New Constellations

In January 2024 we embarked on a remarkable journey with a group of young people from all countries of the UK and many different backgrounds; a voyage of discovery into a future imagined by and for young people and future generations. Together with leaders from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and as part of Kinship Discovery , we explored the challenges facing young people in the UK today, the glimmers of...

In September 2023, a small group of transformational leaders from across the world gathered deep in the Somerset countryside to go on a journey together. They came together in recognition that these times demand new kinds of leadership; that we must dream big, dig deep and act bravely. Through their journey, the group opened up to new and radically different possibilities and began to chart new co...

Jess Steele OBE is a community entrepreneur and bold innovator who has spent over thirty years working with communities, creatives, governments, funders, corporates and academics to transform neighbourhoods. Here she introduces us to the wonderful people, places and history of Hastings Commons , a community-led regeneration programme she spearheaded in her hometown, with new models of ownership, m...

Li An Phoa and Maarten van der Schaaf are behind Drinkable Rivers – a movement bringing people together around a vision of a world in which we can drink from all our rivers; a sign of whole ecosystem balance. Follow them in this encounter as they walk the Thames engaging with local people, school children, farmers, fishermen, politicians, pilgrims and many more, giving attention to hope and helpin...

Scarlett Somerville is an artist and activist currently studying for her A-levels. Deeply connected to her landscape and enchanted by nature, here Scarlett shares her vision for a simpler future as well as her perspective as a teenager profoundly troubled by a world that seems to be getting exponentially worse, yet not entirely sure her generation is taking things as seriously as they should. Made...

The question of how to define and how to identify ‘glimmers’ of the future has been an important part of our journeys and wider research at New Constellations. Gemma has been collaborating with Graham Leicester and Cassie Robinson on a collective enquiry around how to identify examples of the flourishing futures we hope to help reach towards. Made by Jo Barratt Discover more at newconstellations.c...

Across four summer days in July 2023, 17 people from all walks of life in York came together to explore the future of the city that they call home. This audio piece tells the story of the journey they went on to discover and create more beautiful futures in York. Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews, Lily Piachaud, Yasmin El Dabi and  Kate McLaven. The poem ‘A nurse log’ is by Sar...

Ian Goldin is an academic, economist, author and optimist. Born in South Africa, he was involved in the anti-apartheid struggle and returned from exile to work as Nelson Mandela’s economic advisor. He was later Vice President of the World Bank, founding director of the Oxford Martin School and now works as Professor of Globalization and Development at the University of Oxford, leading research pro...

Lucy Neal is an artist, theatre maker, writer, celebrant and community activist. Steadfastly involved in the grassroots Transition movement in her beloved Tooting since 2008, in this encounter Lucy invites you to join her as she bikes through her community and marches through the streets of central London, exploring what it means to hold the grief, love, devastation terror, beauty and infinite pos...

Peace-pilgrim and former monk, Satish Kumar has been inspiring global change for over 50 years as an activist, author, editor and speaker, seeking to inform and inspire a just future for all. In this encounter he reflects on how his spiritual relationship with nature can teach us to be compassionate, how to be kind, how to be generous, how to be non-discriminating. From developing meditation pract...

Shevaun Haviland is the Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, responsible for representing British business in front of government, and around the world. An optimist who believes in vision and the power of positive thinking, Shevaun shares her passion for business as a force for good, her fundamental belief in community, and her dreams of space travel. Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma...

Kersten has worked in local government for over 30 years, most recently as Chief Executive of Bradford Council and previously in the same role for the City of York. She has worked across the voluntary and community sector, education and central government. As she approaches retirement from her current role, Kersten talks to us about her transformational work in Bradford, improving the lives of eve...

Gemma marks the winter solstice, and the tilt from darkness towards light, tucked up at home after a dawn foray into the Dartmoor squall. Reflecting on the year passing out and the one to come, she finds solace and encouragement in Six Ethical Maxims for a Marginally Livable Planet – the work of David Schenck and Larry R Churchill – one of the many wonderful things shared with New Constellations d...

‘Bold Dreams: A journey for courageous leaders’ brought together 17 people from all four countries of the UK, all innovating in service of people and communities. Spanning different generations, public and private sectors and many walks of life, the group explored their visions for flourishing futures and the transformation they want to contribute and commit to. From the bright spring frosts of Ke...

Every year, Yale’s International Leadership Center brings together the World Fellows, a group of extraordinary leaders from every continent to explore how to address the most acute and complex challenges facing the world today. In October 2022, New Constellations partnered with creative innovator, cultural entrepreneur and filmmaker Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir to design a bespoke journey for the 2022 W...

Caspe r is a creator of spiritual infrastructure for the future, something he builds to contain love, belonging, beauty, solidarity, joy … and lots of singing. He sees our disconnection from our spirituality as one of the great challenges of the 21st Century. And has found over and over again that the people who he wants to be like are often people of deep faith, people willing to bet the whole bo...

Surrounded by Samhain’s autumn leaves, Gemma recorded some reflections on the unseasonable warmth of this autumn, her recent conversations with leading thinkers, makers and doers across different sectors and what we can do to restore our lost connections. Made by Jo Barratt and Gemma Mortensen, with Iris Andrews, Lily Piachaud and Hadeel Elshak. Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girl...

What would a new economy that serves the future be, look and feel like? Who must be part of this new economy, and of making it happen? In September 2022, the funder collaborative Partners For A New Economy brought together 90 thinkers, funders and change-makers working in myriad ways across different places and systems to transform our economies. In this encounter you’ll hear dreams and reflection...

Gabriella sees the city as a travelling surface for new ideas, projects and public debates; alive on the surface with many worlds hidden in its folds. She says that we create our cities and then our cities in turn create us. As Chief Creative Officer for Mexico City, she led a team as varied as the city – bringing together urban geographers, data experts, political scientists, lawyers, artists, hi...

Rachel is a technology strategist, specialising in the social impact of new and emerging technologies. She has been working on the web since the nineties, when you had to make up your own job because it had never existed before. Today she runs Careful Industries ; helping people understand the impact of the technologies they are creating and to deploy them in ways that can nurture us all.  Made by...

Robin believes that our blueprint as human beings is to be born in deep connection to nature, at ease with being a keystone species. The question he asks is not only how we can rebuild this connection, but how we lost it in the first place. He traces UK history to times during which our earth and land based cultures were destroyed, and asks what it would take to rediscover and learn from these dee...

Gemma joins The Old Wa y, a year-long course tracing the migratory route of hunter-gatherers through the seasons - searching for food in the woods, along the coast to the seashore and over the moors. The experience invites us to learn from our ancient past to help shape better futures by exploring our own rewilding and how we can reconstitute the webs of connection that we have lost with each othe...

Andri Snær Magnason grew up with the wild Icelandic Highlands in his heart and soul. As a student of Nordic mythology he perceives that we are living through ‘mythic times’ such is the extent of the climatic and ecological change that we will see in a lifetime. As a writer, poet and director, and a father of four children, he finds words to help us understand the era we are living through, to ques...

Goddur Magnússon has the gift of being able to spot and channel the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. He does this by connecting to beauty, which he sees as his closest contact to the future. As a renowned Icelandic designer, teacher and grandfather-type, he says the best way to pass on his knowledge is to befriend his students and learn with them. So he explores where we are heading, what is ne...

Hrund is a creative innovator, cultural entrepreneur, filmmaker and dreamer. She believes fostering creative mindsets, original thought and diversity is the key to unlocking the infinite possibilities of human beings in today’s world. Author and co-director of the documentary INNSÆI – The Sea Within , Hrund is a passionate advocate for intuition and creativity in a world of distraction and stress....