What next for community leaders in the North East? With the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Larger Us.

What skills do community leaders need now?

This is the question we’ll be exploring together.

Villages, town and cities in the North East are going through social upheaval that is being propelled by loss. Locally, people are watching the things they used to rely on slide away: industry, jobs, identity, secure housing, and civic pride. Nationally, we’ve lost trust in our politicians, the cost of living has soared and our waterways are polluted. Globally, people are losing their lives and livelihoods to conflict and climate change.

You might even say we’re facing an apocalypse…

We tend to associate the word apocalypse with ‘ending’ but it actually means ‘revelation’  and so we’d like you to imagine with us about what a ‘good apocalypse’ in the North East might look like: What is being revealed to us right now? How might we use this moment to steer our communities towards a positive future? And what new tools do we need in our toolkit to do so?

Join us to think about what how we might:

• Stop ourselves from burning out
• Bridge divides in our community
• Help people feel like they belong
• Face our losses together
• Tell the kind of stories that inspire hope and action

This is an opportunity to think about what support you need as a community leader to face the challenges ahead. Together, we’ll agree priorities and decide on practical next steps.

Your hosts:

Victoria Hughes and Darren Leighton of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which is investing in programmes focused on transforming broken systems in the region.

Our guests:

Alex Evans and Claire Brown of Larger Us, who use insights from psychology to support community leaders to bridge divides, bring people together and build broad support for action on the biggest challenges we face.

JRF is working with Larger Us to develop free training and support for community leaders in the North East and this is your opportunity to let Alex and Claire know directly what you’d find most helpful.

To reserve your space, www.tickettailor.com/events/largerus/2079549

Plan for the day

10.30am: Arrive, grab a cuppa, get settled.

11am: Welcome from Victoria Hughes.

11.15am: Lecture – ‘A Good Apocalypse in the North East?’ with Alex Evans.

11.45am: Your thoughts, comments and questions.

12.15pm: Delicious lunch provided by REfUSE Cafe.

1pm: Discussion in small groups about what support community leaders need now.

2pm: Reflections and next steps.

2.30pm: Informal final cuppa for anyone who wants to chat more.

3pm: Close