Deep Thought series

POWER HEIST

Andreea Petre-Goncalves

Ideas / Conversations | Sat 27th Sep | 5-7pm

Join us for a hopeful conversation with Andreea.

What if the growing darkness of the far right is - regrettably for us all - grounded in a legitimate political claim? What if power in our societies has indeed been steadily usurped by economic and political elites, eroding into meaninglessness our collective controls over law and order, security, economic wellbeing and social protection?

After all, why do Europe’s figureheads have the swagger to disregard international law in a genocide? In whose name are they bowing to swindlers and autocrats? Why are they so coy in safeguarding us from the mind-altering cesspit of social media? How exactly are they ensuring that AI development is in service to our collective good, and not a very private profit motive? Where do they find the audacity to protect the rich from contributing to the common pot, while burning through social safety nets with perverse moral élan?

If society is run in the direct interest of a small number of people, the time has come to stop the machinery of the collective being misused in this way. It's time to replace the certifiably insane fictions that stop it from serving the interest of all. That have us staring into the abyss of genocide, planetary oblivion, mass destitution and a collective loss of faith in our own humanity. The outcome of this power heist is not pre-determined. We have a choice.

The best way to let Saturday afternoon roll into evening is with steely vigour. Come along, say what you think, roll up your sleeves, have a laugh and a drink with others who feel just like you.

Open to everyone | Booking required
Bar open

__________________________________________________________

ABOUT THE HOST

Andreea Petre-Goncalves was 8 years old when totalitarian Communism collapsed overnight in her native Romania. She saw then how quickly yesterday’s absolute truth can become tomorrow reviled atrocity. She knows that societal narratives can shift fast, and when they do, they make deep system re-set possible. For two decades she worked for international development, human rights, health and sustainability in the EU institutions and international NGOs. In 2019 she set up Flare, a Brussels-based think-and-do tank that experiments with practical ways of shifting the collective ideas we hold of what is normal and desirable. This work builds on 15 years of her researching and writing about societal narrative shifts. She is a BMW Foundation Responsible Leader and a member of Global Diplomacy Lab.

----

ADDITIONAL INFO 

FOOD & DRINK	EVENT SIZE	ACCESS
Bar open with snacks	Medium (15-20)	Available on request