Thursday 22 September 2022,
5-6pm online
What if we truly believed in ourselves and those around us? In case you missed it (though we’re not sure how!), that’s what Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything Is All of Us calls on us to wonder. Now we want to take the hypothesis that society is on the brink of a shift from the Consumer Story to the Citizen Story and ask, ‘What might this mean for campaigning?’
This is more than a talking heads event, but you’re invited to engage as much or as little as you like (we don’t think you’ll be able to resist). Founders of the New Citizenship Project, Irenie Ekkeshis and Jon Alexander, will set out what the ideas mean in theory and in practice. Then we’ll explore together what questions and challenges they pose for us as campaigners of all kinds.
Jon Alexander
Jon Alexander began his career in advertising, winning the prestigious Big Creative Idea of the Year, before making a dramatic change. Driven by a deep need to understand the impact on society of 3,000 commercial messages a day, he gathered three Masters degrees, exploring consumerism and its alternatives from every angle.
In 2014, he co-founded the New Citizenship Project to bring the resulting ideas into contact with reality. In Citizens, he is ready to share them with the world.
Irenie Ekkeshis
Irenie co-founded the New Citizenship Project in 2014, having started her career in the advertising industry, leading teams creating award-winning campaigns for brands from the BBC to Unilever.
After a stint getting paid to travel the world as MD of an archaeological tour operator, she became a campaigner and patient advocate after contracting a serious eye illness which left her blind in one eye. Irenie has since won a number of awards for her Patient Leadership work.
Tickets £10 (£5 unwaged or students)
We are also able to offer a limited number of bursary places for people on low incomes. Email [email protected] if you would like to apply for one.