As I previously noted on a couple of occasions, we are holding a Funding the Future event in Ely on Saturday, 3 October. More information can be found here.

The event will start at 12 and finish around five, and will include three sessions, with time for discussion over tea and coffee during the afternoon and for a while afterwards.

John Christensen will chair the event. He will be familiar to many people here because he is a regular podcast guest. John and I have worked together for well over 20 years now, and co-created the Tax Justice Network in 2003.

I will be the main presenter and will share the job of answering questions with John, but the key reason for keeping this event to a maximum of 50 people, including the Funding the Future team, is that this will give an opportunity for significant audience participation, which is critical as the main focus of the event will be on creating ideas people can take away on how we can, collectively, tackle the crises we face.

The three sessions at the event will therefore have different focuses. In the first, I will outline where I think we are, where the political economy is going, and the issues we need to pay attention to, but there will be time to exchange views.

In the second session, John and I will open the discussion by talking about our experiences of solution-focused campaigns. Solution-focused campaigns do not spend their time bleating about what is wrong, and then demand that the government put it right. They do, instead, propose the solutions to the problems that they identify so that politicians and others might adopt them. This is the approach John and I took to tax justice campaigning, which was very successful during our time leading that work.

I am not pretending that either of us has all the answers to all the questions this session will raise, and that is precisely why we will devote time to discussing what can be done, and what role Funding the Future might play in supporting people to deliver solution-focused outcomes.

The third session will be primarily a Q&A session, with an opportunity to build on previously discussed issues and to raise other points, but with the focus being on these campaign issues. I would hope that everyone takes away something positive from the session as a whole, and if that sounds vague, it is because I am not seeking to be prescriptive about the conclusions drawn or the outcomes expected. Interactivity will be a key focus of this day.

If you are interested in attending, please look at the link provided above. The cost is £45, including teas and coffees during intervals. You can purchase other food from the Poets House Hotel, where the event is being held. Access by train and car is relatively straightforward, and parking is free in Ely and is available near the hotel. Access is entirely on the level. Unfortunately, we cannot provide a hearing loop because the hotel does not have one.

We do still have two free tickets available for younger people who would like to attend. Just drop me a note explaining why you would like one.

If you think you can only attend with a discount, we are also offering a number of tickets at £30 for this reason. Some are still available.

At this moment, more than two-thirds of the available tickets have been sold. If you would like one, and this is probably the last time I will draw attention to this event here before we advertise any remaining tickets on YouTube, where we expect they will be snapped up quickly, please do email me. Payment is by direct bank transfer using information that I will supply. We will refund tickets if cancelled more than 14 days before the event, or if we are unable, for any reason, to go ahead with it.

I am very much hoping that something of campaigning significance might come out of this event, and from amongst those who might be attending. Do, in that case, come with an open mind as to what you would like to achieve. I look forward to hearing from you.

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