This event was broadcast on 2 July, 2020. 

Social change is often decades in the making, acquired through the gradual and sustained efforts of dedicated advocates. At other times, change sweeps irresistibly across whole systems, transforming practices and policies in a matter of days.

External shocks and crises can pave the way to lasting change, by exposing flaws in the status quo, invoking new patterns of behaviour and necessitating previously unimaginable choices. Yet, our desire for change is often tempered by the understandable need to cling to normal behaviours and processes in times of upheaval. As we live through the Covid19 crisis, it is important to reflect on how social change happens, so that we can resist this impulse and make good on our desire to ‘build back better’.

Speakers:

Matthew Taylor is a British former political strategist and current Chief Executive of the RSA. In 2005, he was appointed head of the Number 10 Policy Unit by incumbent Prime Minister, Tony Blair. In October 2016, he was appointed Chair of the Review of Modern Employment established by Prime Minister Theresa May; the Taylor Review report Good Work was published in July 2017.

Farhana Yamin is an internationally recognised environmental lawyer, climate change and development policy expert. She now leads Camden Think and Do, a collaborative hub bringing together community members and policy-makers to co-design ideas and projects tackling climate change. 

Nick Gower is the Co-Founder of Mentally Friendly, a design and innovation consultancy in Sydney and Canberra, working with some of Australia’s largest organisations to solve problems across financial wellbeing, mental health, and government service delivery.

Find out more about the RSA: www.thersa.org
Find out more about Mentally Friendly: https://mentallyfriendly.com/

Download the RSA future change framework: https://www.thersa.org/bridges-future/change-framework

Listen to the podcast of this event: https://soundcloud.com/user-996288826/foundations-for-change