Links
The organisations listed on this site are ones with which we have a reciprocal or fraternal relationship, have worked with, or write for. See below brief descriptions, and visit their websites for more information.
Leeds Debate Links
Leeds Cafe Scientifique
Cafe Scientifique is a place where, for the price of a cup of coffee 
or a glass of wine, people meet to discuss science, which is changing their lives.
Cafe Scientifique is a forum for debating science issues, not a shop window for science. We are committed to promoting public engagement with science and to making science accountable.
Cafe Scientifique Chapel Allerton meets in The Queen's Arms, 201 Harrogate Road, Leeds
Cafe Scientifique Headingley meets in The New Headingley Club, 56 St Michael's Road, Leeds
Taking Soundings Leeds
Taking Soundings is a political discussion group in Leeds, UK.
Its purpose is to stimulate debates in current affairs.
Events are usually held in Old Broadcasting House, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds Metropolitan University.
For more information click here, or contact b.winter@leedsmet.ac.uk
Economic Justice For All
Economic Justice for All holds a regular monthly Cafe Economique:
Following the spirit of the Cafe Scientifique, the Cafe Economique presents a topic for debate each month. Recent topics have included an examination of the links between poverty and climate change, the economics of the banking crisis, and the meaning of food security. Each month the speaker presents a topic for discussion and this is followed by questions and debate. Numbers are growing and the debate is stimulating and challenging, and all present are encouraged to take part in a respectful and open environment.
Cafes are held at The Old Stables, 7 Regent Street, Chapel Allerton, Leeds, LS7 4NE. Doors open at 7pm, and the discussion is from 7:30pm to 9:30pm.
For more information click here.
Liberty@Leeds
We are a society at Leeds University concerned with the protection of civil liberties and the promotion of human rights in the UK. Feel free to come to any of our meetings even if you do not yet have membership. in order to find out more.
We explore a large variety of issues, some of which are listed below – Human rights in the war on terror: detention without charge, UK complicity in torture, the right to free speech and protest, privacy: the expanding DNA database, ID cards, and internet surveillance – inequality in the law: racial profiling, the rape conviction rate, women’s prisons. We are loosely affiliated with the aims of the wider Liberty organisation.
Together for Peace
Launched in the Autumn of 2003, T4P works with people and organisations across Leeds. With them, we develop and support cooperative projects that strengthen communities and promote peace-making.
Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre
Founded in 2005, IDEA's aim is to help students, professionals and employees to identify, analyse and respond to the ethical issues they encounter in their disciplines and their working lives. We carry out teaching and research in applied ethics, and offer training and consultancy to professionals, businesses and public bodies. Our activities seek to raise the profile of ethics, not just at the University of Leeds but throughout higher education and professional life.We work in close partnership with experts and practitioners from other fields, who are the people best-placed to identify the ethical dilemmas they face in their work. We also organise workshops and conferences to share practices in learning and teaching, and research.
British Science Association West Yorkshire Branch
The West Yorkshire Branch of the British Science Association West Yorkshire Branch only reformed relatively recently and is aiming to host regular science events in Leeds and West Yorkshire.
The British Science Association is are a registered charity that exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering in the UK.
Bettakultcha
A night of presentations held at Temple Works, Leeds. Where good and bad ideas will be exchanged all within 5 minutes!
Fancy a go?
Get in touch: email bettakultcha@googlemail.com or visit www.twitter.com/bettakultcha
National Debate Links
Manchester Salon
The Manchester Salon discussion group meets every month to try and capture what's new or changing through discussions of contemporary political and social issues. We've even been known to try our hand at looking at old texts with fresh eyes and trying to work out the significance or importance of such texts for more contemporary discussions.
To find out more visit the Manchester Salon website. For details of all forthcoming events click on this Discussions in Manchester link
Huddersfield Salon
The Huddersfield Salon is a new space in Huddersfield for people who are interested in hearing provocative ideas from engaging speakers, and participating in stimulating debate.
We hold debates on a monthly basis in Café Ollo, The Media Centre, 7 Northumberland Street, Huddersfield. Doors open 6pm for 6:30pm start, suggested donation £2.50, refreshments available at the bar.
For more information click here, or telephone 01484 483010.
Birmingham Salon
A public forum for debate where ideas are vigorously scrutinised and no topic is off limits.
For more information click here.
Belfast Salon
In homage to the spirit of 18th century political salons, Pauline Hadaway and Siobhan O'Dwyer founded the Belfast Salon in 2007, wanting to broaden public space for argument and debate. 
Membership is growing substantially as the Salon meets monthly to discuss and debate the big ideas of the day.
The French Salons were typically organized by aristocratic ladies and yet become centres of radical thought and intellectual ferment ushering in a new revolutionary age. We may lack aristocratic credentials, but we share a passion for ideas and argument, not only for enjoyment's sake, but because we believe ideas are important and because we want to know where the world is going and how we can play a part in shaping its future.
Visit the Belfast Salon website here.
Institute of Ideas
Since 2000, the IoI has created a forum for intelligent and lively public debate of complex social issues. Its mission to to expand the boundaries of public debate by organising conferences, discussions and salons, and publishing written conversations and exchanges. The IoI is committed to:
- The legacy of the Enlightenment: scientific and social experimentation, intellectual ambition and curiosity
- Embracing change and making history
- Art for art's sake, knowledge for its own sake, and education as an end in itself.
- Freedom. To think, to act, to say what needs saying - even if it offends others
- Challenging irrational social panics
- Open and robust debate, in which ideas can be interrogated, argued for and fought over
- Civil liberties, with no ifs or buts
Debating Matters
Debating matters because ideas matter. This is the premise of the Institute of Ideas Debating Matters Competition for sixth form students which emphasises substance, not just style, and the importance of taking ideas seriously.
When the Institute of Ideas launched the competition in 2003/04, it aimed to present schools with an innovative and engaging approach to debating. Topical debates and a challenging format appeal to students from a wide range of backgrounds, including schools with a long tradition of debating and those with no experience at all.
The Manifesto Club
We believe that the freedom issues of the twenty-first century cut across old political boundaries, and require new schools of political thought, and new methods of campaigning and organisation.
Our rapidly growing membership hails from all political traditions and none, and from all corners of the world. Their support is essential to us. Members contribute financially to enable us to organise events and campaigns, and to release publications. But our membership is also essential to the intellectual, political and organisational work of the club.
The Great Debate
The Great Debate was formed by a group of like minded people in 1989, and organise courses, workshops, seminars and public discussions on a variety of topics. Our aim is to facilitate lively, open debate on scientific and social issues. We are committed to public participation and to facilitating topical discussions through which we hope to encourage critical thinking and a willingness to challenge current orthodoxies. We engage with the general public in the broadest sense and aim to develop a deeper shared understanding of science and society. We hope that you will find our website to be a useful resource for information on a range of subjects.
Journals
The Cadaverine
The Cadaverine is an Arts Council funded online magazine, independent press and writers’ group publishing and facilitating the best new writing from the under 25s.
The Cadaverine accepts unsolicited submissions of literary fiction, poetry and non-fiction by writers under the age of 25.
Please email your submissions to thecadaverine@mac.com accompanied by a brief biographical sketch of your writing life and an up to date photograph. We do receive a high volume of submissions and aim to respond within six weeks.
Culture Vulture
Culture Vulture publishes articles promoting the broad spectrum of great stuff happening across Leeds, Bradford and beyond. We are growing our network of culturevultures so if you can write engagingly about your cultural passion or geographic area then please do get in contact with us.
Culture Vulture publishes:
- exclusives
- behind the scenes
- quirky
- boundary pushing
- participatory
- unique and bespoke
- We especially like to motivate our readers with hard to come by opportunities
Culture Wars
Culture Wars is the online review of the Institute of Ideas in London. We cover books, films, theatre, art and talk events, with a view to understanding how political and other ideas filter through the culture, and how the arts in turn influence politics and society more generally. We publish essays, interviews and articles on the arts, culture and society.
Culture Wars has published work by established authors, students, academics, arts enthusiasts and political campaigners (see Contributors for an alphabetical listing). We are not able to pay for contributions, but we welcome proposals and submissions from anyone with something to say.
'Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it was a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secret of the universe.' Lex Luthor, Superman
In this spirit, Culture Wars welcomes unsolicited reviews of anything from books to exhibitions. Any reviews of chewing gum wrappers had better be good.
Freedom in a Puritan Age
Freedom in a Puritan Age is an online journal that publishes articles by a range of contributors on the subject of liberty in contemporary society. Its aim is to identify countervailing currents in progressive thought within contemporary culture and provide alternative viewpoints on issues of importance.
Unsolicited submissions are welcome. Please send to editors@freedominapuritanage.co.uk.
Roundhouse
A Journal of Critical Theory and Practice
The Roundhouse Journal is a student-run journal in Critical Theory and Practice established by students of the University of Leeds School of Politics and International Study. The Journal relates student learning to real academice research through the development of on-line collaboration and communication tools, and its editorial process helps students reflect on what makes high quality piece of academic work.
Roundhouse's main directives are student inherited research and horizontal learning. It aims to spread communicative practices in higher education, create a more flexible style of learning and direstly challange the image of undergraduate students as 'passive consumers'.
For more information to go http://www.essl.leeds.ac.uk/roundhouse/
Spiked
Spiked is an independent online phenomenon dedicated to raising the horizons of humanity by waging a culture war of words against misanthropy, priggishness, prejudice, luddism, illiberalism and irrationalism in all their ancient and modern forms. spiked is endorsed by free-thinkers such as John Stuart Mill and Karl Marx, and hated by the narrow-minded such as Torquemada and Stalin. Or it would be, if they were lucky enough to be around to read it.
