{"id":13714,"date":"2026-08-26T10:51:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T10:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/?post_type=kreisky_event&#038;p=13714"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:26:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T11:26:35","slug":"a-training-centre-for-elephants","status":"publish","type":"kreisky_event","link":"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/en\/veranstaltung\/a-training-school-for-elephants","title":{"rendered":"A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR ELEPHANTS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>Colonialism, its enduring legacies and what we must do about it<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inspired by Sophy Roberts' latest book <em>A Training School for Elephants<\/em>, this public discussion examines the history of European colonialism through the lens of nineteenth-century imperial expansion and its far-reaching consequences. Asian elephants were taken to Africa in the 19th century for what was purported to be a training school, but in reality were used for exploitation. To what extent were colonial projects driven by ideas of conquest, scientific curiosity, economic exploitation and cultural domination? They certainly shaped not only the lives of colonised peoples but also the natural world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The discussion will focus on how colonialism transformed societies, displaced communities, extracted resources, and influenced the collection of knowledge, animals and cultural objects; and how these historical processes continue to have an impact today on global inequalities, museum collections, environmental challenges and ongoing debates about historical responsibility, restitution and remembrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sophy Roberts,<\/strong> A British award-winning author and journalist specialising in literary non-fiction, travel, history, conservation and cultural storytelling. She is known for her immersive reporting from remote and historically significant regions around the world. Sophy Roberts studied at Oxford and Columbia University in New York and has written for publications including *The Guardian*, *The Economist* and *Financial Times Weekend*. Her first book, *Siberia\u2019s Forgotten Pianos*, was published by Zsolnay in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Presented by: Tessa Szyszkowitz<\/strong>, author and journalist for the Austrian weekly *Falter* and other publications. Distinguished Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London (RUSI)<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colonialism, its Enduring Legacies and what we got to do with it Inspired by Sophy Roberts' latest book A Training School for Elephants, this public discussion examines the history of European colonialism through the lens of nineteenth-century imperial expansion and its far-reaching consequences. Asian elephants were taken to Africa in the 19th century for a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13722,"template":"","format":[],"meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"schwerpunkt":[39],"class_list":["post-13714","kreisky_event","type-kreisky_event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","schwerpunkt-geschichte-bildung-und-wissenschaft"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR ELEPHANTS - Kreisky Forum<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kreisky-forum.org\/en\/event\/a-training-centre-for-elephants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A TRAINING SCHOOL FOR ELEPHANTS - Kreisky Forum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colonialism, its Enduring Legacies and what we got to do with it Inspired by Sophy Roberts&#039; latest book A Training School for Elephants, this public discussion examines the history of European colonialism through the lens of nineteenth-century imperial expansion and its far-reaching consequences. 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