Join us on December 4, 2021, for a thought-provoking talk with Jonathan Balcombe on his fascinating new book Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects. This event will be presented by the Global Research Network's Animals & Biodiversity Think Tank Programme.
For most of us, the only thing we know about flies is that they’re annoying, and our usual reaction is to try to kill them. In Super Fly, the myth-busting biologist Jonathan Balcombe shows the order Diptera in all of its diversity, illustrating the essential role that flies play in every ecosystem in the world as pollinators, waste-disposers, predators, and food source; and how flies continue to reshape our understanding of evolution. Along the way, he reintroduces us to familiar foes like the fruit fly and mosquito, and gives us the chance to meet their lesser-known cousins like the Petroleum Fly (the only animal in the world that breeds in crude oil) and the Chocolate Midge (the sole pollinator of the Cacao tree). No matter your outlook on our tiny buzzing neighbours, Super Fly will change the way you look at flies forever.
Jonathan Balcombe is a biologist with a PhD in ethology, the study of animal behaviour. His books include Pleasurable Kingdom, Second Nature, The Exultant Ark, and What a Fish Knows—a New York Times best-seller now available in fifteen languages. His latest book for grown-ups, Super Fly, was published in May 2021 by Penguin Books. A children’s story book, Jake and Ava: A Boy and a Fish, is scheduled for publication in November 2021. He lives in southern Ontario where in his spare time he enjoys biking, baking, birding, Bach, and trying to understand the neighbourhood squirrels.
Please note that links to this event will be sent a day before it commences via email. You will receive a confirmation email upon successfully registering.
The 1st Annual Roundtable organized by the International Trade, Investment and Corporate Governance Think Tank programme at the Global Research Network will address Digital Poverty and Cashless Societies. Our guest speakers will discuss how the pandemic has accelerated the move towards a more digitally-centred world, its impact on digital poverty and the ways in which tech companies can play a positive role. This event is organised by Dr Wael Saghir and hosted by Dr Dimitrios Kafternais and Ibukun Lyiola-Omisore.
Speaker Bios
Dr. Fabio S Dias is a Lecturer of Finance and Econometrics at the University of Surrey, Guildford (UK). Prior to this role he worked as a Senior Manager for the Analytics & Modelling Team of Lloyds Banking Group and as a Vice President for the Front Office Technology at Credit Suisse. Currently his main research focus is the use of quantum information science to enhance financial stress testing and pricing of derivatives.
Dr. Marco Jacquemet teaches courses in communication and culture, intercultural communication, geographies of communication, and justice and social change at the University of San Francisco. His scholarship focuses on the communicative mutations produced by the circulation of migrants and media idioms in the Mediterranean area. His more recent book project is called Transidioma: Language and Power in the 21st Century. He is also present in Italian media activist networks, where he investigates the link between media and power.
Chantal Maritz PricewaterhouseCoopers Partner: Strategy&
Chantal Maritz is a Partner in Strategy& (part of the PwC Consulting network) with over 20 years’ experience in delivering Industry transforming projects. She drives sustainable change at Industry level, particularly across the Digital Community, Financial Services and Regulatory Change. Chantal leads the Payments Transformation practice for PwC Africa and her core focus is on assisting Clients in defining new strategies, new markets and business models to move into white spaces and create unique customer experiences and to embrace innovation opportunities and partnerships presented by the Digital ecosystems. Chantal has global experience advising Central Banks, Banks, Fintechs, Technology Service Providers, Governments, Telco’s, Payment Operators and Payment Associations on various elements across their Digital transformation and payments modernisation journeys. Chantal is currently leading a few country transformational engagements across the South African Industry to support payments modernisation and digitisation, notably the Rapid Payments Programme, Digital Identity - The South African Narrative and the Establishment of the new Payments Industry Body. Chantal is the Africa Territory Leader for the New World New Skills Initiative for PwC and leads cross functional teams in solving critical problems for Clients who are faced with workforce transformation and digital upskilling challenges. Workers and leaders are more aware than ever of the impact automation and technology will have on them, and each client may require a different level of intervention, from strategy to implementation methods, to help them solve this people-centric transformation brought on by digital technologies and the workforce of the future.
Chantal is driven by creating sustainable outcomes for her Clients by delivering programmes that address fundamental societal challenges like financial inclusion, and access to basic citizen services like identity and education.
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