New horizons for ideas

This photograph by Dean Sewell is part of a series featured in Sydney Ideas Quarterly on the Murray Darling Basin. The series is part of the Engaging Visions project.

Building on its steadfast commitment to the promotion of public knowledge and debate, the University of Sydney will launch a new public affairs magazine - Sydney Ideas Quarterly - at the Sydney Writers' Festival this Friday May 22.

The magazine, published online with occasional print editions, will report and comment on new ideas, both locally and overseas, and feature contributions by some of the world's leading thinkers. It is a spin-off of the Sydney Ideas international public lecture series, which brings the world's foremost thinkers to Sydney.

The first issue features reactions to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's now famous essay on the global financial crisis, with analysis from former World Bank president James Wolfensohn, former editor of The Economist Bill Emmott, and Mark Blyth, professor at Brown University and author of Great Transformations: Economic Ideas And Institutional Change In The Twentieth Century.

Charlotte Epstein and Adrian Vickers write, respectively, about the politics behind images of the whaling industry and the tourist destination of Bali. There's Iain McCalman on Darwin, a photo essay on the Murray Darling by award-winning photographer Dean Sewell, reviews of new books about US President Barack Obama and Britain in the 20th century, and much more.

This front cover image of the magazine is an untitled illustration by Andrew McQualter, 2006-07, from the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Michael Spence said: "As well as our deep commitment to providing the best in teaching and research, we also have a responsibility to stimulate public discussion and debate about the intellectual challenges of our modern world. Through our international public lecture series Sydney Ideas, and now with Sydney Ideas Quarterly we encourage others to participate."

The editor Minh Bui Jones, a journalist of 20 years' experience, says the magazine's aim is to associate the University with the world of ideas. "It's a community service, where we are giving back to the community by encouraging discussion of these ideas."

The Sydney Writers' Festival launch features a keynote address by Professor Geoff Gallop, director of the Graduate School of Government and former Premier of Western Australia.

You can read the magazine at Sydney Ideas Quarterly. A limited number of hard copies are also available through selected retailers, and around the University.

Contact: Kath Kenny

Phone: 02 9351 4312