Events
Melbourne Energy Institute at the University of Melbourne
Featured events
You are what you eat: that gut feeling
May
20
6:00pm - 7:30pm
Public Lecture
This event is sold out in-person however online registrations are still available via the link above.
Explore the latest in gut science and how big data is unlocking insights into the microbiome’s role in health and disease.
Nicknamed our ‘second brain’, the gut and its microbiome are well known to impact various body systems and overall health outcomes. Hear about the latest in gut science and how using big datasets is helping better understand the interplay between the gut microbiome and various diseases. Also, what happens when things go wrong in the gut, such as with food intolerances or gut-targeting parasites? Our experts share how they are finding new diagnostic and treatment solutions to improve gut health in people and animals.
The session is available online and in person
___
The Science at Melbourne Conversations series is the premier public event series from the Faculty of Science. The event program seeks to share our knowledge and love of science with the wider community, engaging them in current research and empowering them to ask questions and act for a better world. The series runs throughout the year covering scientific research, discoveries, and theories that play exciting or unexpected roles in shaping and advancing our society
Migration, hope and illusion: Io Capitano film panel, discussion, and live performance
May
20
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Performance
This event offers a critical discussion of urgent contemporary global issues related to migration, displacement, and transnational identities through a film panel discussion of the 2023 Italian film, Io Capitano, directed by Matteo Garrone. The event will include a contextualising musical performance of Senegalese instruments and Afro-Cuban diasporic music and dance.
Io Capitano, which achieved significant international success and wide distribution, offers a powerful cinematic representation of Senegalese migration to Europe. The narrative follows the journey of two young Senegalese men from Dakar to Sicily, Italy, portraying both the extreme violence and precarity of their voyage, as well as the protagonists’ desire for adventures and a better future.
Through an analysis of selected scenes from the film, a panel of experts will discuss the geo-economic and political dynamics driving the contemporary African diaspora, as well as the impacts of migration on both people and places. Additionally, the film opens a space to explore Senegalese culture and oral traditions alongside Italian literature and storytelling, creating a compelling metatextual dialogue between the two countries. Ultimately, the themes discussed resonate with broader global patterns of migration and ongoing refugee crisis.
What to expect:
A 90-minute program of music, film, discussion and dance.
The event begins with a Senegalese musical performance of kora and cello, followed by a panel discussion with selected screenings from Io Capitano.
The event will conclude with an Afro-Cuban dance performance, accompanied by batá drums, and a final audience Q&A.
Panelists and performers:
Elisabetta Ferrari (Senior Lecturer, School of Languages and Linguistics)
Lamine Sonko (Honorary Fellow, School of Languages and Linguistics)
Eyram Ivy Sedzro (Graduate Researcher, School of Social and Political Sciences)
Santo Cilauro (Filmmaker and screenwriter, Working Dog Productions)
Adrian Hearn (Professor, School of Languages and Linguistics)
Aloy Junco (Professional dancer and drummer)
Anita Quayle (Cellist and composer)
