The Emirates International Festival of Literature takes Dubai by storm yet again…Ipshita Sharma takes a look.
When UAE’s premiere literary festival hits our shores, we have to go check it out. These are the few sessions we loved experiencing…
Rose Anne Kenny
How to stay young is the ultimate mission for millions, and Professor Rose Anne Kenny has 35 years of experience at the forefront of ageing medicine. She is a professor of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin, director of the Mercer’s Institute for Successful .
Her book Age Proof draws on her own pioneering research that distills scientific theory into practical advice that we can apply to everyday life. The book and her talk helped understand the steps you can take to stay younger for longer; to show us how we can change our mindset, redefine ageing and head toward the future with optimism. It was heartening to see that there can be a world beyond ageism.
Anil Seth and Jo Marchant
What does it mean to be you? Is a complex question that is the base of the conversation world-renowned neuroscientist Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, wants to have. Our reality, according to Seth, is a construct, an illusion, and understanding this involves tackling the thorny issue of consciousness: what it means to, well, be. His book Being You: A New Science of Consciousness makes accessible his cutting-edge academic work and explains his new theories.
How do our minds shape the world? It’s an old question, but one that we are increasingly able to answer as researchers explore the mysteries of consciousness and the relationship between this inner world and the physical realm. Jo Marchant who is an award-winning journalist, author and speaker has books explore the nature of humanity and our universe. Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind over Body was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Books Prize.
They both spoke about the power our minds hold over the world around us – about the duality and magnitude of being alive and present. It was truly an eye-opening conversation.
Anna Turns
Anna Turns is an environmental journalist specialising in sustainability issues, and regularly contributes to the Guardian and others. She spoke about the invisible world of chemical pollutants – in the soil, the air, our water systems and our own bodies. Using the ‘small change, big difference’ approach, Turns showed us how to reduce our toxic burden on the planet and protect our own health. Turns also explained what toxic chemicals are and the extent of their environmental impact, revealing the harmful substances and exposing how brands scam us by their greenwashing!
Bobby Chinn and HE Mariam Almheiri
HE Mariam Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, and celebrity chef Bobby Chinn got together to discuss the vital issue of food security and sustainability. They spoke on food security policies in the UAE and advocated for urgent action to transform the global food system, then they spoke about the climate crisis, and why we must move towards more local, sustainable and plant-based food options, as well as how to reduce food waste. Highly topical and very well put together, this was a great talk.
Barkha Dutt
Easily our favourite, Ms Dutt has been a feminist icon almost all her life, especially since she went to the frontlines of the various armed conflicts India has suffered. She spoke how she wasn’t the first woman to do this – as this honour was given to her mother who went against everything recommended for her and started sending dispatches from the front line, in sarees no less! Her conversations were about the world and how it affects the poor, ill and the disadvantaged. She also gives a very in depth look at how Covid swept the country and the havoc it wrecked.