9:45am: Registration
10:15am: Welcome
10:30am: The psychology of power (Sebastien Chapleau, Citizens UK)
What is power, why we all have more of it than we think and how we can secure more
The psychology of power
In this session, Sebastien Chapleau from Citizens UK will provide an overview of power: what power really is, how it operates in organisations and society, and why many people underestimate the power they already hold.
Drawing on the principles and practice of community organising, the session will examine how power is built, exercised and sustained, and why understanding power dynamics is essential for anyone seeking to influence decisions, build relationships or create change.
The session will explore:
· What power is, how it works and why it matters
· The different sources of power available to individuals, organisations and communities
· Why people often underestimate their own influence and agency
· How relationships, networks and shared interests help build and strengthen power
· Practical ways to recognise, develop and use power more effectively in everyday settings.
Participants will gain insight into the emotional and practical dimensions of power and will be encouraged to think differently about their own role, influence and ability to act.
Sebastien Chapleau is a community organiser at Citizens UK.
10:50am: Finding your power: case study (Liz Ritchie and James Grimes, Gambling with Lives)
David versus Goliath: How we achieved great things despite minimal resources
David v Goliath: Gambling with Lives
In this session, Liz Ritchie and James Grimes from Gambling with Lives will share a powerful case study of how ordinary people, working together, can take on some of the most powerful and well-resourced institutions in society and win change.
Drawing on their experience as bereaved families and campaigners, alongside staff working in communications and advocacy, they will tell the story of how the organisation was formed and built into a credible voice for reform in the gambling system. The session will highlight how lived experience, strategic campaigning, and persistence combined to shift policy debates and public understanding.
The case study will explore:
· How bereaved families came together to build collective power and influence;
· The strategies used to drive change, including government lobbying, media; engagement, social media campaigning, and storytelling;
· The successes achieved, and how they were delivered in practice; and
· The challenges, setbacks and mistakes along the way – and the lessons learned.
Participants will gain practical insight into what it really takes to challenge powerful interests, including what drives success and what gets in the way.
Liz Ritchie is a co-founder and trustee, and James Grimes is director of chapter one, at Gambling with Lives.
11:10am: Practical exercise to identify your power
11:30am: Break
11:50am: Growing your power (Victoria Barlow, Agenda)
How to increase your power and influence
When we speak truth to power, our voice gains strength and credibility through working with a range of organisations who want to achieve similar goals.
In this session, Agenda co-director and campaigner, Victoria Barlow, will explore how we can build alliances and partnerships across different organisations to secure greater influence than we could alone.
Drawing on experience leading union campaigns to secure investment in public services, Vic will share practical approaches to mapping out your partner organisations, understanding what motivates them to join your campaign, and finding ways to mobilise activity that changes the hearts and minds of those with power.
The session will be followed by a real-world case study from the TUC on how partnerships have been forged across women’s and equalities’ groups to make sure improvements to insecure work and exploitative contracts were included in Labour’s manifesto and eventually in the Employment Rights Act.
The session will include a hands-on task on motivating and mobilising your key allies to reach and persuade people with power.
Participants will leave with practical tools to:
Map your key allies
Convince them to work in partnership or coalition
Define your shared objectives
Agree and deliver a shared campaign plan.
12:10pm: Growing your power: case study (Priya Rane, TUC)
How we grew our reach and impact
In this session, the TUC’s head of news and media, Priya Rane, will share a real-world example of bringing together high-profile charities, including Maternity Action, the Women’s Budget Group and the Fawcett Society, to secure new protections at work as the Employment Rights Bill went through Parliament.
With threats to water down: rights for new parents; better flexible working and sick pay; an end to zero hours contracts, colleagues worked on shared messaging, MP briefings and media stories to successfully persuade law-makers to support the bill’s economic and equality benefits, particularly for women from BAME backgrounds.
The case study will explore:
Mapping partner organisations
Understanding their motivations for getting involved – and managing red lines
Developing shared messaging and persuasive stories
Sequencing campaign activity
Participants will learn how to build strong partnerships which deliver results – and sustain into future campaigns
Priya Rane is head of news and media at the Trades Union Congress (TUC)
12:30pm: Practical exercise to grow your power
1pm: Lunch
2pm: Protecting your power (Becky Slack, Agenda)
Values-driven crisis comms responses
Civil society organisations are increasingly facing criticism, disinformation and coordinated attacks designed to undermine their legitimacy and silence their work.
In this session, Agenda co-director and narrative specialist, Becky Slack will explore how values-driven communications can help organisations protect their power in times of crisis and conflict. Drawing on experience advising charities, trade unions and campaign groups, Becky will share practical approaches for responding to criticism, maintaining public trust and standing firm in the face of hostility from political actors, trolls and organised campaigns.
The session will be followed by a real-world case study from Medical Aid for Palestinians, examining how they responded to the Israeli government’s restrictions on aid access for international NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank, and a hands-on exercise where participants will work through how to respond to criticism in practice.
Participants will leave with practical tools to:
Stay grounded in values under pressure
Respond to criticism without amplifying attacks
Protect organisational legitimacy and trust
Turn moments of conflict into opportunities to strengthen public support.
2:20pm: Protecting your power: Case study (Max Slaughter, Medical Aid for Palestinians)
Defending humanitarian space
Aid organisations working in Gaza are facing increasing political pressure and restrictions that threaten their ability to deliver lifesaving support.
In this session, head of communications at Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), Max Slaughter, will demonstrate how they responded to the Israeli government’s restrictions on aid access for international NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank - limiting the ability of organisations to respond to the overwhelming health and humanitarian needs, as well as removing independent medical witnesses to mass civilian harm.
MAP will share how they developed a values-led communications response: one that was clear, firm and grounded in humanitarian principles. Rather than retreating under pressure, they used communications to defend humanitarian space, maintain credibility and speak out about the impact of these restrictions on the people they serve.
This case study will explore:
The pressures and risks organisations face when operating in highly politicised environments
How MAP framed their response to stay grounded in their mission and values
Lessons for organisations facing attempts to restrict their work or silence their voices.
Participants will gain practical insights into how organisations can respond with clarity and integrity when their work and legitimacy are challenged.
Max Slaughter is head of communications at Medical Aid for Palestinians
2:40pm: Practical exercise
How to respond to criticism
3:30pm: Break
3:45pm: Sharing your power (Emily Wilson-Smith)
Why sustainable success means we need to share our power with others
This session will focus on how to genuinely shift power using collective leadership principles. It will include a case study from Irise International plus a practical exercise testing a toolbox of creative co-production techniques.
The complexity of today's world is calling forth a new kind of leadership - one that draws on the wisdom and power already present in our communities
In this session, consultant and founder of the global charity Irise International, Emily Wilson-Smith, explores the practical and philosophical impetus for institutions that share power - from systems change theory to feminist thinking.
Drawing on her own power-sharing journey, Emily will explore the real-life challenges of building teams, partnerships and campaigns that genuinely shift power. She will reflect on the individual and institutional changes required and share inspiring examples of how networked, collaborative structures can sustainably shift the status quo.
Finally, participants will trial a toolbox of creative co-production techniques, applying collective intelligence to their most intractable power-sharing problems.
Key takeaways:
Theoretical frameworks: ground your action in cutting-edge thinking
An inspiring vision: discover what is possible through radical collaborative action
Practical tools: walk away with co-production techniques you can use today
Emily Wilson-Smith is a writer, speaker and consultant using her diverse leadership experiences to reimagine power. She founded Irise International.
4:35pm: Turning insight into action – group conversation
Shared reflections and commitments
4:45pm: Wrap-up and close (Vic and Becky)
5pm-6:30pm: Drinks reception