Saturday 27 August
Where Next for the Arab Spring
11:00 - 12:00, Main Chamber, £6.00 (Concessions £3.50). Book in advance.
The Middle East and North African regions are going through dramatic changes but what is next for the Arab Spring and what is the potential impact on the wider world? Is the intervention from the West enough, too little or indeed, welcomed? Libya has seen Western intervention in the bid to save lives but what constitutes to a country receiving intervention? BBC’s Special Correspondent Allan Little will be joined by independent film-maker Omar Hamilton, who during the Cairo revolution used Twitter to communicate images and reaction on the streets, Mark Muller Stuart QC, Director of Beyond Borders and the Delfina Foundation and Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales, photojournalist and World Press Photo winner Ed Ou who documented the recent revolution in Egypt and Dr. Florence Gaub, Academic Coordinator, Middle East Faculty, NATO Defense College
In association with the Carnegie UK Trust and Beyond Borders
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament - 
Cuairt gu Cri`och (Full Circle) - Evolution to Devolution
12:30 - 14:00, Members’ Restaurant, £6.00 (Concessions £3.50). Book in advance.
In this historic year for Scotland, there can be no better time or place to tell Scotland's dramatic story. Argyll-based Three Wee Crows Theatre Company bring their original interpretations of our history and legends to our Parliament. This journey traces our nation's evolution, pausing to explore events which marked the path of that journey, some with historical certainty, others steeped in the mysteries of legend, many affecting all of Scotland.
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
Reporting the Independence Referendum
14:30 – 16:00, Committee Room 1, FREE.
The result of this year's Scottish Parliament Election means that a referendum on Scottish independence is now certain to happen. What kind of media coverage can we expect? Will we see a fair and reasonable debate, or will the passions of partisanship make it impossible to have a well-conducted campaign? The seminar looks at the challenges facing news providers as they get to grips with the issues and implications. Blair Jenkins, former Head of News at both STV and BBC Scotland, chairs a panel of leading practitioners in looking ahead to how the media will handle the big vote.
In association with Carnegie UK Trust
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
Scotlands of the imagination: How we create our own future
14:30 - 15:30, Committee Room 3, FREE.
From playwrights to poets, novelists to cartoonists, Scotland has a wealth of creative writers. How does their work shape how we think about our country and the direction we'd like to see it go in? Gerry Hassan set up A Scottish Wave of Change to explore new ways of bringing about change. In November 2010 it embarked on a project to ask writers—professional and amateur—to respond to the question: "What values should shape the future Scotland?" The well-known novelist and journalist Allan Massie, and David Greig, the Edinburgh-born playwright whose work includes The Bacchae, will join the panel to discuss the contribution that writers can make to the future direction of Scotland.
In association with A Scottish Wave of Change
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
16:30 - 17:30, Main Chamber, £6.00 (Concessions £3.50). Book in advance.
Social media is revolutionising how broadcasters deliver content to their audiences but what's the best way for a TV brand to engage with social media, how do you get social media working for your show, and can it ever build an audience? We've brought together a panel for whom social media is fundamental: Graham Linehan, writer behind Father Ted and The IT Crowd collaborates on Twitter with his SuperFans to create award-winning comedy TV scripts. NPR’s Andy Carvin curates the on-the-ground information from global events and has created a newsfeed of eyewitness accounts of the Arab Spring. Matt Locke, former Head of Multiplatform Commissioning at Channel 4 and founder of Storythings, a newly founded experimental company looking at the varied ways stories can be told through media, events, objects and publications. Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Janice Forsyth, this session will blow the lid off the Twitter effect by looking at the numbers and its real impact, and will expose top tweeters' best practices for each unique content strand. It will also look to the future at the wider social media landscape.
In association with the Mediaguardian Edinburgh International Television Festival
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
Making Human Rights real – the impact and influence of social media
17:00 - 18:00, Committee Room 1, FREE.
In recent times, social media has complemented traditional media in bringing political change to the Middle East and enabled a new generation of human rights activists to engage in common campaigning issues. In Scotland, Twitter, Facebook and blogging are impacting on how people understand human rights. Are social media important in making human rights “real” and also raises human rights questions about limits to freedom of expression and international law? Hosted by Professor Alan Miller, Chair, Scottish Human Rights Commission and joined by Iain Macwhirter, journalist and rector of the University of Edinburgh, Ahdaf Soueif, author, journalist and activist, and Omar Robert Hamilton, film maker and activist.
In association with the Scottish Human Rights Commission
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
Roddy Hart and the Lonesome Fire
18:30 - 20:00, Members’ Restaurant, £12.00 (Concessions £9.00). Book in advance.
Glasgow singer-songwriter Roddy Hart is a talent recognised by those who should know. In addition to performing at the Parliament’s 10 th anniversary event in 2009, he has played shows with artists including Ray Davies, Glen Campbell, and Ray LaMontagne and produced an album featuring Kris Kristofferson and Eddi Reader. Following his curation of Forever Young: A 70th Birthday Tribute to Bob Dylan at this year's Celtic Connections festival, he will perform an acoustic set with his band, The Lonesome Fire.
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
In Defence of Politics: What is Comedy and Satire Doing to Our Politics?
18:30 – 19:30, Main Chamber, £6.00 (Concessions £3.50). Book in advance
Does political comedy and satire undermine public support in democratic politics by constantly deriding politicians and under-playing the challenges of governing? Are comedians to some degree responsible for the existence of large number of 'disaffected democrats'? Is there such a thing as 'civic comedy' and could it be funny? Should politicians spend more time reflecting on their responsibilities to the public and less time mocking politicians? This event explores these questions by bringing together a number of comedians, satirists and political scientists. On the panel: Comedienne Helen Lederer, Tim Telling of the Daily Mash, and Professor Steven Fielding of the University of Nottingham.
In association with the Political Studies Association
Online booking for this event has now closed. Tickets may still be available on the day at the Scottish Parliament
