Festival of Ideas

Huge queues snaked way down North Tce. One might have imagined that there was a rock concert on. But perhaps the crowds were a little too mixed in age. Perhaps there was a different sensibility in their demeanor. No, they weren't waiting for a rock star. They were waiting to hear an Imam from New York talk about how to heal the relationship between the Muslim world and the West.

Throughout the weekend there were similar queues outside large venues in the city - and for each one, a similar explanation. For this was the Festival of Ideas, a festival of thought and enlightenment, a winter brain-warmed in the city of Adelaide.
Such a civilized affair, attended with such enormous interest and enthusiasm by so very many that it rekindled my hope for humankind.