The Future of Knowledge

KNOWLEDGE QUARTER CONFERENCE 2018

The Knowledge Quarter is uniquely placed to convene some of the world’s greatest minds to discuss and debate the future of knowledge.

Join us on February 12 2018 to contribute to the conversation.

The Knowledge Quarter is marking its third anniversary with a one-day Conference of talks and workshops on the future of Knowledge in an age of untruth. A diverse range of speakers from across the fields of politics, media, philosophy and academia will convene for one inspiring and provocative day of keynote talks, discussion groups and workshops, looking at Knowledge in all its forms.

Knowledge may be the last imperishable currency, but it’s a currency under threat of devaluation. From expertise to echo-chambers and from fact to falsehood ‘The Future of Knowledge’ will mine the uncertainty that underpins our anxious age, exploring the challenges that face the knowledge economy in the early twenty-first Century.

What does it mean to be an ‘expert’ when the sheer scale of information available in this connected world has made us all curators of a vast bank of almost endless data, providing the answers to even the most obscure queries with nothing more than a tap and a swipe?

How can the knowledge economy respond when facts are conflated with quick-fire internet memes, when slick presentation is more highly valued than genuine content, when the very notion of authentic truth has been devalued by the rolling news cycle and the dismissive cynicism of pseudo-science and special interest ‘facts’?

What, in short, is the future of Knowledge the concept, Knowledge the ideal and Knowledge the quantifiable resource?

Join us at the British Museum. in the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter, to explore these and many more crucial questions, as we look to ensure the future of Knowledge both at home and in an increasingly uncertain wider world.

In addition to a inspirational day of talks, Poet in the City has programmed a poet to be a journalist-spy, soaking up and reflecting on the discussions throughout the day to create poetic chronicles which will be presented after the closing remarks.

Download the conference brochure

Programme

Activity	Description	Venue	Timings
Registration			Open all day – 09:00-18:00
Welcome	Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library and Chair, Knowledge Quarter	BP Lecture Theatre	09:30-09:45
Opening Plenary	Jo Johnson MP, Minister of State at the Department for Transport and Minister for London	BP Lecture Theatre	09:45-10:15
Morning Keynote	Baroness Valerie Amos, Director, SOAS University of London	BP Lecture Theatre	10:15-10:45
Panel Discussion	The role of the Knowledge Creator We are told that the people have had enough of experts. We are told that our learning institutions are ivory towers, heady realms divorced from the realities of daily life. We are told that facts are contingent, that knowledge is a flexible commodity, that the very notion of ‘truth’ belongs to a past age [read more]	BP Lecture Theatre	10:45-11:45
Break			11:45-12:00
Parallel Session – Presented by Wellcome Trust	Whose knowledge is it anyway? What knowledge should we use to inform change? Decision makers need to weigh up evidence from academia, lobbying from special interest groups or businesses, competing budgets and public opinion. This panel will explore how knowledge from these different sources should be weighed and what the role of public engagement is in facilitating that conversation [read more]	BP Lecture Theatre	12:00-12:45
Parallel Session – Presented by Senate House Library, University of London	Heritage collections and wellbeing: the future of the past? This lecture will showcase a range of projects that have used heritage collections to generate meaningful qualitative ‘emotional’ impact on individuals and communities. It will also explore personal heritage content in the digital age, and how disruptive technology such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR) are enabling people to curate and create their own timelines and versions of the ‘truth’ [read more]	Stevenson Lecture Theatre	12:00-12:45
Parallel Session – Presented by Warwick in London	Academic Expertise: the good, the bad and the ugly This session will open with a 10 minute scene-setter in which Professor Muthoo and Siobhan Benita will “debate” the strengths and weaknesses of traditional academic endeavour. This will be followed by a 35 minute workshop in which delegates will consider a number of areas relating to potential reform in university teaching and the generation of academic knowledge [read more]	Sackler Rooms	12:00-12:45
Parallel Session – Presented by Pan Macmillan	The Face of Knowledge From teachers to writers, documentary makers to publishers, we ask the question: who presents us with knowledge? Are they inclusive in their approach? We invite you to join historian David Olusoga, social media activist Mariam Khan and other thinkers from a variety of fields for a round table discussion on ‘The Face of Knowledge’. [read more]	Claus Moser Room	12:00-12:45
Lunch			12:45–13:30
Afternoon Keynote	Vivian Hunt, Managing Partner, UK and Ireland, McKinsey & Company	BP Lecture Theatre	13:30-14:00
Panel Discussion	The role of the Knowledge Translator The medium, says McLuhan, is the message, but when the media are in a state of constant evolution, are we in danger of losing sight of that message? The 2016 referendum, and the general election of 2017, saw what appeared to be a seismic shift in the consumption and distribution of political discussion; the mainstream news media were largely ignored, and likes and shares emerged as the new arbiters of truth [read more]	BP Lecture Theatre	14:00–15:00
Break			15:00-15:15
Parallel Session – Presented by Regent High School	The future of knowledge through the eyes of the future A panel of students from Regent High School will debate the core topic of ‘The Future of Knowledge’ alongside a panel of representatives from Knowledge Quarter organisations [read more]	BP Lecture Theatre	15:15-16:00
Parallel Session – Presented by McCaldin Arts	Mary’s Hand – curating historical fact as creative fiction Historical narratives have always provided inspiration for creatives – does presentation of the facts matter? Our process for deriving new truths from past events is revealed here. McCaldin Arts discusses and showcases extracts from a new work examining the life of Queen Mary I, and discusses the re-imagining of one of history’s supposed bad girls [read more]	Stevenson Lecture Theatre	15:15-16:00
Parallel Session – Presented by The Reading Agency	Reading Well: redefining the role of the expert through co-production This workshop will introduce participants to the concept of co-production through the lens of arts-based interventions in health and wellbeing, as pioneered by The Reading Agency. An innovative approach to the creation of services and programmes, co-production involves people with lived experience of health conditions collaborating with those who we traditionally think of as experts to plan and deliver initiatives together, getting to the heart of what it means to have and use knowledge [read more]	Sackler Rooms	15:15-16:00
Parallel Session – Presented by Pan Macmillan	Publishing Knowledge: Have we had enough of experts? How can complex subjects like global politics, banking, neuroscience and creativity, be made more accessible, entertaining and compelling? How do people learn about breakthroughs in science and technology, the news, and society? Are books existing in the last gasp of attention for long form, word-based knowledge sharing? [read more]	Claus Moser Room	15:15 – 16:00
Break			16:00-16:15
Panel Discussion	The role of the Knowledge Consumer Ultimately, all of the questions posed in today’s panels come down to one thing: the people. It is the people whose trust knowledge creators must nurture, it is the people who consume the media, and whose relationship to truth and knowledge is under attack. But is there something more to be considered, here? [read more]	BP Lecture Theatre	16:15-17:15
Closing Remarks	Roly Keating, Chief Executive of the British Library and Chair, Knowledge Quarter	BP Lecture Theatre	17:15-17:45
Poet in the City, presents Poetic Chronicler	Keisha Thompson	BP Lecture Theatre	17:45-17:55
Drinks Reception	The Knowledge Quarter: Three Years On celebration and Essays launch	Egyptian Sculpture Gallery	18:15-20:00

Conference Speakers

Jo Johnson MP

Minister of State at the Department for Transport and Minister for London

Baroness Valerie Amos

Director, SOAS University of London

Vivian Hunt

Managing Partner, UK and Ireland, McKinsey & Company

Roly Keating

Chief Executive, The British Library

Juliette Morgan

Head of Campus, British Land

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell

President & Vice-Chancellor, The University of Manchester

Professor Philip Nelson

Chief Executive, EPSRC and Chair, Research Councils UK Strategic Executive

Dr Hartwig Fischer

Director, British Museum

Dr David Halpern

Chief Executive, Behavioural Insights Team

Claire Fox

Director, Institute of Ideas

David Adam

Author and Editor, Nature

Shelina Janmohamed

Author, Commentator and Journalist

Sarah Baxter

Deputy Editor, The Sunday Times

David Olusoga

Historian, broadcaster and BAFTA award-winning presenter and filmmaker

Sally Adee

Technology News Editor, New Scientist

Theo Blackwell

Chief Digital Officer, GLA

Tiffany Watt Smith

Researcher and Author, Queen Mary University of London

Amber Perrier

Community Engagement Assistant, The British Library

Lisa Feldman Barrett

Author & Professor of Psychology, Northeastern University

Mariam Khan

Social Media Activist

David Lammy

Member of Parliament for Tottenham

Tracey Brown

Director, Sense about Science

Dr Tom Ziessen

Engaging Science Manager, Wellcome

Dr Jennie Gamlin

Senior Research Fellow – Wellcome Trust, Institute for Global Health, UCL

Lucy Duggan

Managing Director, Lightbox

Sophia Collins

Director, Parenting Science Gang

Professor Abhinay Muthoo

Dean of Warwick in London and Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick

Siobhan Benita

Chief Strategy Officer, Warwick in London, University of Warwick

Dr Nick Barratt

Acting Librarian, Senate House Library, University of London

Clare McCaldin

Artistic Director, McCaldin Arts

Debbie Hicks

Creative Director, The Reading Agency

Mandy Rudczenko

Co-production Group, Coalition for Collaborative Care

Katie Clarke-Day

Co-production Group, Coalition for Collaborative Care

Sarah Elie MBE

Executive Director, Somers Town Community Association

Isobel Colchester

Chief Executive, Poet in the City

Richard Harrison

Director of Community Engagement, Regent High School

Cllr Abdul Hai

Labour Member for King’s Cross Ward & Cabinet Member for Young People and Cohesion

Mobin Ahmadi

Sixth Form student, Regent High School

Muslima Bilkis

Sixth Form student, Regent High School

Mohammed Arif Kaif

Sixth Form student, Regent High School

Raisa Ahmed

Sixth Form student, Regent High School

Keisha Thompson

Poetic Chronicler

Tickets

KQ Partner tickets

KQ partner tickets are limited to 100 in total, once this allocation has been sold, no more will be released.

£50.00

KQ Partner tickets

Earlybird

Early bird tickets are limited to 50 in total, once this allocation has been sold, no more will be released.

£80.00

Earlybird tickets

General release

General tickets are limited to 50 in total, once this allocation has been sold, no more will be released.

£100.00

General tickets

Contact us

Sponsors

Principal sponsor Venue sponsor Principal sponsor

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on Retail around the UK and London Offices. We own or manage a portfolio valued at £19.1 billion (British Land share: £13.9 billion) as at 31 March 2017 making us one of Europe’s largest listed real estate investment companies.

Our strategy is to provide places which meet the needs of our customers and respond to changing lifestyles – Places People Prefer. We do this by creating great environments both inside and outside our buildings and use our scale and placemaking skills to enhance and enliven them. This expands their appeal to a broader range of occupiers, creating enduring demand and driving sustainable, long-term performance.

Our Retail portfolio is focused on Regional and Local multi-let centres, and accounts for 48% of our portfolio. Our Offices portfolio comprises three office-led campuses in central London as well as high quality standalone buildings and accounts for 49% of our portfolio. Increasingly our focus is on providing a mix of uses and this is most evident at Canada Water, our 46-acre redevelopment opportunity where we have plans to create a new neighbourhood for London.

Juliette Morgan, Head of Regent’s Place for British Land, said:

“As a substantial landlord in the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, British Land is acutely aware of the part we can play in supporting the growth and development of the incredible organisations that call this part of London home. Our campus, Regent’s Place, is part of a cluster of great minds working on world class innovations and research, and our partnership with the Knowledge Quarter is a recognition of their important contribution and the wider role of the UK’s knowledge economy.”

Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. From the outset it was a museum of the world, for the world, and this idea still lies at the heart of the Museum’s mission today. The collection tells the stories of cultures across the world, from the dawn of human history, over two million years ago, to the present. Objects range from the earliest tools made by humans and treasures from the ancient world to more recent acquisitions from Africa, Oceania and the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, as well as the national collections of prints and drawings, and coins and medals. In addition to work in London, the Museum takes part in an extensive programme of loans and tours, both across the UK and throughout the world.

Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum, said:

“As one of the first knowledge-based organisations in the area, the British Museum is a fitting location for these fascinating debates. The Knowledge Quarter includes an incredible range of organisations and opportunities for partnership and there is huge potential for the public benefits these collaborations can bring.”

Pan Macmillan is the consumer publishing arm of Macmillan, a global publishing company. Its imprints include Macmillan, Mantle, Pan, Picador, Bluebird, Boxtree, Sidgwick & Jackson, Bello, Tor, Macmillan Children’s Books, Campbell Books and Macmillan Digital Audio. Pan Macmillan was named Publisher of the Year at The Bookseller Industry Awards in 2015 and again in 2017.

Macmillan is celebrating 175 years of publishing. Founded in London by brothers Daniel and Alexander Macmillan in 1843, the company has always had an independence of spirit, a passion to engage and inspire, to share the joy of learning and discovery, and to innovate its approach. Throughout its anniversary year it will reflect on this rich heritage and look at where next in the exchange of ideas and inspiration.

Sara Lloyd, Communications Director of Pan Macmillan, said:

“For 175 years Macmillan has believed in bringing the best, most original new voices to everyone, energising readers to explore new territory and driving debate and understanding of the world around us. We are delighted to be hosting a series of lively discussions throughout the Future of Knowledge conference in which we will bring authors and readers together to talk about new ways for knowledge and culture to be created, interpreted and consumed.”