‘You don’t get something for nothing, you can’t have freedom for free,’ is a line from Canadian rock band, Rush. Freedom is something very dear and special, something to strive for, as individuals and as societies.

But what does it really mean to be free? In our part of the world we often define freedom in relation to certain basic rights, such as human rights, but at the same time many of us have very real commitments, particularly financial commitments, bills to be paid, deadlines to be met.

A song by American avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson claims that ‘freedom is a scary thing, not many people really want it.’ Freedom is a goal, a dream to most people, but freedom can be very difficult to define.

Keynote speakers on freedom delve into this most interesting and complex topic.