Abstract
AN experiment successfully conducted in Nottingham during the last two months has aroused considerable local interest, and might well find favour in other towns and cities. The Nottingham Open Forum was sponsored by the British Council, in cooperation with University College, Nottingham, and the Ministry of Information, as an attempt to attain a better understanding and closer contact between local residents and visitors from overseas, both civilians and allied troops; and to stimulate informative discussion on matters of general interest. A series of meetings on 'Brains Trust' lines, but on a broad international basis, was arranged, and organizations such as the International Centre, the British Empire Club, the Polish Troops' Club, the Rotarians, Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A., etc., were invited to co-operate, as well as the general public. It was felt that the public to-day prefers to be stimulated to think for itself rather than to be 'lectured at' and told what to think. The promoters of the Nottingham Open Forum have no political bias and are therefore free in their choice of subjects and speakers, and the members of each panel can express their views without reserve however controversial they happen to be. This type of meeting naturally has a much wider appeal than the usual 'public meeting' which is seldom free from the taint of propaganda. The information-seeking public is surely entitled to be at least as well catered for as the amusement-seeking public, and the successful presentation of any open forum or 'Brains Trust' depends largely on the care with which it is organized.
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Nottingham Open Forum. Nature 151, 18–19 (1943). https://doi.org/10.1038/151018c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/151018c0