Events
The Future is Now
a gathering for national scale organisations
On Tuesday 26th November 2024 CTRL Shift will be hosting The Future is Now, a one day gathering in Birmingham for national organisations across the UK working to shift power from the hands of the few into the hands of the many. At the gathering we will take stock of the current context and explore how we can work together constructively, both within and across different sectors, to build a better future.
We stand at a critical moment in the UK. With rampant inequality, a hostile environment towards migrants, a climate crisis that is out of control and the arrival of a new Labour government. As organisations operating at the national level – how can we collaborate most effectively to ensure we have the best chance of building a more equal, democratic and sustainable future out of the current crises?
At CTRL Shift we believe that by coming together and sharing our multiple perspectives we can begin to understand the bigger picture, get a sense of potential synergies and collaborations and move forward together as more than the sum of our parts.
Attendance to this gathering is by invitation only. If you work for a national organisation supporting people across the UK to have more power and agency at the local level, and would like to attend, then please get in touch at admin@ctrlshift.org.uk.
Watching this video to find out more about the gathering.
Past CTRLshift: Emergency Summit for Change Events
CTRLshift began in 2017 with a plan to host a national conference in Wigan. CTRLshift sought to catalyse a network of change-making organisations, networks and independent practitioners, creating a movement for positive social, economic and environmental change.
CTRLshift began in 2017 with a plan to host a national conference in Wigan. CTRLshift sought to catalyse a network of change-making organisations, networks and independent practitioners, creating a movement for positive social, economic and environmental change.
The first summit in Wigan was held in response to the Brexit vote and the desire to accelerate a shift in power to people and communities that is socially, economically and environmentally just and sustainable.
CTRLshift Summit 1: Wigan, March 2018
At our first event in Wigan over 100 organisations and networks came together to identify key issues and themes, map strategies and approaches, and learn more about each other’s work. It was a rich two and a half days and many initiatives and projects grew from the relationships that were formed. Wigan was chosen because of its high Brexit vote, its rich industrial history, it’s links to the Diggers Movement and a sense that it was a place ‘left behind’, as captured as early as 1937 by George Orwell’s The Road to Wigan Pier.
Various working groups emerged from the event as well as a commitment to follow up in a year’s time, as the date for our leaving the EU came closer.
You can find the report for this event here.
There are other blogs written by participants on this website’s news pages. These include reports from Rob Hopkins and Naresh Giangrande, of the Transition Towns Network.
CTRlshift Summit 2: Stoke-on-Trent, May 2019
By 2019 the uncertainties of Brexit remained but the collective sense of emergency has deepened. In the midst of climate change protests across the world, and a growing recognition that communities were facing intersecting social, economic and environmental crises, it was imperative that we held this summit again. The second summit was held in Stoke-on-Trent, a place that had been dubbed the ‘Brexit Capital’ of the UK. In the area, there was a strong desire from local groups to rewrite that narrative and showcase the amazing work being done on the ground to build agency locally.
The summit was held at an ex-pottery works converted into a hotel called Potbank, as well as an old warehouse adjacent to this. It felt like a microcosm of what a CTRLshift could look like. Perhaps the greatest thing achieved during CTRLshift 2019 was coming to a collective understanding of the need to collaborate, share and challenge ourselves to bring about the change we want to see. Second to this was the sheer diversity of voices in the room and out there, making change happen. Finally, a strong working group of local motivated individuals and organisations emerged from the event, with a real commitment to making Stoke the first CTRLshift city.
You can find the briefing paper for this event here.
You can find the report of the event here.
You can find folders of images and audio files here.
