Join us at The Conduit for a conversation with Danny Sriskandarajah, a pioneering advocate for citizen action and leading voice in the third sector. He will be discussing his forthcoming book, “Power to the People” with Dame Julia Unwin, former CEO of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Danny will explore how citizen engagement can transform our world.

Addressing voter apathy and the limitations of current political systems, he will share his radical manifesto for community-driven change, diving into real-life success stories, from grassroots initiatives to global campaigns. This interactive session will be for anyone interested in how we as citizens can use our voice and change the world.

Speakers:

Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation from January 2024. Prior to this Danny held leadership roles at Oxfam GB, CIVICUS, the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Foundation and the Institute for Public Policy Research. He is a Trustee of the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation and has previously been a Trustee of the Baring Foundation, Comic Relief, Disasters Emergency Committee and Praxis Community Projects; and has been a member of two United Nations High Level Panels, on digital co-operation and humanitarian finance. Danny holds a Masters and Doctorate from Oxford University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney. 

Dame Julia Unwin is an experienced non-executive, speaker, consultant and mentor. She was the Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation for a decade until the end of 2016. In 2017 she launched and chaired the Independent Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society in England, which reported in November 2018, and held a fellowship with Carnegie UK Trust 2017/18 considering the role of kindness in public policy. She has written and spoken extensively on issues relating to philanthropy, governance, the voluntary sector and its relationship with government. Her publications include ‘Why Fight Poverty?’, ‘Kindness, Emotions and Relationships’, the ‘Blind Spot in Public Policy Making’ and ‘The Grant Making Tango’. She is currently a non-executive director of the Mears Group PLC and of Yorkshire Water. She is Inaugural Chair of Smart Data Foundry based at Edinburgh University. She also chairs the Board of Governors at York St John University. In 2010 Dame Julia was awarded the Outstanding Leadership Award in the Charity Awards and has received honorary doctorates from three universities. In the 2020 New Year Honours she received a DBE. For more information about Julia please visit her website: www.juliaunwin.com