SO WHAT HAPPENED?

Our first Ideas to Action Day brought together over 80 people for a full day of reflection, ideas generation and proposals for action -  to take as individuals, as communities and as citizens. 

Our amazing facilitators shed light on tricky topics and created space and time for reflection, disagreement, solutions and next steps. Our participants, many of them leading experts in their fields, others still at school and everything in between,  shared their insights generously and helped people to focus on action not despair. 

Our resident anthropologist Farhan Samanani shared some cracking insights into our state of mind as an audience and gently reminded us that the size, nature and interlinked aspect of the problems should not prevent us from taking action, however small. You will soon be able to see his full summary and reflections on the day here (it's only a 20 min watch).

Main takeways from the day from our perspective were:

1. We need to employ 'tactical double vision'* to see simultaneously the whole system and the specific challenges within it. Even though we understand that bigger systems and interests lie behind some of our biggest challenges, specific groups still have specific challenges that we can address. 
2. We may think that small acts are pointless (albeit comforting)  but they are not - as long as we see them in relationship to other things. This idea of relationality can help us to move forward with our one small contribution knowing for example, that we won't stop climate change - but equally knowing that we actually will if we see that our contribution sits within a world of contributions and that the relationality of actions can generate systemic change. 
3. Our power analysis and perspective on power will be a game changer - ' Power gives us the infrastructure as communities and actors' and as all feminists know, power itself is abundant. It is common to think of power as scarce or a zero-sum concept. If I have more you will have less but in reality the opposite is true. 

This is why we should step into our power to build the future we want.  

 * Farhan borrowing from W.E.B Du Bois's theory of double consciousness

All the background reading, watching and listening material that we gathered to prepare the day is available here  We will also post videos and summaries of the day's events. 

ACTION POINTS 

Build community

Join existing community groups 

Be an internet activist. Write about issues you care about  - social media is a holding environment. We can create other spaces to be on and off line

Fight disinformation 

Reach out to people that you might not normally be in touch with or whose views you know you don't share. 

Engage with those who hold power now - find out what they're doing, why they're doing it and work to hold them to account

Support alternative forms of democratic engagement, get it working between elections

KEY DEBATES/QUESTIONS OF THE DAY 

PEACE & SECURITY

Investment in peace vs investment in defence

How can we improve political and national leadership in challenging times 

DEMOCRACY

How can we sell it more effectively to (young) people? 

How can democracy work beyond elections? 

CLIMATE

Why do our politicians not enact obvious wins?

Legislation works - why don't we have more of it? 

SOCIAL JUSTICE 

How can our political institutions address problems such as systemic racism or decolonisation? 

Can we transform party politics into a culture of connection not blame?

THE QUESTION:

As citizens with power, how can we build the future we want?

PROGRAMME

Sat 5th April 10am-6pm

9.30am   Arrive from 9.30am for a 10 o'clock start. Hot & cold soft drinks available (included in ticket price). Barista coffee from the bar 

10am  The unmissable intro to this amazing day - don't miss it if you want a sense of the day's flow

10.15am Anthropologist Farhan Samanani on how we can make a difference 

10.30am - 12.30pm  Session I:  Join one of four sessions (details below). Hot and cold soft drinks available throughout the session 

12.30 - 1.15pm Lunch (simple lunch provided in ticket price)

1.30 - 3.30pm Session II: Join one of four sessions (details below). Hot and cold soft drinks available throughout the session 

3.30 - 3.45pm Break 

3.45 - 4.15pm Gong Bath - reward yourself for all your hard work 

4.15 - 5pm  Come together to review the day's progress and pick your own next steps 

5 - 6pm  Live streamed podcast where the Women Leaders podcast puts our clever ideas to a full time politician  

6pm Bar open, food available, live music - get your family and friends along to share the energy

THE SESSIONS

With thanks to our session facilitators (one in the morning, one in the afternoon) 

On Peace & Security

[AM] Lena Slachmuijlder is an exceptional peace builder devoted to peaceful social change. As Senior Advisor at Search for Common Ground, she supports frontline peacebuilders to combat online harms and harness trust-building tech that fosters peace. 

[PM] Ilana Bet-El is a senior strategist, former UN peacekeeper and senior advisor, experienced in defence and security issues at international and European level. She is skilled at seeking common ground amongst diverse stakeholders.

On Climate

[AM] Heather Grabbe, ranked among the “women who shape Brussels” she has unparalleled knowledge of EU policies and decisions related to democracy, justice, human rights. Now Senior Fellow at Bruegel think tank, she focuses on the political economy of the climate transition and its impact on Europe's international relations and external policies.

[PM] Sarah Mukherjee, former BBC’s Environment Correspondent, she presented on national and international BBC radio and television news, working and winning awards across the world. She’s brilliant at bringing environmental stories to life, but has now left the corporation and is currently CEO of IEMA, the Institute of sustainability professionals.

On Social Justice

[AM] Laura Sullivan is an activist and campaigner advocating for social and environmental justice. She is a skilled and versatile facilitator supporting and leading civil society organisations at the European level. She has also led programmes and campaigns in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

[PM] Lies Craeynest is an engaged and active citizen, a passionate networker and a policy expert on climate change, human rights, and business. She cares for people and is concerned about the planet, inequality and the world that will be left for future generations. Currently she’s Head of private sector engagement at Oxfam.

On Democracy

[AM] Erica Benner is a political philosopher and historian of ideas. She has taught for many years at Oxford University, the London School of Economics, Yale and currently in Berlin. She is interested in what classical writers can teach us about how to deal with politics today and reset democracy. 

[PM] Maria Koomen works at the intersection of technology, democracy, and governance. As Governance Programme Director at the Centre for Future Generations, she works to enable principled, effective governance of emerging technology in the public interest, for today and tomorrow. 

VOLUNTEER

We can accomplish anything, with the right help. 

Creating our Action Day requires lots of hands on deck:

Whatever your skillset, - creative - logistics - organising - communications - admin - finance & fundraising ... we'll have something you can help us with!

TELL US WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO HELP WITH >>