Theme: Modern World

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Heythrop College
23 Kensington Square
London, London, City of, W8 5HN
United Kingdom

Gwen Griffith-Dickson

Head of Lokahi

Professor Griffith-Dickson specialises in the philosophy and theology of different faiths. She has done groundbreaking work in bringing an interfaith approach to theology and the philosophy of religion. Her research work focuses on the beliefs of different religions, their mutual relations, and their impact on contemporary issues. Born and raised in Hawaii, Professor Gwen Griffith-Dickson’s academic career has been spent entirely in London. At the University of London, Birkbeck College, she developed and managed the country’s largest continuing education programme in Religious Studies, along with Islamic Studies, Theology and Philosophy. She was the first woman to hold the Gresham Chair in Divinity in 2001 at Gresham College. She left Birkbeck in 2004 to found The Lokahi Foundation. With a background in theology and philosophy, teaching and research interests span the two disciplines, with a major focus on the philosophy of religion. Gwen's principal research interests comprise the philosophical issues of religions, and the relation of different faiths and their shared histories and beliefs. She has a background in Continental European Philosophy, especially German thought, as well as a keen interest in Hawaiian Studies. Theological interests are at the philosophical end of theology: language, religious knowledge and metaphysics, interpretation and methodology. Gwen was Vice-Principal - Academic of Heythrop College, the specialist philosophy and theology college of the University of London, from 2012-2015. She is currently Visiting Professor at King's College London.

James Rylance

Head Brewer at Redchurch Brewery

Johannes Hoff

Professor of Systematic and Philosophical Theology

Bio: Johannes Hoff is Professor of Systematic and Philosophical Theology at Heythrop College in the University of London. Previously he was teaching Philosophical Theology at the University of Wales and Fundamental Theology at the Catholic Department of the University of Tübingen (Germany). His recent publications focus on the ‘analogical rationality’ of premodern philosophy in the light of the late modern crisis of Western science and culture. Related to this research is his investigation of similar crisis experiences in the Early Renaissance (15th century) and Early Romanticism (18/19th century), and his research on performativity in collaboration with leading representatives of contemporary art. Most recently, he has started to think about the digital revolution of our time. This research focuses on the irreducibility of our ‘analogical’ way of thinking to the digital rationality of the last five centuries, and the significance of spiritual practices for the ‘post-digital' age.

Johnny Luk

CEO of NACUE - Entrepreneurship

Johnny is the CEO of the National Association of College and University Entrepreneurs (NACUE), working with entrepreneurial students across 260 UK campuses. Previously, he held roles as a Senior Policy Advisor, and Deputy Head of Strategy for Entrepreneurship in the UK Government. He was an alumnus of Lord Wei’s Diaspora Leadership Programme where he helped develop a research piece of UK-China branding. He is a graduate of Durham University and the former British Champion in Rowing.

Loughlin Hickey

Trustee of Blueprint for Business

Loughlin is currently a Trustee of, and Senior Adviser to, Blueprint for Better Business. Blueprint is a charity that challenges businesses to be the force for good they can be in society; they provide practical tools to enable a business to be guided and judged by a purpose that respects human dignity and serves society. Loughlin is also an external Governor of Heythrop College. Loughlin is a chartered accountant and prior to his retirement in 2011 he was at KPMG , one of the global accounting and consulting firms. He was in KPMG's tax practice for 30 years (and a partner for 22 years) and for last 6 years was Global Head of Tax and member of the Global Executive Team.

Tiu De Haan

Celebrant

Tiu de Haan is a celebrant, creative facilitator, writer and musician. She spent many years working as a professional creative and then over a decade teaching creativity to everyone from CEOs to seven year olds. Her work as a non denominational celebrant allows her to bring creativity together with ceremony, helping others to celebrate the transitions in all our lives, be they weddings, funerals or other thresholds that demand a ritual to honour their passing. Tiu’s expertise lies in creating bespoke experiences that awaken the imagination and help us reconnect with our sense of wonder. She is currently writing a book about ritual in the 21st century, collating powerful stories of how we as humans make meaning of the big transitions of life, love and death.