Theme: Journeys

This event is being produced through an innovative virtual production technology inside a physical theatre space. Attendees will be part of this journey and they will witness virtual environments in real time.

Respecting this age old tradition of telling stories and sharing knowledge we are attempting to add value through this addition. Our hope is to create an immersive space that allows us to accept our vulnerability and enhance human connection.

Journey of a single individual is journey of humanity and an answer to the question of life. So with that we bring you journeys taken by our torchbearers.

Bathway Theatre
Greenwich Town Hall
London, Greenwich, SE18 6QX
United Kingdom

Akwasi Poku

Writer, Director and Creative

Akwasi is a Writer/Director and Creative from South London. In 2021 he released his first short film Lock Off which premiered at 70 Odeon cinemas nationwide. Lock Off has been programmed at a number of festivals including Aesthetica Short Film Festival 2021, Soul Fest 2021, British Urban Film Festival & Linea d’Ombra Festival 2021. Akwasi has also had a successful award winning career creating campaigns for brands including Warner Brothers, Apple, Nike & Google. Akwasi has a desire to flex his ideas in the narrative space, whilst also telling stories that focus on showcasing the spectrum of Afro-Caribbean communities in an authentic, nuanced & positive light.

Alexandra Fanghanel

Associate Professor in Criminology

Alex joined the School of Law at the University of Greenwich in 2015. She is co-lead of the Gender Deviance and Society Research Group and Programme Leader of the BA Criminology and Criminal Justice. She works as a researcher and a lecturer in Anthropology, Sociology and Criminology. She researches fear of crime, gender, sexuality, and public space. Her current projects consider: Consent and sexual subcultures, with specific focus on the so-called ‘rough sex defence’. The intersect of rape culture and femonationalism, with specific focus on discourses about Brexit New sexual cultures

Chris Bailey

Professor of Computational Modelling

He is currently Director of the Computational Mechanics and Reliability Group within the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and he is also the Faculty Director for Research and Enterprise. As a Research Professor, his specialisms include computational mechanics. Chris’s research focuses on the development and use of virtual prototyping technologies (including design methodologies, mathematical modelling, finite element analysis, numerical optimisation, physics-of-failure approaches to reliability, and multi-physics modelling.

Florian Gallier

Film & Broadcast Production Specialist

Florian is a specialist in virtual and remote production at Mo-Sys Engineering, an award-winning, world-renowned creator and manufacturer of advanced, innovative camera robotics and virtual production technologies for Film and Broadcast. He brings new ground-breaking technologies to production workflows that enables filmmakers, directors and camera operators to work with no limit to their creativity. Florian combined his Master’s degree in engineering and his passion and knowledge for filmmaking to join Mo-Sys Engineering. In 2019, he was nominated by Royal Television Society for his work in the industry. He is currently involved in worldwide production projects that are redefining the future of filmmaking and broadcast.

George Loukas

Professor of Cyber Security

Developing machine-learning based technologies related to the next generation of cyber-physical security threats, George is leading the research centre for Internet of Things and Security. He is currently a partner or coordinator in 8 research projects funded by RCUK and the European Commission. Currently he is the project coordinator of the EPSRC CHAI project on cyber hygiene for AI systems in domestic life, and of the Euro H2020 EUNOMIA project on information trustworthiness in social media. Previously, he was University of Greenwich, Principal investigator for the EPSRC CHIST-ERA COCOON project, coordinating work in emotion-aware cyber threat detection in smart homes. His 2015 book on cyber-physical attacks has been adopted in the curricula of universities internationally and was included in ACM’s top 10 of computing Milieux books and articles published that year.

Jorge Lopes Ramos

Associate Professor in Contemporary Performance

Over the past two decades, Jorge's research has addressed a fast growing, yet significantly unresearched area of investigation: immersive, participatory and interactive theatre. His research contributions have helped advance the subject area, both nationally and internationally, through an extensive record of original, significant and rigorous research through publications in book chapters, research reports, conference papers and PAR outputs. Over the past 15 years, Jorge's practice-as-research outputs have taken the form of performances and productions, digital work, public installations and exhibitions in venues, conferences and festivals. His most significant production to date was Hotel Medea (2006-2012) - recognised as a pioneer in the field of immersive theatre in books by leading researchers.

Noushin Emami

Associate Professor in Bioinformatics

An infectious-disease biologist specializing in examining molecular level communication between us, our pathogens and their transmitting vectors. Noushin seeks to provide an understanding of how those interactions can be manipulated and how we can apply that knowledge in tackling vector borne diseases in a sustainable and affordable way. In her work, she combines traditional research activities in the lab and field with a computational approach where we can leverage the power of statistical analysis and big data to accelerate our work. The largest chunk of her work to date was focused on mosquitoes and the pathogens they transmit like malaria parasite and zika virus leading to several research papers, theses, patents, and formation of a company.

Olga Martin-Ortega

Professor of International Law

She leads the Business Human Rights and the Enviroment Research Group (BHRE). She has been researching business and human rights for over ten years. She has also undertaken extensive research in the areas of post-conflict reconstruction, transitional justice and international criminal law. In particular she researches on business and human rights, sustainable public procurement, post-conflict reconstruction, transitional justice and international criminal law. In the area of business and human rights her research has considered the roles and responsibilities of multinational corporations, with regards to the protection and respect of human rights and the tools available in International law to hold them to account when they participate in human rights violations. Her research has also included work on post-conflict reconstruction and justice after mass atrocities committed during armed conflicts.

Simon Ruffell

Psychiatrist

Simon studied medicine at the University of Sheffield before specialising in psychiatry. He completed his core psychiatric training at The Maudsley Hospital in London and worked at King’s College London as a Senior Research Associate investigating the use of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression. Simon has a keen interest in transcultural psychiatry and has worked for a variety of charities overseas. Since 2016 he has conducted research into the traditional psychedelic brew ayahuasca and its effects on mental health based in the Peruvian Amazon and is currently completing his PhD in this based at Goldsmiths, University of London. Simon now works for the Psychae Institute as a Senior Research Fellow, running randomised controlled trials investigating the potential therapeutic application of ayahuasca. In his spare time Simon volunteers for Psycare – a charity offering support to those undergoing challenging drug experiences at music festivals.