• those correlating happiness to "x" amount of monetary wealth (usually surprising readers by the humble amount "x" is);
  

• and those comparing levels of happiness between countries (usually not surprising readers who do not find the UK as number one).

Speakers are to include:

Nick Clegg – Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Ken Worpole – Environmentalist and writer
Catherine Fieschi – Director, Demos
EXYZT – architecture collective
other speakers tbc

The panel will be addressing the need for politicians to seek new platforms for engaging with citizens. For long, the shared public spaces of the city were arenas for political conversations. Has it lost that function and if so, why? Have we designed out the politics from public space, or is this a reflection of changes in the way politics is conducted?  

More importantly, can we create new settings for political debate? How do people nowadays wish to engage with the formal political sphere? The Southwark Lido, a temporary installation created by the architecture collective EXYZT – famed for their intervention in the French Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2006 – and filmmaker Sara Muzio, will be the perfect place to debate these questions in an open, informal and investigative atmosphere.

To find out more or attend, please email seminars@demos.co.uk

Join in the discussion at:

Southwark Lido

100 Union Street,

SE1

Nearest Underground station: Southwark

Click here to view map

For more information on the venue see http://www.lfa2008.org/event.php?id=165&name=Southwark+Lido

The British Muslim Initiative - together with Demos, the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Conflicts Forum, Forward Thinking and The Cordoba Foundation – is organising a seminar on Understanding Political Islam, to take place on 12-13 July 2008 in London.

Islamists have risen to prominence in the last two decades across the Middle East and much of the Muslim world. Today, Islamism is an undeniable fact of the political and cultural life of most Muslim countries in Asia and Africa, and even among Muslim minorities in Europe and the United States. Although much attention has been directed to the violent and radical forms of Islamism - particularly since the 9/11 terrorist attacks-, its more peaceful, mainstream manifestations continue to be largely overlooked. There has been little effort to grasp this socio-political phenomenon and comprehend its complexities. The need for a deep and coherent understanding of this important and highly complex movement has never been greater.

This two-day specialist conference will be held as an invitation-only event at Islam Expo, the largest Muslim cultural event in Europe. The aim is to open the way for a transparent and challenging discussion of a complex phenomenon which has been the subject of much attention but insufficiently objective and sophisticated analysis.