A new project that aims to open the doors to academic research and champion the arts and humanities will be launched by the University of East Anglia next week.

Led by Prof Sarah Churchwell, the ThoughtOut Project will show the relevance of arts and humanities to society, in light of the coalition government's focus on sciences and technology.

It comprises an online forum where academics can blog and debate, and will sponsor public lectures and seminars.

The project will be launched in London on Wednesday, in association with Editorial Intelligence, with a panel discussion on the issues surrounding open access, elitism, and expertise, entitled 'Can elite ideas be accessible?'.

Prof Churchwell said: 'We do not accept the premise that the arts and humanities should not be a priority in our culture.

'ThoughtOut hopes to help bridge the perceived gap between two imaginary places called 'the ivory tower' and 'the real world', to bring them together through ideas that we believe should be at the centre of cultural debate today.'

The project will give researchers a chance to circulate their own work beyond traditional academic routes and publications, and engage readers and thinkers outside of academia.

'We need to resist the government's assumption that we should think only as consumers: work in the humanities reminds us that we should always think as humans first,' she added.

See www.thoughtoutproject.com for details.