The scintillating chronicler of human weakness, Oscar Wilde, once said, “True friends stab you in the front”.  

In this popular event, writer and presenter Annabel Crabb and writer David Marr lead opposing teams in a rollicking debate on the legitimacy of this aphorism about friends who betray each other.   

Featuring debaters Matilda Boseley, Rhys Nicholson, Justine Rogers and Jennifer Wong, and adjudicated by Yumi Stynes, this debate is sure to get provocative, pithy and personal. 

This event was presented by the Sydney Writers' Festival and supported by UNSW Sydney. 

The scintillating chronicler of human weakness, Oscar Wilde, once said, &ldquo;True friends stab you in the front&rdquo;. &nbsp;
In this popular event, writer and presenter Annabel Crabb and writer David Marr lead opposing teams in a rollicking debate on the legitimacy of this aphorism about friends who betray each other.  &nbsp;
Featuring debaters Matilda Boseley, Rhys Nicholson, Justine Rogers and Jennifer Wong, and adjudicated by Yumi Stynes, this debate is sure to get provocative, pithy and personal.&nbsp;
This event was presented by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.swf.org.au/">Sydney Writers' Festival&nbsp;</a>and supported by UNSW Sydney.&nbsp;

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Ideas is a thought-provoking program of events and digital content from the globe's leading thinkers, authors and artists.

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Ideas is a thought-provoking program of events and digital content from the globe's leading thinkers, authors and artists.

UNSW Centre for Ideas

An initiative of UNSW Sydney, the Centre for Idea…

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SWF Great Debate: True Friends Stab You in the Front

More than 400,000 children and adolescents will be diagnosed with cancer worldwide this year. Many treatments that are meant to save a child can leave them with lifelong side-effects, including heart damage, infertility and cognitive issues. But for the first time, precision medicine is using the tiniest tools – nanoparticles – to design tailor-made treatments to beat childhood cancer. 

Tune in to learn how precision medicine is changing the odds in the fight against childhood cancer with Professor Maria Kavallaris AM, a researcher whose own cancer diagnosis occurred at the same time as a career-changing opportunity to join the Children's Cancer Institute.

More than 400,000 children and adolescents will be diagnosed with cancer worldwide this year. Many treatments that are meant to save a child can leave them with lifelong side-effects, including heart damage, infertility and cognitive issues. But for the first time, precision medicine is using the tiniest tools &ndash; nanoparticles &ndash; to design tailor-made treatments to beat childhood cancer.&nbsp;
Tune in to learn how precision medicine is changing the odds in the fight against childhood cancer with Professor Maria Kavallaris AM, a researcher whose own cancer diagnosis occurred at the same time as a career-changing opportunity to join the Children's Cancer Institute.

Tailor-Made Childhood Cancer Treatments with Professor Maria Kavallaris AM | One Big Idea

Ivan Coyote doesn’t fit neatly into one of two gender boxes, they never have. From an early age in the Canadian Yukon, they can remember discovering a coded but very possible queer future hidden in the music coming out of the AM radio in the kitchen, lurking in their parent’s record collection, and leaking out of the lyrics in their elementary school musical.

In conversation with Yves Rees, the award-winning author, performer, and musician explores the deeply personal terrain of gender identity, family, class, and queer liberation, approaching every story with warmth and sharp wit.

This event was presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas as a part of Diversity Festival.

Ivan Coyote doesn&rsquo;t fit neatly into one of two gender boxes, they never have. From an early age in the Canadian Yukon, they can remember discovering a coded but very possible queer future hidden in the music coming out of the AM radio in the kitchen, lurking in their parent&rsquo;s record collection, and leaking out of the lyrics in their elementary school musical.
In conversation with Yves Rees, the award-winning author, performer, and musician explores the deeply personal terrain of gender identity, family, class, and queer liberation, approaching every story with warmth and sharp wit.
This event was presented by the UNSW Centre for Ideas as a part of <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/edi/get-involved/diversity-festival/diversity-festival-2025" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/edi/get-involved/diversity-festival/diversity-festival-2025">Diversity Festival</a>.

Ivan Coyote: Playlist

When Nila Ibrahimi posted a video of herself online, singing proudly in protest of the ban on girls over 12 singing in public, she hoped the music would inspire young girls to continue their education. It was 2021 and the Taliban’s return to Afghanistan had come down swiftly on women's freedom. The video went viral and the ban was reversed, sending a powerful message across social media – women of Afghanistan would not be erased from public life. The Taliban would, however, go on to prohibit female education and Nila and her family would have to flee her homeland. Undeterred, Nila continues to advocate for Afghan girls from Canada.

Listen in to winner of the 2024 International Children’s Peace Prize Nila Ibrahimi in her first ever visit to Australia. In conversation with UNSW’s Verity Firth, they’ll unpack how peaceful grassroots activism can empower people of all ages to challenge authority and the importance of a right to education.

When Nila Ibrahimi posted a video of herself online, singing proudly in protest of the ban on girls over 12 singing in public, she hoped the music would inspire young girls to continue their education. It was 2021 and the Taliban&rsquo;s return to Afghanistan had come down swiftly on women's freedom. The video went viral and the ban was reversed, sending a powerful message across social media &ndash; women of Afghanistan would not be erased from public life. The Taliban would, however, go on to prohibit female education and Nila and her family would have to flee her homeland. Undeterred, Nila continues to advocate for Afghan girls from Canada. Listen in to winner of the 2024 International Children&rsquo;s Peace Prize Nila Ibrahimi in her first ever visit to Australia. In conversation with UNSW&rsquo;s Verity Firth, they&rsquo;ll unpack how peaceful grassroots activism can empower people of all ages to challenge authority and the importance of a right to education.

SWF Great Debate: True Friends Stab You in the Front

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