Join RSA US Director Alexa Clay and RSA Labs Associate Director Ian Burbidge for a discussion on the art of making change in society.
You may have heard sentiments like ‘pandemic as portal’ or calls for a ’new normal,’ spelling out an optimism for turning the Covid-19 crisis into a revolutionary act of systemic re-alignment. Sometimes change feels like a euphoric tide, a sweeping in of the new, a coup of creative destruction. Or as historian Christopher Hill wrote of the English radicals of the 1640s, like “a door that opens widely… and then suddenly closes.” In other moments, social change feels like a hard-won and gradual chipping away of the status quo. An act of pragmatic and hard-nosed dedication and craftsmanship.
For 250-years, the RSA has cultivated an identity for stewarding progressive change. Today with over 29,000 Fellows around the world and with countless more allies working to drive transformation in society, we want to pause and put a lens on the art of change-making itself and interrogate our assumptions and common myths around how we make change in society. In this interactive session we will share our meditations around the art and science of social change and invite group discussion around some driving questions:
• What do we collectively know about making social change in the world?
• What theories of change do we hold? How does social change happen?
• How do we know if a system is ripe for change?
• Why does change so often fail?
• What are the obstacles to change we have faced?
• What strategies and tactics for social change are we optimistic about?
• Is social change an art or are there patterns and mechanics we can learn from?
• How is this current crisis transforming our identities as change-makers?
This event is a collaboration between RSA US and RSA Labs. Please see below for timing in your region:
- United States (West): 8:00am PDT
- United States (East): 11:00am EDT
- United Kingdom: 4:00pm BST
Joining instructions will be sent with your confirmation email once you register. Please direct any questions about this event to RSA US Director, Alexa Clay at [email protected].
This event is taking place during a week-long series of Bridges to the Future Conversations, hosted by the RSA and with our communities of changemakers.
At the RSA, we unite people and ideas to resolve the challenges of our time and recognise that crisis can be an opportunity for positive change. As we contend with the Covid-19 crisis, we are bringing people together to unlock ideas and innovation in the areas of society that must thrive, now and in the future.
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