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Forum Network

Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas

Funding provided by:
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Ford Hall Forum

The Ford Hall Forum is the nation's oldest continuously operating free public lecture series. Its mission is to foster an informed and effective citizenry and to promote freedom of speech through the public presentation of lectures, debates, and discussions. Forum events illuminate the key issues facing our society by bringing to its podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking speakers. These speakers are presented in person, for free, and in settings, which facilitate frank and open debate.

http://www.fordhallforum.org/

  • After Apartheid: Symbols of Progress and Challenges

    Tue, Jan 28, 2003
    A panel discusses the creation of a new Constitutional Court in post-apartheid South Africa. In 1994, the world looked on as South Africa turned its attention to the historic task of writing and implementing a new constitution that continues to be regarded as the most progressive in the world. Almost a decade later, the Constitutional Court is now creating a permanent home and the first major public building of South Africa's new democracy. Developed on the site of a prison in Johannesburg, with expressive artwork incorporated throughout, this new Courthouse will serve as a monument to the post-apartheid spirit of an emerging nation in all its diversity. But how has the new democracy changed the lives of the people of South Africa? Can symbols inspire dreams in South Africa's new democracy?
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    Building Bridges: Both Sides of the Abortion Debate

    Thu, Oct 24, 2002
    Laura Chasin, director of the Public Conversations Project, moderates a panel discussion motivated by the 1994 shootings at two Brookline clinics. After these tragic events, six leaders on both sides of the abortion debate began meeting, not for the purpose of reaching compromise, but to build relationships of mutual respect and understanding that might de-escalate the rhetoric of the abortion controversy and reduce the risk of future attacks on clinics. "In this world of polarizing conflicts", they explain, "we have glimpsed a new possibility: a way in which people can disagree frankly and passionately, become clearer in heart and mind about their activities, and, at the same time, contribute to a more civil and compassionate society."
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    Ford Hall Forum

  • Afghanistan and Freedom of the Press

    Thu, Nov 7, 2002
    Christopher Lydon, former host of The Connection, leads a discussion on the importance of American citizens having a sense of the full picture in order for them to participate in democracy. He is joined by Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould, the first American journalists to enter Afghanistan behind Soviet lines in 1981, and Bob Zelnick, former ABC News Pentagon correspondent and chairman of the Department of Journalism at Boston University. Since September 11, 2001, the press has been criticized for not challenging our government's conduct rigorously enough. In light of security concerns and the Bush administration's alleged attempts at censorship, doubts have been raised about the ability and commitment of reporters to tell all the news.
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    Ford Hall Forum

  • At the Heart of Marriage: Same-Sex Couples

    Tue, Oct 8, 2002
    Attorney and civil rights activist Mary Bonauto, moderates this first public discussion with three of the plaintiff couples in the pending same-sex marriage case in Massachusetts. In 1999, she and two Vermont co-counsel won a ruling that same-sex couples are entitled to all of the benefits and protections of civil marriage in the case of Baker v. State of Vermont. This ruling prompted the Vermont legislature to enact the nation's first "civil union" law for same-sex couples.
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    Ford Hall Forum

  • Momsrising.org: The Motherhood Manifesto

    Thu, Oct 18, 2007
    Joan Blades, well known for co-founding the e-advocacy group MoveOn.org, discusses her new organization, Momsrising.org, and internet advocacy in general. With this new site, she hopes to build an army of citizen activists who will push for strong maternity leave laws, improved health care coverage, and fair wages, among other issues. Do more "family friendly" policies make economic sense for our country? Does an active online community necessarily translate into political influence? Blades screens her documentary film, *The Motherhood Manifesto*, and explores the Internet's ever-changing role in our political process.
    Forum Network
    Partner:
    Ford Hall Forum