We Make Tomorrow Summit

We are in a #ClimateEmergency

In the last year we have seen an explosion of action on the climate crisis; from sector-wide declarations of climate emergency, to young people leading global strikes, and the UK’s first ever party leader’s election debate on climate and nature.

Join us for our flagship 2020 summit We Make Tomorrow: Creative climate action in a time of crisis to be at the forefront of an urgent and creative plan for change.

This provocative, intergenerational and action-focused event will bring creative-cultural leaders and institutions together with funders, grassroots activists, policy-makers and the scientific community to explore what creativity, leadership and innovation means in the context of climate and ecological emergency, ahead of the crucial COP26 climate talks.

Watch the livestream here
Read full agenda here

See full detail on our Speakers and Performers

The event is now sold out, but you can tune into the free live stream from 10am 26th February – put it in your diaries!

What to Expect

Taking place on Wednesday 26th February 2020 at the Royal Geographical Society London, we will bring together high-profile expert speakers and facilitators with an audience of over 300 from across the UK and beyond.

Together we will ask: What will the world be like in 2030, and what can the creative and cultural community do now to push us closer to the future we want?

This day-long event will look at the political, demographic, economic and social forces driving our changing climate and devastating loss of nature, and explore how the arts and cultural sector can be galvanised to move us towards net-zero, whilst laying foundations for a more connected, viable and just future society.

Expect interactive sessions, performances, high profile keynotes, and cross-disciplinary discussion. As a participant of this event, we would like you to bring your vision, experience and expertise to help shape and contribute towards the day.

Speakers:

BRIAN ENO, world famous musician, producer and trustee of Client Earth;

AFSHEEN KABIR RASHID, MBE co-Founder and co-CEO of Repowering London;

CHRIS STARK, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change;

JAMIE OBORNE, Manager of The 1975 and Entrepreneur Of The Year (2018);

FRANCES MORRIS, Director, Tate Modern;

DARREN HENLEY, Chief Executive, Arts Council England

JASON deCAIRES TAYLOR, sculptor of underwater museums and environmentalist;

KATE RAWORTH, renegade economist tackling social and ecological challenges;

KAREEM DAYES, musician and Founder of the Rural Urban Synthesis Society;

BARONESS LOLA YOUNG of Hornsey OBE, Crossbench peer and arts, culture and climate justice advocate;

NABIL AHMED, visual artist and Founder of INTERPRT;

NOGA LEVY-RAPOPORT, climate justice advocate with UK Student Climate Network;

FARHANA YAMIN, Veteran UN climate negotiator and activist;

DRILL MINISTER, drill artist and political activist;

CHARISE JOHNSON, Science policy researcher and environmental justice advocate;

ANDREA CARTER, Lead Producer, D6: Culture in Transit;

ZAMZAM IBRAHIM, President of the UK National Union of Students;

DARREN HENLEY, Chief Executive, Arts Council England;

CHIARA BADIALI, Knowledge and Sector Intelligence Lead, Julie’s Bicycle;

CHAITANYA KUMAR, Head of Climate And Energy, Green Alliance;

RICHARD ASTON, General Manager, Opera North;

SHOLEH JOHNSTON, Creative Producer and Facilitator, Clore Fellow;

LUCIA PIETROIUSTI, Curator, General Ecology project, Serpentine Galleries;

SAM LEE, Folk Musician and Founder of the Nest Collective

Join the Creative Climate Action conversation

#WeMakeTomorrow #COPtimism26 @JuliesBicycle @ace_national @SerpentineUK @NestFolk

Event partnerships: Producing Partners

We are delighted to be partnering with Serpentine Galleries General Ecology Project and Sam Lee and The Nest Collective to curate various performative elements during the day.

Serpentine Galleries General Ecology Project:

The General Ecology Project are partnering with Julie’s Bicycle to curate a series of artist interventions and conversations throughout the day. Participants include; poet Bhanu Kapil, Climate Symphony (Leah Borromeo, Katharine Round and Jamie Perera), artist Ayesha Tan Jones and artist Zadie Xa.

General Ecology is the Serpentine’s long-term and ongoing project researching complexity, posthumanism, the environment and climate change. General Ecology manifests through publications, exhibitions, study programmes, radio, symposia and live events bringing together practitioners from the fields of art, design, science, literature and anthropology, among many others. The General Ecology Project is curated by Lucia Pietroiusti (Curator, Live Programmes and General Ecology) with Holly Shuttleworth (Producer, Live Programmes) and Kostas Stasinopoulos (Assistant Curator, Live Programmes).

@SerpentineUK #generalecology

Sam Lee and The Nest Collective:

The Nest Collective are welcoming musicians Cosmo Sheldrake; Abel Selacoe; Millicent Chapandra; Ayanna Witter-Johnson and Sam Lee to perform throughout the day.

The Nest Collective, founded by folk singer Sam Lee, is a leading force in contemporary and cross-cultural folk music in the UK. Celebrating music with a connection to folk tradition, in the broadest possible sense. For over 10 years they have been London’s way to experience folk & roots music in unforgettable places, and from 2019 have been taking their events to locations across the UK. The Nest Collective bring people together to experience extraordinary music in unforgettable places, rekindling connections with nature, tradition and community.

@NestFolk @SamLeeSong

Event Partnerships:

We are delighted to have the support and presence of some key organisational ‘friends’ of the event – bringing their networks, creativity and energies to bolster the day:

UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN)

UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) is a group of mostly under 18s taking to the streets to protest the government’s lack of action on the Climate Crisis. Throughout 2019 they’ve organised over 850 demonstrations, including the September Global Climate Strike that saw over 300,000 people take to the streets across the UK.

Culture Declares Emergency

A growing global community of arts & culture champions declaring a climate & ecological emergency.

Music Declares Emergency

Music Declares Emergency is a group of artists, music industry professionals and organisations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response to protect all life on Earth.

Climate Coalition

The Climate Coalition is the UK’s biggest group of people dedicated to action on climate change. Bringing together 140 organisations including WWF, RSPB, National Trust, Julie’s Bicycle and the WI to be a voice for change 22 million people strong.

Craftivist Collective

The Craftivist Collective have helped change laws, policies, hearts and minds around the world through their slower, quieter and more intimate form of activism rooted in neuroscience and positive psychology, that uses the process of craft to help the changemaker engage deeply and thoughtfully in social change issues. They will be hosting a beautiful ChangemakersRetreat in the Lowther Room throughout the day.

Roundhouse Young Creatives

Bringing young voices to the forefront

Event sponsors:

Borough Wines

Serving Delicious Organic Wine by the keg

We are really grateful to the following organisations who have kindly supported this event by providing equipment or software:

Slido – Slido is an easy to use Q&A and polling platform. It helps people to get the most out of meetings and events by bridging the gap between speakers and their audiences. Making audience interaction easy

Focusrite– Focusrite plc is a global music and audio products group that develops and markets proprietary hardware and software products. Enriching people’s lives through music

White Light – White Light is the complete technical solution specialist operating in a range of markets such as theatre, corporate events, broadcast, live music, themed attractions, education, retail and leisure.

Eventbrite – Eventbrite is a global platform for live experiences that allows anyone to create, share, find and attend events that fuel their passions and enrich their lives.

Famous Times – Famous Times is a recording Studio in Hackney, designed by a musician with musicians in mind – an inexpensive, professional studio with an extensive range of equipment and instruments set in a relaxed atmosphere.

This event is run in partnership with the Arts Council England as part of the environmental programme.

Press enquiries

To apply for a press ticket to the conference, please fill in your details in this form. We we will be back in touch shortly with further details.