“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr

“When we see a man of worth we should think of equalling him; when we see an unworthy man we should turn inward and examine ourselves.” — The Analects of Confucius

Series Description:

An international series to stimulate, inform, and upskill. A mix of lectures, contributions by leading experts, Q&A, debates, conversation in small groups, role play, and other exercises. Conducted by Professor Joseph Camilleri.

Series Information:

A six-week series designed to:

• Make sense of a polarised world in which many feel isolated, vulnerable, uncertain about the future.

• Grapple with difficult questions: In a post-truth world do we still have ethical standards? We speak loosely of integrity and accountability but what exactly do we mean? Do our governments, professions, businesses, schools, universities, churches, or sporting codes behave ethically? What if they don’t?

• Explore how ethics can help us deal with climate change, cruelty to animals, discrimination, hunger, war, or any of the unresolved crises of our turbulent age.

Program Schedule:

• Sept 10: Ethical Dilemmas of a Runaway World

• Sept 17: Can Ethics Cut the Gordian Knot of Climate Change?

• Sept 24: Ethical Crises in Technology: Current and Potential

• Oct 01: When State Crime is Rife, Who Will Guard the Guards?

• Oct 08: Religion and Identity in the Wake of Gaza: Division or Dialogue

• Oct 15: Indigenous Wisdom and the Prospects of an Ethical Awakening

Dates and Times:

10 September – 15 October 2024
Six 3-hour sessions on 6 consecutive Tuesday evenings
6.30 pm Melbourne / 9.30 am London / 10.30 am Rome & Berlin / 11.30 am Turkey / 2.00 pm New Delhi / 4.30 pm KL & Perth / 8.30 pm Auckland / 10.30 pm Hawaii

Location:

Held in person at University College, University of Melbourne, 41 College Crescent, Parkville, and online.

Bursaries Information:

Conversation at the Crossroads is offering 10 bursaries. We are inviting students and other young people (ages 18 to 30) to apply for a bursary that opens up unique opportunities for conversation and networking.

Each bursary – valued at $400 – offers:

• Full complimentary registration for in-person attendance at the 6-week series Ethics in Turbulent Times

• Complimentary attendance at two other events of your choosing hosted by Conversation at the Crossroads between September 2024 and April 2025

• Cash grant of $100 to be received upon satisfactory participation in the above events and a short conversation at which you will be asked to offer your reflections on your participation.

• A letter of commendation that can be used in any future job applications.

Submit this form by Tuesday 3 September to be considered: https://forms.gle/2Wwmv3SWhJsnRUc96

Series Coordinator and Presenter:

Joseph Camilleri OAM

Professor Emeritus, La Trobe University Melbourne; Fellow of The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia; Convener, Conversation at the Crossroads; author of some 30 books; most recently co-edited Towards a Just and Ecologically Sustainable Peace (Palgrave 2020); media commentator; serves on several advisory boards.

Special Guests:

Peter Singer AC

Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Publications include Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, The Expanding Circle, How Are We to Live?, Rethinking Life and Death, Ethics in the Real World, and The Buddhist and the Ethicist (co-authored with Shih Chao-Hwei). Founder of the charity The Life You Can Save and founding co-editor of the Journal of Controversial Ideas. Awarded the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture in 2021 and shared the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Humanities and Social Sciences with Steven Pinker in 2023.

Susan Carland

Sociologist of religion and Deputy Director of Research Impact and Engagement for the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. Publications include: Fighting Hislam: Women, Faith, and Sexism and The Research Process (with Gary Bouma). Frequently appears on Australian television, radio, print, and hosts the multi-award-winning podcast What Happens Next. Sits on the boards of the Islamophobia Register Australia and the Victorian State Government's Anti-Racism Taskforce.

Thomas Metzinger

Renowned German philosopher; Professor Emeritus of Theoretical Philosophy at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz; author of The Ego Tunnel, and The

Elephant and the Blind; leading researcher in the philosophy of the mind; highly sought after adviser and commentator on the ethics of machine consciousness

DAVID SLUCKI

Director of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation, and Associate Professor of Contemporary Jewish Life and Culture at Monash University; has written widely on Jewish life after the Holocaust, including Sing This at my Funeral: currently working on projects focusing on antisemitism in Australia and Holocaust denial in popular culture

Celeste Liddle

An Arrernte woman (traditional owner in Central Australia), union organiser, activist, feminist, and social commentator; an accomplished panellist and public speaker; inducted in 2017 into the Victorian Women’s Honour Roll; stood for the Greens in the seat of Cooper in the May 2022 elections, winning 41.3% of the two-party preferred vote

Tim Hollo

A highly regarded environmentalist and community builder; Executive Director of the Green Institute; author of Living Democracy; previously Communications Director for Greens Leader Christine Milne; with FourPlay String Quartet, has recorded 7 albums and toured widely from Woodford Folk Festival to New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Lisa Hajjar

An interdisciplinary scholar with an international reputation for her work on sociology of law and conflict, human rights, political violence, and international affairs; frequent commentator on The Nation and Al Jazeera; has visited Guantanamo 14 times; author of many books, most recently The War in Court: Inside the Long Fight against Torture

Registration Information:

For more information and to register: www.crossroadsconversation.com.au

Registration Fees:

• EARLY BIRD In-person attendance for the whole series (catered): $195.00 full fee / $125 concession (Must register by Friday 9 August 2024)

• In-person attendance for the whole series (catered): $245.00 full fee / $155.00 concession

• Online attendance for the whole series: $145.00 full fee / $95.00 concession

• In-person attendance per single session only (catered): $45.00 full fee / $35.00 concession

• Online attendance per single session only: $25.00 full fee / $18.00 concession