Academy of Ideas

There are a number of salons inspired by the Academy of Ideas. The salons meet regularly, often monthly, to discuss issues relating to their particular area of interest. To find out more about any of these, please see the listing below.

Birmingham Salon

A public forum for debate where ideas are vigorously scrutinised and no topic is off limits.

Dublin Salon

The Salons in 17th and 18th century France were the cradle of the Enlightenment, where engaged and serious men and women convened to discuss and argue about the future of their societies and of humanity more broadly. The Dublin Salon has been set up to uphold that tradition of free-spirited inquiry and unfettered intellectual curiosity.

East Midlands Salon

The idea of a Salon was developed in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century France. Typically they were created and organised by the aristocratic ladies, to hear the ideas of the great thinkers of the time, to debate their meaning, for entertainment, because they believed ideas were important and because they wanted to know where the world was going, and of course to flirt.

Freiblickinstitut - Berlin Salon

Based in Berlin, Freiblickinstitut is open to all who wish to engage in debates on issues relating to politics, society, economics, science and culture. It stands for the enlightenment concepts of humanism, freedom, and progress. Freiblickinstitut is a member of the international network TTT - European Houses of Debates and a partner of the Academy of Ideas.

Leeds Salon

The Leeds Salon is a discussion group founded in early 2009 by Michele Ledda and Paul Thomas, inspired by similar initiatives they had attended and, in particular, their participation in the Academy of Ideas sixth-form Debating Matters competition.

Liverpool Salon

The Liverpool Salon is a new forum for debate on Merseyside. Part of a global network, based in cities as far afield as Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, London, New York and Zurich, the Liverpool Salon fosters thought-provoking, critical conversations around contemporary issues in welcoming and convivial surroundings.

Manchester Salon

The Salon organises discussions that happily move from a problematic or tricky topic in current affairs one month, through to a morally difficult subject of scientific research the next, followed by unpicking the tensions between the arts and the demands of policy wonks. There’s no interesting subject the Manchester Salon won’t consider.

Scotland Salon

The Scotland Salon was launched in May 2020 to provide a forum for open and robust debate in the public realm, a way in which ideas can be interrogated and argued for. It is inspired by The Academy of Ideas and is the newest salon, joining those in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Berlin, Zurich, Leeds and Dublin which acknowledge a debt to the Enlightenment Salons which emerged from the literary and philosophical movements of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Zurich Salon

The Zurich Salon provides a public space to explore differences of opinion and levels of agreement on the most contentious issues of our time.

salons

Birmingham Salon

Dublin Salon

East Midlands Salon

Freiblickinstitut - Berlin Salon

Leeds Salon

Liverpool Salon

Manchester Salon

Scotland Salon

Zurich Salon

what's happening next

all forthcoming events

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