Our expert-facilitated breakout groups are a unique opportunity to embed your learning from the event, strategise with colleagues and develop ideas you can use in your own comms and campaigns.
How it will work
After booking your place, you'll be asked to select up to three breakout groups you'd be happy to participate in.
Prior to the event, we'll send you resources to help you prepare for your chosen group should you wish to do so.
At the event, you'll receive full instructions and access to further resources to guide you throughout the breakout sessions.
At the end of the facilitated session, you’ll have the chance to share your group’s key insights and takeaways with everyone.
Please note, we will do our best to place you in your preferred group, but this will depend on overall demand and the preferences of other attendees.
Our themes:
Social, racial and economic justice
Welfare reform, social security and the benefits system
Climate change and the transition to Net Zero
Challenging far-right activity in the workplace
Protecting human rights, including those of workers, women and immigrants
Freedom of expression and protest
Political communications and lobbying
Breakout group summaries:
#1: Green vs growth? Finding common ground between industry and environment
This breakout group will explore the ongoing tension between economic growth and environmental protection across industries. We’ll examine where priorities clash and where they align, and identify shared goals, overlapping audiences, and messaging that can unite rather than divide. The session aims to spark practical ideas for productive collaboration between industry leaders and environmental campaigners.
#2: From NIMBY to YIMBY: Encouraging support from local communities
With Labour’s significant ambitions for green energy, housing and transport, how do we convince a mistrustful public that change is in their best interest? In this session, we’ll look at building the case for investment in local infrastructure in areas where grassroots campaign groups have strength of support.
#3: From sacrifice to opportunity: Reframing the path to Net Zero
Achieving a decarbonised energy system by 2030 is possible—but only if we rethink how we talk about climate action. This breakout group will explore how language can either fuel engagement or turn people off, the impact of shifting from narratives of cost and crisis to stories of opportunity and brighter futures, plus how to campaign in ways that will build political, industry, and public appetite for the transformation ahead.
#4: Turning down the temperature: Depolarising debate with sensitivity
How can we engage constructively on polarised issues without fuelling further division? Participants in this breakout group will unpack how and why to take the heat out of a debate, without reinforcing polarisation, entrenching opposition or inadvertently enabling harmful narratives.
#5: Resisting the backlash against equality
This breakout group will focus on how to respond to the backlash against equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). In the face of political hostility, the closure of EDI programmes and funding cuts, we’ll explore how to protect these important values and policies, how to frame conversations and which messengers bring additional power, along with ways to offer cross-sector and cross-border solidarity.
#6: We’re not all lefties: How unions can tackle far right support among their members
Unions have members from across society, with a range of experiences and opinions, so it’s inevitable some will have far-right views. From promoting Reform UK’s problematic positions to out-and-out abuse of staff and members, unions are finding some of their members’ behaviours challenging. While not wanting to shut down conversations, this breakout group will look at how to engage with problematic members who do not qualify for expulsion under the rules.
#7: Disillusioned workforce: Challenging Reform UK’s position as the voice of the worker
On the one hand Reform UK is positioning itself as the voice of the working person, on the other, Farage has voted against significant aspects of the Employment Rights Bill. How can we convince the working population that Reform UK is not on their side? In this breakout session we’ll explore ways to change the minds of Reform UK voters and sympathisers through strong narratives and convincing stories.
#8: Making the case for international aid
The impact of cuts to international aid were felt almost immediately. The question of how to defend the sector against further cuts is still to be answered. This breakout groups offers a space for INGOs to rethink how they make the case for their work. We’ll explore how to frame aid as a smart, values-driven investment without reinforcing harmful colonial narratives, how to respond to domestic-first arguments with empathy and whether we can learn from the strategies of those who oppose the very nature of international aid.
#9: Benefits worth fighting for: The role of welfare support in the Labour goverment’s growth mission
With the Labour government cutting key welfare programmes, this breakout group will challenge participants to build a powerful case for more—not less—welfare spending. Faced with tough economic conditions, political pressure, and public scepticism, how can civil society reframe welfare as a public good that supports dignity, autonomy, and shared prosperity?
#10: Child poverty: A national scandal
Despite its deep links to educational inequality, health disparities, and long-term economic costs, child poverty doesn’t generate the political or public urgency it deserves, particularly when compared with other social challenges, such as pensioner poverty. This breakout group will explore how to position child poverty as a moral and economic emergency that shifts public attitudes from sympathy to action
#11: Redefining masculinity: Countering toxic narratives with positive alternatives
With a focus on the rise of harmful gender norms, violence, and resentment towards women fueled by influencers within the “manosphere”, this breakout group will consider the underlying anxieties driving these narratives. We will explore how to challenge these toxic narratives in ways that feel aspirational and emotionally resonant, as well as how schools, the media and local communities have a role to play in reshaping attitudes.
#12: Strengthening reproductive freedoms in the UK
Anti-abortion movements in the UK are growing in size and confidence. In the face of these threats, how can we reinforce and expand our reproductive rights? This breakout group will explore how to frame the conversation positively, emphasise the essential role of reproductive freedom within healthcare and mobilise policymakers to ensure abortion rights remain secure and accessible.
#13: Defending progressive values in the political mainstream
How do we prevent the normalisation of far-right views in UK and European politics? How can we resist the shift rightward on issues such as immigration and national security, while maintaining a progressive, evidence-based approach? What role does the media play in amplifying far-right rhetoric and what can we do about this? This breakout group will discuss all these questions and more with the aim of finding ways to strengthen support for democratic, inclusive policies.
#14: Lobbying the Labour government in an unpredictable world
The UK government has positioned itself as a friend to the British people, a partner to the trade unions, and an engine for economic growth. At the same time, it is implementing austerity-like cuts and changes to social programmes. This creates a complex and frustrating landscape for civil society: we have a government that talks our language—but doesn’t walk the same walk. How can we make our case in this context? This breakout group aims to find the answer.
#15: Responding to the crackdown on pro-Palestinian campaigning
Across the UK, US and Europe, pro-Palestinian campaigners have faced increasing surveillance, media hostility, and legal restrictions, ranging from arrests at protests, to suspensions in workplaces and even deportations. As the space for legitimate dissent is shrinking, we will discuss strategies to defend freedom of expression and protest, protect ourselves against smears and disinformation, and call for action to protect the rights and dignity of Palestinian people.
#16: Challenging migration narratives in a new Labour government
Since coming to power in July, the Labour government has adopted similar stances to immigration as far-right parties, such as Reform UK. Why is this, what are they trying to achieve and what does this mean for those organisations calling for rights-based policies on immigration. This breakout group will explore strategies to challenge government rhetoric and shift public discourse towards a more compassionate, realistic approach.
#17: Building unity and tackling hate in a divisive climate
This breakout group will explore how civil society can respond to the rising tide of racial and religious hatred. It will focus on communications strategies to de-escalate tensions and challenge divisive rhetoric, examine ways to build solidarity across communities, create safe spaces for dialogue, and ensure inclusive, empathetic communications that promote peace, justice, and human rights while avoiding further polarisation.