Events Edinburgh

Event Details

The 2010 Middle East Festival Forum on Spirituality, Mental Health and Well-being
Speaker: Dr Andrew Powell in conversation with Rev Prof Stephen G. Wright
Chair: Rev Sandy Young, NHS Lothian's Head of Service for Spiritual Care
Forum Panellists: Claudia Goncalves, Muriel Kirton and Dr Kenneth Mullen
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge
Date: Friday 5 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Discussion/Forum: 7pm-9.15pm

The 2010 Middle East Festival Forum on the Arts
Speaker: David Greig
Title: Theatre and the Middle East
Forum on the role of theatre in addressing issues of peacemaking, conflict resolution, community building, loss, grief, health and well-being, healing, identity, inclusion, etc
Chair: Joyce McMillan
Forum Panellists: Jo Clifford, Donald Smith and Simon Sharkey
Venue: St John's Episcopal Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh
Date: Tuesday 9 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Talk/Forum: 7pm-9.15pm

The 2010 Middle East Festival Forum on the Natural Economy, Sustainability, and the Global Environment
Speaker: Prof Stephen Blackmore FRSE, Regius Keeper, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Title: Gardening the Earth: the international role of botanic gardens
Forum on the Natural Economy, Sustainability, and the Global Environment
Chair: Prof Aubrey Manning, Emeritus Professor of Natural History, the University of Edinburgh
Forum Panellists: Eleanor Harris and Stuart Housden
Venue: St John's Episcopal Church, Princes Street, Edinburgh
Date: Wednesday 10 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Talk/Forum: 7pm-9.15pm

The 2010 Middle East Festival Forum on Education and the Media
Speaker: Prof John Eldridge, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, the University of Glasgow
Title: War and Peace News
Forum on the Role of the Media in Times of Peace and Conflict
Chair: Iain Macwhirter, award-winning political columnist for the Sunday Herald
Forum Panellists: Prof Neil Blain and Billy Briggs
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge
Date: Thursday 11 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Talk/Forum: 7pm-9.15pm

The 2010 Middle East Festival Forum on Environmental Responsibility and Climate Change
Speaker: Dr James Garvey, the Royal Institute of Philosophy
Title: The Ethics of Climate Change
Forum on Spiritual, Educational and Cultural Responses to Climate Change
Chair: Prof Alan Carter, Chair in Moral Philosophy, the University of Glasgow
Forum Panellists: Dr Matthew Chrisman, Eleanor Harris and Prof Tim Hayward
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge
Date: Friday 12 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Talk/Forum: 7pm-9.15pm

The 2010 Middle East Festival Forum on World Spiritualities
Speaker: Prof Ursula King, Emeritus Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, the University of Bristol
Title: Do we need Spirituality for Human Flourishing?
Forum on the Search for Spirituality: Our Global Quest for Meaning and Fulfilment
Chair: Professor B J McGettrick, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Glasgow, and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Education at the University of Glasgow
Forum Panellists: Dr Neil Douglas-Klotz (Saadi Shakur Chishti), David Lorimer and Ali Newell
Venue: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge
Date: Wednesday 17 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Talk/Forum: 7pm-9.15pm

2010 Middle East Festival Hosted Meal
Venue: Susie's Diner, 51-53 West Nicolson Street
Date: Sunday 14 March 2010
Time: 6pm-9.30pm
The Middle East Festival Hosted Meal celebrates the people participating in the Festival by providing a chance for everyone to get better acquainted in an informal, relaxed atmosphere, and there will be storytelling from 8pm. A delicious meal of vegan food will be served. Everyone from the Festival is welcome. Numbers are limited to 40, first come, first served.

Stories surround us. The stories we hear, the stories we tell can create conflict; yet they can also cultivate connections and nourish greater understanding between people. They offer hope and healing. Storyteller and peace educator Michael Williams will invite guests to share their 'golden moments' from the Festival and to create stories that open the way for dialogue, understanding and well-being.

Cost: Admission Free. To attend and participate:
Contact: RSVP, to Neill Walker, mesp2010@hotmail.co.uk, 0131 331 4469

A Celebration of Poetry from Scotland and the Middle East
Readers: Youssef Al-Khatib, Iyad Hayatleh, Jila Peacock and Tessa Ransford
Chair: Robert Alan Jamieson
Venue: Word Power Books, 43-45 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh
Date: Tuesday 16 March 2010
Time: Registration: 6.30pm-7pm. Event: 7pm-8.45pm
7pm: Welcome and Introduction by Robert Alan Jamieson
7.05pm-7.30pm: reading by Tessa Ransford (her own poems and poems from the Middle East)
7.30pm-7.55pm: reading by Iyad Hayatleh (his own poems and poems of Mahmoud Darwish)
7.55pm-8.20pm: reading by Jila Peacock (Persian and contemporary Iranian poetry)
8.20pm-8.45pm: reading by Youssef Al-Khatib (his own poems and poems of Adonis)
8.45pm: Vote of Thanks by Robert Alan Jamieson

Cost: Admission Free. First come, first served on the night.
For further information on any of the events listed contact Neill Walker, mesp2010@hotmail.co.uk, 0131 331 4469

Middle East Festival Website for information on other events: www.mesp.org.uk