Bringing people together: why and how we do it

As a fully-remote company it might seem counterintuitive that a large chunk of our bread and butter is bringing people together in real life. Since 2021 we’ve convened hundreds of experts of lived and learned experience, practitioners, academics, local and central government, civil society and policy makers to explore the social impacts of technology.

Photo from the AI and Society Forum by Alexandra Vanotti

We live our values in the way we design and deliver our events. Care is the organising principle for everything we do, we are constantly learning, we champion patient innovation and we are wayfinders not competitors.

Our approach centres equity and social justice, and our mission is to make sure more people have the chance to shape, inform and create new technologies. Curating workshops, roundtables, conferences and panels underpins our research practices.

Last year we produced the AI and Society Forum, an urgent gathering at the Wellcome Collection of civil society changemakers, coming together to shape better outcomes for AI. Recently we hosted Responsible Tests for the Public Procurement of AI in partnership with RAi UK, an interdisciplinary workshop at The Law Society to develop a set of responsibility measures to help ensure government innovation can develop efficiently and in line with the public interest. Coming up we are presenting an afternoon of panel discussions, Reconnecting Britain: Digital inclusion for 2024 and beyond. In this event we will explore the big challenges of digital exclusion and the future direction of digital inclusion policy. We host a monthly online meet up for the Community Tech Community of Practice, for community businesses and individuals to connect and share opportunities and challenges in a supportive space.

While our topics are often serious, we structure light moments into our events, trialling different formats and offering space for people to make new connections. 

Making our events inclusive, equitable and representative

Photo from the AI and Society Forum by Alexandra Vanotti

Prioritising equity and representation in the curation of speakers, contributors, facilitators and audience requires time and careful consideration of who is and isn’t in the room. We look beyond the obvious “thought leaders” and instead bring together people to deliver an event that values lived experiences and diverse perspectives.

We often ask; are the people who make the technologies really the best placed to spot the harms? Or is it the voices of the campaigners, activists and researchers who have consistently been expected to tidy up after big tech?

Whilst we can put in place structures to support everyone to participate as fully as they are able to, we cannot always predict the behaviour of a public audience. We have just published a code of conduct that we will be asking all event attendees to commit to before attending our events. 

Making our events accessible

We prioritise access in all of our events to make them better for everyone, and are guided by the Social Model of Disability. There are numerous factors that impact what we can and can’t offer at each event, there isn’t a cookie cutter approach to the way we do this. We will always ask and respond to what people need, alongside ensuring some provisions are always available. We consider; bursaries, Covid precautions, relaxed and quiet spaces, BSL and captions, supported networking, step-free venues, accessible and gender-neutral toilets, live streaming, easy-read and large print materials and clear communications and ticket booking processes. We always have an access line in our budgets. This is not an exhaustive list, and we are always interested in trialling new and more accessible ways of hosting people at our events. 

I always have considered myself an introvert and lacking networking skills but actually, the event made me feel like I could be myself without diminishing my spark and connect with people at a human level. Individual perspectives were valued and listened to. Definitely felt a sense of community and connection.  Event participant feedback

Are you interested in commissioning or partnering with us to convene a roundtable, deliver a workshop or curate a conference? We would love to hear from you.