







On the Future of Trust: A Conversation on Vaccine Hesitancy
Trust is a necessary prerequisite for the functioning of public health systems like vaccination programmes. But trust must extend far beyond the medical system in order to ensure that vaccine uptake succeeds. Trust in government, in expertise, in the state, in science, in community, in technology all play a crucial role in how confidence and trust in vaccinations can thrive – or not. Building confidence in the Covid-19 vaccination programme therefore requires a multidisciplinary approach that goes beyond the medical, taking account of perspectives drawn from politics, law, social science, finance and the arts. Academics from six disciplines across Queen Mary discussed the future of trust. Panelists: Valsamis Mitsilegas, Professor of European Criminal Law and Global Security; David McCoy, Professor of Global Public Health; Stella Ladi, Senior Lecturer in Public Management; Mario Slugan, Lecturer in Film Studies; Sarah Wolff, Reader in European Politics and International Politics; and Gülnur Muradoğlu, Professor of Finance.
On Imagining the Future of Mobility: A Conversation on Putting the Civic into Engineering
This panel explored the future of mobility in London, the relationship between transport and access to public space, mobility and social mobility, the civic value of transport engineering and more. Panelists: Natalie Cheung, a civil engineer and STEM ambassador, Dr Jun Chen, QMUL Senior Lecturer in Engineering Science, Louise Webb Passenger Handling Project Manager for Thameslink Rail and QMUL Lecturer in Functional Materials Dr Petra Ágota Szilágyi who was recently celebrated by the Women in Engineering Society as one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering 2020.
On Remembering Bangladesh: A Conversation on the War of Independence
We often think of history books as the official place where major events, conflicts and independence movements are recorded. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s War of Independence, this panel explored how art and cultural practices including photography, dance, cookery and film have kept memories of independence movements alive and mediate the meanings of those memories. in response to the anniversary this conversation aslo featured commissioned work by Showmi Das, a Kathak dancer. Other paneilsts included Shahidul Alam (named one of Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year in 2018), whose photography has captured major events in contemporary Bangladeshi history, Asma Khan, the chef and owner of Darjeeling Express restaurant and star of Netflix's Emmy nominated Chef's Table, Dr Clelia Clini, Research Associate with the Migrant Memory and the Postcolonial Imagination research project at Loughborough University and Dr Ashvin Devasundaram, Senior Lecturer in Film at QMUL. This panel was commissioned in collaboration with Tower Hamlets Council.
On the Undead: A Conversation on the Politics and Performances of Zombies

Born with cystic fibrosis, QMUL’s Dr Martin O’Brien (Lecturer in Drama, Theatre and Performance) has recently surpassed his life expectancy – as such, the artist is now living in what he terms ‘zombie time’. This conversation explored how performance practices can reveal the politics and possibilities of the zombie by laying bare the experience of living with – and past – life limiting chronic illness. Other panelists included South African writer, theatre-maker, and poet, Genna Gardini, whose doctoral work explores Multiple Sclerosis, gender, queerness, and performance and curator Dr Jane Wildgoose, Keeper of the Wildgoose Memorial Library, who discussed working with museum objects that are neither alive nor fully dead – human remains, skulls, and a single hair from Lord Nelson’s head and her costume work inspired by Bob Flanagan for the film Hellraiser.







