May
The Swarm, Wednesday, 11th May
Bee Movie, Saturday, 14th May
The Battle of Algiers, Monday, 16th May
The Vanishing of the Bees, Wednesday, 18th May
Basic Sanitation (Saneamento Básico), Wednesday, 6th July
Sound It Out, Friday 14th October
Just Do It: A Tale of Modern-Day Outlaws, Tuesday 18th October
Breaking Away, Sunday 30th October
Occupation 101, Monday 7th November
Sylvia Pankhurst: Everything is Possible, Thursday 1st December
What Would Jesus Buy?, Wednesday 14th December
Sustainability Forum: Film and Video screenings planned
Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance
500 Years Later
La Maison Jaune (The Yellow House)
Journey to the Center of the Earth
As a contribution Newcastle University's Year of the Societal Challenges of Sustainability, 2011, RCE North East is working in partnership with NIReS, Cinema Politica Newcastle and Culture Lab to present films and videos expressing different approaches to core themes and issues surrounding transformation, social change and environmental responsibility. In the run up to a year long programme of events the film and video forum screened a short series of films around the theme of bees - cooperation and industry, beginning with The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) at Culture Lab on Tuesday 10th May, followed by The Swarm, Wednesday 11th May in Devonshire Building. For our younger participants we showed Bee Movie as a matinee on Saturday 14th May again in Culture Lab, and concluded with The Vanishing of the Bees in Culture Lab on Wednesday 18th May.
In partnership with Newcastle University School of Modern Languages Department we presented the topical Battle of Algiers on Monday 16th May in Culture Lab and on Wednesday 6th July we took the forum outside of Newcastle University for the first time with a screening of Brazilian comedy Basic Sanitation (Saneamento Básico) at the Star and Shadow Cinema.
In February Cinema Politica launched its programme with H2Oil - a review of the oil sands industry in Alberta - and marked World Water Day in March with a screening of Blue Gold with presentations by University academics from those specific fields.
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Day includes an advance screening of controversial documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars by Cinema Politica Newcastle (also screening on 6 April at Culture Lab as part of Cinema Politica's regular programme).
A celebration of South Asian film including a personal appearance and screening of the work of film-maker Sudheer Gupta. Dates to be announced.
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This masterpiece of Spanish cinema was the directoral debut of Victor Erice. Released in 1973, the film is a critique of post-civil war Spain set in 1940, focusing on the young girl Ana (Ana Torrent) and her fascination with the 1931 American horror film Frankenstein.
With Fernando Fernán Gómez, Teresa Gimpera, Ana Torrent, Isabel Tellería, Ketty de la Cámara, Estanis González and José Villasante as The Frankenstein Monster
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Introduced by Karen Scott, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University
Cult disaster movie from 1978 directed by Irwin Allen about a killer bee invasion of Texas adapted from a novel of the same name by Arthur Herzog. The all-star cast includes Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Richard Chamberlain, Olivia de Havilland, Ben Johnson, Lee Grant, Patty Duke, Slim Pickens, Bradford Dillman, Fred MacMurray (in his final film appearance), and Henry Fonda.
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Introduced by Karen Scott, Centre for Rural Economy, Newcastle University
This one's for the kids! Animated comedy from 2007 directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner and written by Jerry Seinfeld, Spike Feresten, Barry Marder, and Andy Robin. Jerry Seinfeld stars as a bee who decides to sue all humans after he finds out they eat the honey that the bees produce. Also starring Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Megan Mullally, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates and Patrick Warburton.
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Introduced by Guy Austin, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University
Classic war film from 1966 based on events which took place during the Algerian War against French colonial rule in North Africa, the most prominent being the Battle of the title. Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo and starring Jean Martin as Col. Mathieu with music by Ennio Morricone.
In French and Arabic with English subtitles
with guest speakers Dr Geraldine Wright from Newcastle University's Honeybee Research Lab and Kym Pritchard, a beekeeper and co-founder with her husband Mark of Beekeeping Courses North.
Honeybees have been mysteriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives.
Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this phenomenon has brought beekeepers to crisis in an industry responsible for producing apples, broccoli, watermelon, onions, cherries and a hundred other fruits and vegetables. Commercial honeybee operations pollinate crops that make up one out of every three bites of food on our tables.
Filming across the US, in Europe, Australia and Asia, this documentary examines the alarming disappearance of honeybees and the greater meaning it holds about the relationship between mankind and mother earth. As scientists puzzle over the cause, organic beekeepers indicate alternative reasons for this tragic loss. Conflicting options abound and after years of research, a definitive answer has not been found to this harrowing mystery.
Screened in partnership with Cinema Politica Newcastle
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Upbeat and comic look at social activism by the celebrated Brazilian director Jorge Furtado. Starring Fernanda Torres, Wagner Moura, Camila Pitanga, Bruno Garcia, Lázaro Ramos, Tonico Pereira and Paulo José.
In Portuguese with English subtitles.
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Members of partner RCEs across Europe join us in the North East to plan the forthcoming international meeting in November 2011.
Can we solve the problem of climate change? Moral philosophers have proposed several possible solutions to this challenge. Thom Brooks, from Newcastle University, will argue that they fail, but shed light on a better alternative. However, a bigger concern remains. Have we got the problem right?
Ellen Phethean is a writer and editor. She co-founded Diamond Twig press with Julia Darling. She wrote Wall, Smokestack Books 2007, a teen novel in poems. Her first full collection of poetry Breath, October 2009 Flambard was shortlisted for the London Fringe 1st Collection Award 2010. She co-wrote Cain and Abel with her son Fred Phethean, in Hip Hop style, for the Durham Mysteries Cycle, May 2010. She is currently working on a novel for teenagers.
Join us to discuss the latest children's novels, short stories and picture books. Our usual meeting is the first Monday of the month, within Explore seasons. Please check session dates in advance and see the Explore website for full details. More ...
Interdisciplinary sessions bringing together many of the new developments that made the 20s a time of excitement, innovation and discovery organised by Explore. More ...
The Newcastle Philosophy Society aims to free philosophy from the dusty academic closet and release philosophical conversation back into the public arena – pubs, cafes, community halls and the like. All of our events are designed for engagement and interaction, sharing and dialogue in a spirit of mature enquiry rather than debate.
One thing philosophy tells us is that right answers are hard to find. And that should not stop us searching.
Our Theme "What is so special about Community?" is intended to be provocative. There is much talk of restoring communities and of community cohesion. But do we really understand what we mean by community in the 21st century and why they may be important?
The wide range of events offered under this theme demonstrate there is still much to be explored. Come and join us. More ...
The films chosen for the course programme are all considered to be masterpieces of the crime genre, possessing qualities which supposedly set them apart from many other films of their type. With this in mind, we will be considering both why/how they might have attained their ‘classic’ status and why it is they continue to have both popular and critical relevance more than half a century after they were made. A necessary part of our exploration will concern the respective production contexts for these films, involving an overview both of their respective directors and the wider social and cultural contexts within which they were working. More ...
Africans in America and Asians in Britain
Its aim is to give students with an interest in English literature and/or history a taste of the way in which these subjects are studied at university and to highlight their relevance to contemporary social and cultural issues.
Participants will take part in two workshops led by academics from the English Studies and History sections at the University.
The event is part of black history month at Teesside University
Film screening as part of Press Play festival
Over the last five years an independent record shop has closed in the UK every three days. Sound It Out is a documentary portrait of the very last surviving vinyl record shop in Teesside, North East England.
A cultural haven in one of the most deprived areas in the UK, Sound It Out documents a place that is thriving against the odds and the local community that keeps it alive. Directed by Jeanie Finlay who grew up three miles from the shop. A distinctive, funny and intimate film about men, the North and the irreplaceable role music plays in our lives. High Fidelity with a Northern Accent.
The world of environmental direct action has remained a secretive one, until now.
Just Do It lifts the lid on climate activism and the daring troublemakers who have crossed the line to become modern-day outlaws. Documented over a year, Emily James' film follows these activists as they blockade factories, attack coal power stations and glue themselves to the trading floors of international banks despite the very real threat of arrest.
"A smart, funny, adrenalised portrait of 21st century activism" Danny Leigh - The Guardian
Before the feature presentation we will also be showing a short by local filmmaker Kieran Cudlip who, amongst other things, documented the student protests last November.
Other participants in the nationwide screenings include: Aberdeen, Anglia Ruskin, Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, Arts University College Bournemouth, Bournemouth University, Cambridge, Chester, City of Bath College, Cranfield, De Montfort University, East Anglia, East Surrey College, Edinburgh, Exeter, Falmouth, Glasgow University, Glasgow School of Art, Goldsmiths, Greenwich, Hereford College of the Arts, Heriot-Watt, Huddersfield, Imperial College, Kent, King’s College, Kingston, Lancaster, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, London Metropolitan, LSE, Loughborough, Manchester, Middlesex, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, RCA, Roehampton, Royal Conservatoire Scotland, Salford, Sheffield, SOAS, Southampton, Strathclyde, Stirling, St. Andrews, St. George’s, Surrey, Sussex, Swansea Metropolitan, UCL, UWE, UWC Atlantic College, University of the West of Scotland, York, York St. John, Warwick, Worcester, Winchester.
Middlesbrough Central Library is open 9.30am - 5.00pm (7.00pm Monday, Tuesday and Thursday). It is closed on Sundays.
Rehana Ahmed will give her curator talk for this exhibition at Middlesbrough Central Library on Tuesday 25 October at 7.00pm.
Everyone is welcome.
Find out more about the exhibition and the Open University-led and AHRC-funded Making Britain project
The event is part of black history month at Teesside University
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RCE North East partners were invited to come and discuss the future direction and constitution of the RCE beyond the launch. Minutes of the meeting, NECTER constitution.
Poet and novelist Jackie Kay MBE in conversation with Kachi Ozumba.
Nigerian writer and Teesside University lecturer, Kachi Ozumba accompanied her for part of the journey to Nigeria to trace her roots – a chance conversation with Kachi, then a PhD student at Newcastle University, had revealed that his uncle in Nigeria had been mentored by Jackie’s birth father.
Jackie will be reading from Red Dust Road – and will be in conversation with Kachi about her turbulent journey to Nigeria and about the role that chance plays in our lives.
Jackie Kay MBE was born in Edinburgh and brought up in Glasgow. Her first collection of poetry, The Adoption Papers, was published in 1991. Her first novel, Trumpet (1998) was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize and shortlisted for the International Impac Dublin Literary Award. Other books include two collections of short stories, Why Don't You Stop Talking (2002) and Wish I Was Here (2006) which won her the British Book Awards’ Decibel Writer of the Year. Her collection for children Red, Cherry Red (2008) won the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education award; while her memoir, Red Dust Road has just won the 2011 Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year. Her latest book, Fiere (2011) is a Poetry Book Society recommendation.
Kachi A Ozumba is a Nigerian-born novelist and short-story writer. He won the Arts Council England’s Decibel Penguin Prize in 2006 and a Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 2009. His debut novel, The Shadow of a Smile (2009) was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and nominated for the Desmond Elliot Prize. He also lectures in creative writing at Teesside University.
The event is part of black history month at Teesside University
Africa will come alive in the town of Middlesbrough, North East England. More ...
At a time when the media landscape is experiencing unprecedented change, Eddie has photographed some of the architects of the BBC’s public service heritage.
On show will be portraits of some of the leading media personalities of today and one or two potential stars of tomorrow.
Eddie will also give a presentation about his life and work in journalism during his visit. This is a great opportunity to find out more about the world of media journalism.
The event is part of black history month at Teesside University
This conference is aimed at international students and anyone with an interest in black and minority ethnic communities’ issues.
The here and now conference is a Cultures CiC event for the whole of the North East region.
Supported by Teesside University, it will feature inspirational black and minority ethnic speakers, including current and past Teesside students.
Eddie Botsio, award-winning BBC journalist, Ray Mallon, Mayor of Middlesbrough and Shahda Khan, Principal Cohesion Officer at Middlesbrough Borough Council, will also speak at the conference.
The event is part of black history month at Teesside University
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During the morning session, we have arranged a number of guest speakers including:
The afternoon session will involve some workshops which enable participants to discuss the ideas presented in the morning, to present their own ideas and concepts, and to discuss these in an informal setting with like-minded colleagues. We hope, at the end of the day, to have enabled the development of collaborative links which bear fruit in the long term. We also intend to publish a position paper based on the day’s events.
Lunch and refreshments will be provided and travelling expenses will be available to attendees if required.
If you would like to attend, please contact by email advising of any special dietary requirements or allergies be.resilience @ northumbria.ac.uk
5.30pm Bike Festival Cycle ride through Newcastle and Alleycat Treasure Hunt. Meet at Haymarket
6.30pm Finish at the Star & Shadow Cinema for Food and bar and relax.
Short films to watch at your leisure including:
Re-Cycle.... Bikes 2 Africa screening between 6.30pm and 7.30pm
7.30pm Beauty and the Bike film (cycling in Darlington and Bremen), followed by a discussion with the Directors
9.30pm - Bristol Asylum Seekers Bike Project [film]
with bar, music, DJ & dancing until midnight.
Open Day at Recyke y'Bike
Sales as usual 10.00 - 1pm. Stalls and Bicycle info from NewCycling Campaign group, Rainfrog, Lush, and lots more
11.00 Bike Maintenance Demo at Recyke y'Bike Workshop.
9.45 Cycle Ride organised by Watbike
1.00 Tyneside Cinema Digital Lounge. Breaking Away - Classic coming of age movie from 1979 (see below)
Newcastle Bicycle Festival Blog
Charming coming of age story following a group of four teenagers in Bloomington, Indiana, who enter a bicycle race against a professional Italian cycling team.
Starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie and Paul Dooley. Written by Steve Tesich and directed by Peter Yates.
The film won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Tesich, and also received nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Barbara Barrie), Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Picture. The film also won the 1979 Golden Globe Award for Best Film (Comedy or Musical).
Screening as part of 3rd Newcastle Bicycle Film Festival
Independent documentary film directed by Owen 'Alik Shahadah, written by M.K. Asante, Jr.
Crime, drugs, HIV/AIDS, poor education, inferiority complex, low expectation, poverty, corruption, poor health, and underdevelopment plagues people of African descent globally - Why? 500 years later from the onset of Slavery and subsequent Colonialism, Africans are still struggling for basic freedom-Why? Filmed in five continents, and over twenty countries, 500 Years Later engages the authentic retrospective voice, told from the African vantage-point of those whom history has sought to silence by examining the collective atrocities that uprooted Africans from their culture and homeland. 500 Years Later is a timeless compelling journey, infused with the spirit and music of liberation that chronicles the struggle of a people who have fought and continue to fight for the most essential human right - freedom.
Released in 2005 this film won five international film festival awards including UNESCO 'Breaking the Chains Award' in the category of Best Documentary.
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A sublime and moving Algerian film from 2007 about a Berber family's struggle to obtain electricity. Directed by Amor Hakkar and starring Amor Hakaar, Aya Hamdi and Tounis Ayit-Ali. The eldest son of a family has died in a car accident during military service and the father, Maloud, sets off to collect his son's body for proper burial. On his return he realises that his wife Fatima has fallen too deep into grief and tries in vain to bring a smile to her face once again. Then a mysterious plastic cassette is discovered among the lost son's belongings ...
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Introduced by Professor Paul Younger, Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability
In this 1959 version of the Jules Verne novel, an Edinburgh professor is intrigued by a strange rock given to him by one of his students. Uncovering its secret leads him and a few other hardy individuals to a dangerous journey that may have no return.
Nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Effects, Special Effects and Best Sound and won a second place Golden Laurel award for Top Action Drama in 1960. Directed by Henry Levin. Starring Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Peter Ronson, Diane Baker, Thayer David and Alan Napier.
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FREE day of argument and documentary-making. The day includes active debates open to all on population and the limits to social and technical engineering and a film-training workshop for young people. Speakers include Ian Abley, architect and director of audacity, Barry K Gills, Professor of Global Politics, Roger Martin, Chair, Population Matters and Brendan O'Neill, editor, Spiked Online. More ...
Cinema Politica Newcastle present this thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Occupation 101 presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions. The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace.
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Students prepare for debate at SCENE launch, Nov 2010. Photograph by Kasey Williamson |
An opportunity for schools ... Thanks to the generous support of Newcastle University The Great Debate will be offering each of the eight schools that take part in the competition a free half-day debating workshop with experts from The Great Debate team. There is so much to gain from debating, not least skills in doing independent research, public speaking, presentation, and of course formulating and sustaining an argument. Thinking for themselves and thinking on their feet develops the confidence and skills required to make informed judgements about scientific and social issues, taking participants well beyond the subject matter of the debates. So, whether your school has an established culture of debating or not, you can benefit from this special offer [offer now closed].
The Global Student Forum regional conference for sixth form students in North East England will look at the greatest health inequity in the world today: the fact that 99% of pregnancy related deaths occur in the developing world. more ...
Four days of film screenings, workshops and music for the discerning film fan, including:
Take a well-known musician, a politician, writers of crime and TV drama, throw in a line of poetry or two, some fiction, a 24 hour non-stop event, some ‘writer’s for hire’, a CSI expert, a festival club, forensic crime for adults – and kids, and a walking tour of ‘Haunted and Bloody Newcastle’ and there you have a flavour of the exciting Newcastle Winter Book Festival.
Spanning five days and six iconic venues around the city of Newcastle, the Festival is crammed with well-known and critically acclaimed authors from the North East such as David Almond, Michael Chaplin, Ann Cleeves and Simon Donald as well as authors from further afield too, including Liz Lochhead, Alistair Moffat, MC Beaton and Hugh Cornwell. For the full programme, and to book tickets, please visit www.newcastlewinterbookfestival.co.uk.
Part of the Sustained Engagement project funded by Royal Academy of Engineering.
How will the North East of England meet its energy needs in 30 years time? A group of engineers will each present their answer to this question to a public audience and will then discuss and adapt their ideas to seek a consensus using new economics foundation's Crowd Wise method. More ...
Screening followed by talk and discussion with Dr Matt Davies (Politics lecturer, Newcastle University)
