As Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union’s (TCDSU) elections will start hotting up today, why not distract yourself from the madness with a hearty dose of diplomacy? Tonight at 6pm in the Graduates Memorial Building (GMB), TCD Italian Society will host the Italian Chamber of Commerce, the Italian Ambassador Adorni Braccesi and a co-founder of the Italian Federation of Business, Maurizio Mastrangelo. They will be discussing the threat to globalisation post-Trump and Brexit as well as examining the current position of Italy within the EU following their rejection of the December 4th Referendum. Audience participation is actively encouraged as an open discussion will be followed by a reception featuring delicious Italian food from Dolce Sicily.
Also tonight at 6.30pm, the College Historical Society (the Hist) will present a Burke panel discussion on Disability Activism in Ireland Today. The event will feature some of the most important voices in the fight for equality today. The venue is fully accessible and sign language interpretation will be provided. Meanwhile at 7pm, the Society for International Affairs (SOFIA) will hold an open conversation with the Israeli Ambassador Ze’ev Boker in the Thomas Davis Lecture Theatre in the Arts Building. As this week is also Students For Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) Palestine Action week, SOFIA’s event calls into question the Israeli civil society’s call for the nonviolent boycott of the Israeli State.
On Tuesday, Trinity Literary Society (Lit Soc) kick off Lit Fest 2017 with their Big Fat Genre Debate. Beloved English professors Daragh Downes and Amanda Piesse among others will battle it out in the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU)common room in House Seven to decide upon the best genre of literature. This interesting discussion starts at 5pm. At 7.30pm, the University Philosophical Society (the Phil) presents The Eliz Inaugural: Women in Performance which will see six honorary guests welcomed to the GMB to discuss all aspects of the performing arts, from comedy to work behind the scenes.
Trinity Environmental Society team up with TCD Italian Society on Wednesday at 7pm for an evening of vegan pizza and pints in the Bernard Shaw’s Big Blue Bus. Tickets will be sold that afternoon. Also at 7pm, Dublin University Gender Equality Society (DUGES) and DU History present “Women in a world turned upside down”: Life after the Black Death. Fin Dwyer from Irish History Podcast will discuss the radical changes that occurred in a time of chaos and opportunity following the devastation of the Black Death. This cheery little number will take place in the Swift Theatre in the Arts Block.
On Thursday, head to Front Square at 2pm for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: that of pieing lecturers, TAs, society hacks and students’ union officers! This event is taking place as part of Maples Law Day and all proceeds go to Saoirse Women’s Refuge. At 8pm, you can hear the people sing thanks to TCD French Society and DU Music. They’re hosting a Les Miserables sing-along in the Boydell Room, House 5.
The excitement continues on Friday, when the the Phil will be awarding their Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage to globally acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. Scorsese’s career spans over more than fifty years, having directed films such as Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street. The ceremony will be taking place in Trinity’s Public Theatre, knows as the Exam Hall, at 5pm, with doors opening at 4pm. Those interested are advised to get there early in order to secure a seat.
