“What are prisons for? Recent events in England reviewed”. Professor Padfield will discuss the UK Government’s current plans in the light of recent events, exploring the purposes of sentencing and of the prison system.
Professor Nicola (Nicky) Padfield was the Master of Fitzwilliam College 2013-19, and remains Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice in the Law Faculty. She is an Hon QC, and actively involved in the life of the Middle Temple, where she is a Bencher. She has taught in Cambridge since 1991 and is an Honorary and Life Fellow of her College. Her research focuses on sentencing and its implications: particularly parole and recall. She has also been involved in Learning Together, the prison education programme which suffered the tragic murder late last year of two alumni of the Institute of Criminology, one a member of staff at the time of his death.
LE ZIMMER 1 Place du Châtelet 75001 Paris After the war of 1870, some wealthy families from Alsace wanted to remain French Citizens. To do so, they moved to Paris and founded brasseries. The Zimmers were amongst them, and their restaurant remains as one of the finest Belle Epoque restaurants in Paris, recently decorated by Jacques Garcia. Formerly the stamping ground of Sarah Bernhardt, Richard Strauss, Emile Zola, Picasso, and Toulouse Lautrec, Le Zimmer remains a symbol of Le Belle Epoque.
Aperitifs will be served from 7pm and we will sit down to dinner at 7:45pm
Ticket Application Tickets are €55 per person for members of the Cambridge Society of Paris and the Oxford University Society in Paris and their guests. A discounted price of €35 per person is offered to members and guests under 30. To apply for tickets for the Dinner, please go to the CamSoc website and make your booking.
Title: Nature-balanced Society Date: 17th March 2020 7pm to 9.30pm Location: The British Council, 9 Rue de Constantine, Paris Registration link: https://www.billetweb.fr/environmental-conference-series-a-nature-balanced-society Summary: Reports by the UN, scientists across the world and other sources, show there needs to be some major shifts in our society to restore the natural balance. Becoming carbon neutral and regenerating our eco-systems is only part of the equation; a mind-set is needed to cultivate long-termism. This evening draws together speakers from different backgrounds who will provide some windows into the society level actions taking place. They will discuss the situation with the audience. A chance to mingle and discuss afterwards with drinks and snacks will be provided.
Title: Nature-balanced Society Date: 17th March 2020 7pm to 9.30pm Location: The British Council, 9 Rue de Constantine, Paris Registration link: https://www.billetweb.fr/environmental-conference-series-a-nature-balanced-society
Summary: Reports by the UN, scientists across the world and other sources, show there needs to be some major shifts in our society to restore the natural balance. Becoming carbon neutral and regenerating our eco-systems is only part of the equation; a mind-set is needed to cultivate long-termism. This evening draws together speakers from different backgrounds who will provide some windows into the society level actions taking place. They will discuss the situation with the audience.
A chance to mingle and discuss afterwards with drinks and snacks will be provided.
A daring reworking of Shakespeare’s magisterial tragedy focuses on a family of women dealing with the mental and moral disintegration of the head of the household. produced by Cygnet Theatre, Paris
Dates: 11, 12, 18, 19 March 2020
Venue: Théâtre de Verre, 12 Rue Henri Ribière, 75019 Paris
Early onset Alzheimer’s provides the context for Cygnet Theatre’s radical approach to its latest production of Lear. This adaptation takes William Shakespeare’s great tragedy King Lear - the story of a royal family on the brink of self-annihilation, and turns it on its head by recasting the elderly, domineering monarch as the matriarch of a powerful, noble family.
Director and Cygnet Theatre company member, Joshua Stretton is responsible for crafting this thoughtful departure from the classic presentation of this immense play, which deals with power struggles, the redistribution of wealth, psychological manipulation, emotional abuse, family discord and mental deterioration. He explains what motivated him to take on such a well-known play. “Age is at the heart of Lear. We all know we shall grow old; many of us hope to get there and, on the way, make peace with our ultimate end.
We are reimagining this moment occurring in the body of a younger woman faced with the dramatic acceleration of her end. Early onset Alzheimer’s can take hold in people as young as 30, with many symptoms emerging before the sufferer notices something is wrong. Our Lear faces a conscious end, with the years of her life stretching before her. The decision must be taken about what to do about the time that is left.”
The cast will be stripped-back to include eight performers with one actor performing the key roles of Cordelia and The Fool. Major characters and plot lines have been sacrificed, all in service to the themes at the heart of the story – family and loyalty. Stretton has been heavily influenced by the style of epic theatre, a technique associated with celebrated theatre practitioners Erwin Piscator and Bertolt Brecht. “I intend to use epic theatre aesthetics to retain the structure and style of Shakespearean theatre, while allowing the actors to investigate the inner workings of their characters and present the complex play of emotions hidden in each scene,” says Stretton.
The production will be performed at the edgy Théâtre de Verre, a venue popular amongst the artistic community, in the up-and-coming neighbourhood of Place des Fêtes in the 19tharrondisement, which offers affordable rehearsal and performance space, a rarity in Paris.
Cygnet Theatre was founded in 2019 by a group of enterprising international creatives who are dedicated to producing the highest quality classical theatre – in English– in Paris. Thanks to their successful summer productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing they have established themselves as the unofficial artists-in-residence at the Jardins des Arènes de Montmartre, an outdoor amphitheatre which lies just beneath the Basilica of Sacré Cœur.
Lear is the company’s first winter production and the first to be performed in a traditional theatre setting. However, this is not theatre aimed exclusively at the Anglophone community. Cygnet Theatre work is also intended to appeal to the French community. Although Lear will be presented in the original English, projected French surtitles will make the piece as accessible as possible.
Please contact www.cygnettheatreparis.com for tickets
_Lear poster.pdf
The 12th century temples of Angkor are the biggest religious monument in the world, a recreation of Hindu cosmos, covered in exquisite carvings. It highlights the brilliance of Khmer architects and bas-reliefs of the Hindu epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
The lecture concludes with contemporary Cambodia and the living arts, especially classical dance wit performers re-enacting sacred dances in front of the temples.
Additional details sent via email.
This event will be held at Theatre du Ranelagh (5 rue des Vignes, 75016 Paris)
PADFAS memebers free, non-PADFAS members €15, payable at the event, no registration required
Reserve now for our UK Universities inter-alumni Christmas drinks on 11 December!
Following our very successful Christmas party last year, the UK Alumni Network is again organizing festive drinks and finger-food at the British Council, (near Les Invalides, 9 rue de Constantine,75007 Paris), on Wednesday 11th December 2019 from 6:30 to 10pm.h
This year, we are asking our members for a five euros fee to help with the catering expenses.
To encourage you all to get into the Christmas spirit, the prize-winner in this year’s competition will be the person who looks the most Christmassy, and, like last year, we’ll wrap up the evening with a Christmas carol sing-along!
Spaces are limited, so tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.
When you are reserving, you must mention First name, Last name & University. Please also note that this event is exclusively reserved for alumni of the UK Universities alumni community.
We look forward to seeing you there!
The inter-alumni coordinator team
The registration link to the event can be found on Billetweb (event coordination platform): https://www.billetweb.fr/uk-alumni-christmas-party-2019.
Please also note that the ticket sale has been programmed to come online on Monday 11 November at 9am (one month before the event) and will close a few days before 11 Dec.
The Association France-Grande Bretagne has invited our members to attend a lunch debate on Monday 9th December at which Professor Jolyon Howorth, emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Bath and currently visiting Professor of Public Policy at Harvard, will talk, in French, on the subject of
"L'Europe peut-elle assurer seule sa défense?"
Please find, below, full details of the event. Members who wish to attend should register by this Thursday, 28th. November directly with France-Grande Bretagne as indicated in the attachment.
Invitation FGB Pr J. HOWORTH.docx
The English Speaking Union Paris has invited our members to an illustrated lecture by Sophie Loussouarn, at which she will present her book "Fame and Faces", which is an excellent complement to the current exhibition at Musée du Luxembourg, "The Golden Age of British Painting".
She will present it with illustrations on
Monday 18 November 2019 at 6pm
at the Mairie du 7ème arrondissement, 116 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris
To be painted by an artist such as Gainsborough, Reynolds or Zoffany was a social event. A portrait could change a woman’s social status and bring her fame as it was the only way to be known. Her beauty could be discovered and admired at the Royal Academy exhibitions. It was the emergence of modern-times celebrity.
But portrait was soon followed by caricature which mocked the women who had been extolled by portraits. Caricature appeared to have a moralising function displaying the foibles and vices of the beauties of the time.
Dr Sophie Loussouarn takes us into 18th century society which is in full expansion, and breaks with traditional rules.
Refreshments will be served after the presentation. Looking forward to seeing you.
Thank you for filling out the form and replying before November 14.
Métro Arts et Metiers (lines 3 and 11) or Réaumur-Sébastopol (lines 3 and 4)
Booking now open
Following the resounding success of the first Cambridge Cutting Edge Lecture delivered by Sir Venki Ramakrishnan at the Institut Pasteur, we are immensely lucky to have another scientist of world renown for the second lecture, Professor Sir Roger Penrose, and to have been permitted most generously by the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers to hold this lecture in their beautiful, historic amphitheatre Abbé Grégoire. This event is very highly recommended. Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist. He studied at University College London and at St John’s College Cambridge and is now the Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of mathematics at Oxford. The son of a psychiatrist and geneticist, grandson of a physiologist, brother of a physicist and of a chess grandmaster, Roger Penrose has won numerous prizes and awards and is one of the most important living scientists in the world. He worked closely with Stephen Hawking and appeared in the film, a Brief History of Time. The work undertaken by Roger Penrose has been wide ranging and of immense importance. Taking but two examples: in 1964 he revolutionised the mathematical tools used to analyse the properties of space time and, later, his epoch-making paper “Gravitational collapse and space time singularities” lead to the cosmology of Big Bang and Black Holes which he worked on with Stephen Hawking. In lighter vein, Roger Penrose also devised the Penrose Triangle which he described as “impossibility in its purest form” which he conveyed to the artist M.C. Escher. The topic of Professor Penrose’s Cambridge Cutting Edge Lecture is “Hawking Points in the Cosmic Microwave Sky” in which he will reveal his theories of cosmology and his scientific belief that our Universe is in fact just one of a series of Universes, or eons, each commencing with a Big Bang that had its origins in the dim distant past of a preceding Universe. Having attended one of Roger Penrose’s lectures in London, I can only say that it was utterly astounding. Deep, cutting edge, completely incomprehensible science delivered in a way that was, anyway superficially, understandable by all, holding the audience enthralled. By the end, my head was spinning with ideas and revelations beyond my wildest expectations. Over and above, there will be the delight of seeing the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers and the beautiful historic amphitheatre Abbé Grégoire, built in the 1840s, named after the founder of the Conservatoire, an important political figure during the French Revolution depicted in David’s famous painting The Serment du Jeu de Paume. This lecture by Professor Sir Roger Penrose will probably be a one-off ever and a landmark experience for many. It is definitely not to be missed. Andrew Lyndon-Skeggs
Tickets are now on sale at €25 per person, with a discounted price of €15 per person for attendees under 30 years of age. On-line booking is available on the Society's website. If you book this way, you can pay by credit card, bank transfer or cheque. For those who are not able to book their place through the website, a PDF booking form can be obtained from this link. Payment can only be by bank transfer or cheque with the PDF booking form. For any enquiries about the event, please contact Tony Banton.
Vendredi 11 Octobre 2019 (clôture des inscriptions 8 Octobre 2019)
Avec Kendal NEZAN, Président de l'Institut Kurde de Paris
S'inscrire : http://www.geo2000.org/evenements/manifestations/
Les Kurdes forment un peuple dont les populations vivent principalement en Iran, en Irak, en Syrie et en Turquie. Ils se caractérisent par une forte revendication identitaire et une grande diversité car, sunnites à 80 %, ils comptent néanmoins parmi eux des alévis, des chrétiens, des yézidis.
En conflit depuis des décennies avec le pouvoir d’Ankara, les Kurdes de Turquie vivent sur un territoire qui représente près de la moitié de l'ensemble du Kurdistan tandis qu’en Irak, ils ont réussi à créer une région autonome avec Kirkouk comme capitale et ses champs pétroliers et qu’en Syrie, une administration autonome kurde gère depuis novembre 2013 trois cantons coupés les uns des autres et défendus par la branche armée du Parti de l'union démocratique (PYD).
La faiblesse des pouvoirs centraux à Bagdad et à Damas, et la volonté affichée par Daech de détruire les minorités, ont amené les Kurdes à être aux avant postes de la lutte contre l’État Islamiste, et leur a permis de bénéficier d’une certaine reconnaissance et d’un renforcement de leur capacité militaire.
Mais aujourd’hui ils doivent faire face à une nouvelle menace, celle d’un conflit avec les Turcs dont l’armée peut à tout moment traverser la frontière qui la sépare de la Syrie et l’Irak.
C’est à ces questions que Kendal NEZAN, président de l’Institut Kurde de Paris répondra lors d’une conférence qui, pour la première fois de l’histoire de Géostratégies 2000, porte sur la question kurde. Nous recevrons Kendal Nezan le Vendredi 11 Octobre 2019 – Salon Pourpre – Palais du Luxembourg – 8h30-10h.
