RSA Events

An unprecedented global pandemic. The worst global economic recession since the Great Depression. The tipping point for systemic racism. Growing polarisation and conflict. One of the biggest non-nuclear explosions of all time. An alarming increase in wildfires across five continents. 2020 has presented huge challenges for us to respond to. It is human nature to design for need, to design for bette...

Competition laws are failing us on a whole host of issues vital to the public interest. But campaigning lawyer Michelle Meagher has a bold new agenda for reform. We live in the age of big companies, where power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, monopolies are the gold standard, and workers’ rights, the environment and democracy are bulldozed at every level.   With markets further...

Changing what we do with our money could be one of the most powerful tools at our disposal for tackling the climate crisis – but putting our money where our values are can be complicated. How do we match our priorities with the opportunities available for investing ethically? Is divestment the only way? And how can we tell what is genuinely transformative, and what is just ‘greenwashing’? What mat...

RSA President’s Lecture 2020 As we navigate a series of urgent global crises, how might cities and communities be empowered to respond in ways that are ecologically safe and socially just? Doughnut Economics proposes a set of core principles for creating economies that are regenerative and distributive by design. What happens when these principles are put into practice? In her 2020 RSA President’s...

Creativity matters now more than ever. But for too long we’ve been told that it’s a mysterious gift granted to a select few. Nonsense, says Seth Godin. Creativity is a choice. The turbulent events of 2020 have presented an opportunity for pause and self-reflection. A moment to look at our lives, and to ask what truly gives them meaning and purpose. In the face of crisis and constraint, many people...

There is growing concern that Covid-19 disruption is creating the conditions for a rise in school exclusions. Who do we need to listen to, what needs to change, and how can we work better together to support educators, parents and policymakers to address the problem of exclusions at its roots? The RSA’s Pinball Kids project explores the underlying factors that lead to school exclusions, and looks...

Black women’s experience is now moving from the private to the public sphere, bringing with it new opportunities and challenges for those on the frontline of change. Following on from the acclaimed Slay in Your Lane, timely new anthology Loud Black Girls invites a new generation of writers, artists and activists to explore the richness and variety of what it means to exist as a black woman in a tu...

Covid-19 brought with it a mass global experiment in working from home. And with the results now in, 2020 looks set to be the year that changed office life forever. Pandemic lockdown forced companies worldwide into a crash course in remote working. For many, it was a bumpy ride at first. But six months in, the data shows a remarkably swift and widespread adaptation to new working practices, cultur...

Humans are hard-wired for community, but our political and economic systems have encouraged and rewarded extreme individualism for far too long. How can we rethink how we do things to put collective purpose back at the centre?  Modern economics has for many years been driven by a belief which is no longer tenable: that ‘greed is good’. This mode of thinking has contributed to environmental destruc...

As the world faces the critical issues of Covid-19, climate emergency and political disquiet, what are the novel democratic approaches we can deploy to tackle these acute and existential challenges?  How can a more ‘active democracy’ break political deadlock, build civic trust and drive transformative collaboration between government, civil society and communities?  One month on from Climate Assem...

How can the ones who have been winning at this broken game become the ones to change the rules for good? The excesses of capitalism left unchecked are catching up with us, in the form of huge inequality, environmental disaster, and institutional collapse. Can business, which has until now been part of the problem, become part of the solution? What we urgently need, argues economics professor Rebec...

Are we still a liberal nation? Are we even pretending or aspiring to be one? Several extraordinary years in politics and public life have shaken Britain’s image of itself as a model of liberal democracy. The status of political parties, the media, and public officials have morphed and shifted as increasingly desperate attempts have been made to contain the impulses of reactionary nationalism withi...

Statistics are vital in helping us tell stories and make sense of the world - and yet we doubt them more than ever. But numbers - in the right hands - have the power to change the world for the better. Good statistics are not smoke and mirrors; in fact, they help us see more clearly – if we keep our wits about us. Economist Tim Harford is an unrivalled guide to the world of numbers. Amidst a sea o...

In recent months, the Black Lives Matter movement has heightened public consciousness of the extent to which racial injustice is embedded in all aspects of our society. As a new term begins, many teachers will be returning to the classroom with a renewed commitment to practising active anti-racism in their school community. But what does it take to make that commitment real? From behaviour to curr...

To read 'The Reflexive Age' in full, click here  This conversation was broadcast online on the 30th July 2020. Discover more here. 

Impact investment pioneer Sir Ronald Cohen argues that social justice must dictate the economic response to the crisis now facing countries the world over. Capitalism is being challenged as never before - it can be radically reshaped. This conversation was broadcast online on the 23rd July 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

Women’s economic subordination is a global problem that affects us all. Gender equality, often treated as an afterthought or a luxury only wealthy countries can afford, is essential for stabilising and strengthening our economies, bettering our societies, and liberating women across the world. Economist Linda Scott examines the growing body of evidence that we all do better when women do better. T...

As movements for change sweep across the globe, two of the UK’s most admired public thinkers, Mary Beard and David Olusoga, reflect on the enduring and evolving dialogue between past and present, and the duty we owe to the legacies we inherit. This conversation was broadcast online on the 21st July 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

From climate crisis to the next pandemic, the existential threat of short-termism is now all too clear. Drawing on ideas and movements from around the world, public philosopher Roman Krznaric shows how a shift to long-term thinking can help us create more just, secure and sustainable societies - and set us on a path to becoming the good ancestors that future generations deserve. This conversation...

What are the alliances, practices, tools and behaviours that will best support a united health and care system in the move towards long term change? Can we create a model of public service that is agile and resilient, able to cope with crisis and meet the needs and expectations of today’s citizens? This conversation was broadcast online on the 9th July 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events...

The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted the extent to which schools have been plugging gaps in the care of vulnerable children. Can we develop a new vision and shared responsibility for young people’s education, health and wellbeing - one that places schools at the heart of a much wider community network of support? This conversation was broadcast online on the 30th June 2020. Discover more at: www.th...

Nigel Topping is the UK’s High-Level Climate Action Champion for the pivotal COP26 climate talks. The Covid-19 crisis may have postponed the summit by a year, but we can now seize the opportunity to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon economy, he argues - if we get the recovery measures right. This conversation was broadcast online on the 3rd July 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/even...

Injustice and inequality are holding us back from becoming the best society we can be, and we need to make change together, on every level. CEO of New America Anne-Marie Slaughter explores how we can enact values that make us proud. This conversation was broadcast online on the 2nd July 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/bridges-to-the-future

Can we design recovery measures to address deep-seated issues of economic inequality and insecurity? Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Anneliese Dodds MP and the FT’s Martin Sandbu share policy ideas to improve job quality and increase prosperity for people and places in every part of the UK. This conversation was broadcast online on the 1st July 2020. Discover more at: www.thersa.org/events/brid...

As Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham is working to shape the future of the city region, designing services and implementing policies with a central goal of improving people’s health. Leading a transition from crisis to recovery, he describes how devolved and integrated approaches are critical in supporting agility and resilience in health, care and local services. This conversation was bro...