Events

The 2023 Paul Bourke Lecture presented by Dr Sophie Webber, School of Geosciences, University of Sydney

‘Climate finance: Taking a position on climate futures’

Climate change is increasingly conceptualised in financial terms. In policy and politics, climate change is viewed as a problem of bridging ‘financing’ gaps between the anticipated costs of climate change and available public and private finance, between developed and developing countries, and between mitigation and adaptation activities. These categorisations tend to frame climate finance as a neutral and technical tool for meeting shared goals for responding to climate change.

In this presentation, hear an alternative geographical perspective that is focused on how the ideas, instruments and institutions of climate finance are reshaping the relationships between our economies and climate change. Illustrated with examples of adaptation finance from the Asia-Pacific region, I outline different configurations of climate finance and demonstrate their potentials for more democratic and just climate futures.

Plus Q&A, followed by a cocktail reception.

During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2023, Wizards of the Coast showed off some of the Doctor Who cards for Magic: The Gathering.

I have been involved in the development of the protocols that enable distributed social networking in apps such as Mastodon. As Meta’s new product, Threads, starts making its move into the social web AKA “the fediverse”, there have a been a lot of questions about what role Canadian institutions can play. To help out, I’m … Continue reading Federated Social Media for Canada Webinar →

Many of us rely on Wikipedia as a ‘go-to’ source of reliable information. However, this free encyclopaedia wouldn’t exist without … More

Political Economy Seminar

The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire and the Birth of Global Economic Governance

Presenter: Jamie Martin, Harvard University

Date: Friday 23 June 2023

Time: 11am (Sydney/Australian Eastern Time)

Online: Please join via Zoom

Please join us for a seminar with Jamie Martin, on his book, The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire and the Birth of Global Economic Governance, recently published by Harvard University Press.

Martijn Konings will also speak as discussant.

About the talk

International economic institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank exert incredible influence over the domestic policies of many states. These institutions date from the end of World War II and amassed power during the neoliberal era of the late twentieth century. But as Jamie Martin shows, if we want to understand their deeper origins and the ideas and dynamics that shaped their controversial powers, we must turn back to the explosive political struggles that attended the birth of global economic governance in the early twentieth century.

Disaster preparedness and recovery is a growing issue for urban fringe suburbs and social connection is key to building community … More

It is too often said that it is difficult to make new friends when you’re an adult; yet social connection … More

This food timeline started as a way to explore the revolution in Australian food that has occurred during the baby-boomers’ lifetime, but has since expanded to include more about the previous decades (and century) as well. Also included are overseas events and trends that had an impact here. The entries are brief, but there are lots of links if you want more information.

For those unaware, the Sirens of Audio is a podcast focused on the huge amount of audio dramas that have expanded the universe of Doctor Who during the 21st century. Although unaffiliated with the Doctor Who Club of Australia, it is run by two former members of its executive committee who have been able to leverage that time at the coal face to build a rapport with the stars of the series, whom the cornucopia of audio dramas continue to bring into our lives. I wax nostalgic because their initial event, featuring Australia’s own Janet Fielding — aka Tegan Jovanka,… Continue reading

It’s 2023 and fans worldwide are all set to celebrate 60 years of Doctor Who all year long! Here in Australia there are plenty of ways to get together with fellow fans and mark the 60th anniversary year. Here are a list of upcoming events that you may want to attend! ? ACT   ? NSW   ? NT   ? QLD   ? SA   ? TAS   ? VIC   ? WA 1 April 2023 – Sirens of Audio present Janet Fielding Down Under , Sydney 15 April 2023 – Sirens of Audio present Janet Fielding Down Under hosted… Continue reading