Where Does Talent Come From? – Wednesday 23rd July 2014, Birmingham
In an age seemingly dominated by high profile talent competitions, the very definition of ‘talent’ seems increasingly restricted.
Using findings from their two year Talent 4 Europe programme, Midlands-based creative arts organisation Rideout explore how we define, find and encourage talent as part of a one-day conference.
Entitled Where Does Talent Come From?, and taking place in Birmingham on 23 July 2014, the event invites leading commentators from the worlds of culture, economics, psychology and education to delve deeper into the subject.
Among those leading the discussions are Germaine Greer and Tim Harford.
Professor Germaine Greer’s first book, The Female Eunuch (1969), took the world by storm and remains one of the most influential texts of the feminist movement. She has had a distinguished academic career in Britain and the USA, and makes regular appearances in print and other media as a broadcaster, journalist, columnist and reviewer.
Tim Harford is a world renowned behavioural economist and award-winning Financial Times columnist. He is also presenter of BBC Radio 4’s More Or Less, and Pop Up Economics. Tim’s recent book is ADAPT: Why Success Always Starts With Failureshows how the challenges we face today can’t be solved with simple ready-made solutions; we must learn to improvise rather than plan.
“When we ask ‘what is talent?’, we don’t take the view that talent is just artistic; rather it encompasses all aspects of human endeavour,” says Rideout’s Chris Johnston, who will be chairing the conference. “Do people vary in the talents they possess? If so, why? Is talent a result of nature or nurture? These are just some of the questions we’ll be posing and debating in detail.”
The event is a culmination of a two-year European Commission-funded programme led by Rideout across six European countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Spain. Partners from all these countries will be present at the conference. Based in Stoke-on-Trent, the award-winning Rideout is an arts organisation working across the fields of arts, education and criminal justice.
Where Does Talent Come From … And How Do You Nurture It? takes place at Hyatt Regency, Birmingham, on Wednesday 23 July 2014 from 9.30am. Tickets £160 (inc. lunch). For more details and tickets see: www.talent4.org
Join the debate online using the Twitter and Facebook hashtag: #T4Conf
