Theme: Faith and Friendship: Shaping the Future Together
When: Sunday April 7 2019, 10.00 – 16.00
Where: Westminster University, Marylebone Campus
Tickets available here
At a time of increasing polarisation, making friends with someone who’s different to you can be a radical act. It can take courage to make that first offer of friendship, especially when your community may not approve. And it takes commitment to keep that friendship alive, when there may be tensions between you that are hard to talk about. These quiet gestures of courage and tenacity are acts of true leadership. With all forms of hatred on the rise, including antisemitism and Islamophobia, it’s this kind of leadership our world is crying out for. And it’s the values that underpin friendship, like courtesy, respect, empathy and trust, which are most needed to rejuvenate our public life.
That’s why we’re devoting this year’s conference to Faith and Friendship: Shaping the Future Together. We’ll ask, what does it mean to practice friendship as a form of social action? What role does friendship play in unlocking women’s leadership? How do we stay friends even when we disagree about important things? And what can our faith traditions teach us about being better friends and changemakers?
We’re delighted to be welcoming Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick as our keynote speaker. Cressida will set the scene by sharing her perspective on rising hate crime, and also telling us something about her own journey to leadership. Our founders Laura Marks and Julie Siddiqi will be co-host the day, offering their thoughts on the role of friendship in grassroots community organising and advocacy work. And we’ll hear from a wide range of other speakers and workshop leaders, about how forging a friendship helped them lead change.
Join us for a day of talks, workshops and networking, and take a deep dive into the true meaning of friendship in an age that sorely needs it!