What's on over the next four days

Published on Tuesday 19 August 2008 22:15

MARK Thomas, the satirist and comedian, will be one of the main attractions at the Festival of Politics.

Thomas, who holds the world record for the largest number of lone demonstrations staged in a 24-hour period within the restricted protest area near the House of Commons, will explain how he uses comedy to make serious political points.

He will be closing the Festival of Politics on Saturday, in the last of 27 events, debates, talks and interviews spread over the next four days.

Most of the events will be taking place in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, but, for the first time, the authorities at the parliament have been working in collaboration with the Carnegie Festival in Dunfermline – the birthplace of Andrew Carnegie – and some of the events will be linked to the Fife town as well.

This year's theme is "Global Issues – National Perspectives", and there will be discussions on human trafficking and conflict resolution on the opening day, with speakers explaining how these can be tackled on a national, as well as on an international, level.

There will be debates on the impact of the gay movement and on women in politics, examining ways of increasing female participation in representative politics.

The organisers have always been keen to get as much interaction with the public as possible, and there will be a parliamentary questions session at which MSPs will answer questions from the audience.

This year's programme is wider than in previous years, with one session on the Iraq war and another on the forthcoming United States presidential election.

The BBC's Evan Davis, a previous festival favourite, will return with Susan Rice, the chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland, and the economic journalist Peter Jones to discuss the credit crunch, high fuel prices and where the economy is going.

One major free attraction is the third World Press Photo Exhibition, which is on display in the Scottish Parliament's entrance foyer for the duration of the Festival of Politics.

The exhibition features stunning images documenting people, places and events from across the world.

Included is British-born photographer Tim Hetherington's award-winning image of a United States soldier in a bunker in Afghanistan.