2019 Talks
Dive in and enjoy some of our favourite talks from the Meaning back catalogue
Rachel Lilley
Mindful Blinkers & Biases
Rachel offered us an insight into the realities of human biases and decision-making. She called on us to consider the potential for mindfulness to create shared understanding and compassion in work, and in society. And she warned us to be wary of easy remedies that maintain a toxic status quo.
Agamemnon Otero
Repowering community
Community energy pioneer Agamemnon shows us how the best kind of change happens not when it is imposed upon us by powerful corporations or tech entrepreneurs – but when we all feel we have a stake in the innovations and projects that truly improve our cities and our world.
Brett Hennig
The End of Politicians
Brett explains how the practice of sortition – once favoured by the ancient Greeks and now demanded by the Extinction Rebellion movement – could revive the practice of government, by asking ordinary people, randomly selected, to make decisions on behalf of society.
Nilofer Merchant
Onlyness in action
Nilofer Merchant is a champion for the untapped potential lying wasted in organisations around the world. She believes passionately in the power each and every one of us has to help solve the challenges of our time. And she brought her own unique gifts to Meaning 2019 as our guide and host for a day of inspiration and discovery.
Jennifer Brandel
People powered journalism
In an ever-changing world, journalism as we know it is struggling to survive. At Meaning, entrepreneur and journalist Jennifer Brandel made a compelling case for a new approach to media creativity using an innovative model for audience-first journalism.
Erinch Sahan
Fundamentally Fair
As chief executive of the World Fair Trade Organisation, Erinch brought to Meaning 2019 his passion and advocacy for fair trade – not just as a certification for products but as a way of operating collaboratively in business that supports communities, enables sustainability and creates prosperity.
Clare Farrell
Extinction Rebellion: ACT NOW!
Clare is an activist and campaigner devoting her creativity, her energy, and occasionally her personal liberty, to fight climate collapse. As a co-founder of Extinction Rebellion she is at the strategic heart of a mass movement of people using non-violent direct action in the firm belief that these are a proven way to create rapid change.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
The Green New Deal
As chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, Miatta leads an organisation that is at the cutting edge of thinking on progressive economics and social policy. At Meaning she helped us understand how a Green New Deal can work in practice to create a more equitable and sustainable economy for all.
Armin Steuernagel
Rethinking Ownership
Armin is an investor on a mission: a mission to help companies protect themselves from the clutches of vulture capital. At Meaning he introduced us to the concept of steward ownership as a way to nurture a business’s growth without risking the integrity of its founding purpose.
Paul Mason
A Clear Bright Future
Paul Mason returned to Meaning 2019 to help us explore what it means to be human in an age of algorithms and markets. He offered us a vision of ourselves as more than puppets, customers or cogs in a machine. An optimistic call to arms for the restoration of our collective humanity.
Maff Potts
The Power of Friends & Purpose
Maff Potts believes the key to a happier and healthier society is friendship. That’s why he founded the Association of Camerados. And he came to Meaning to tell the very personal story and invite us all to become Camerados too.
Sarah McKinley
Community Wealth Building
Sarah McKinley is part of the pioneering team that helped design ‘The Cleveland Model’ – a simple but radically transformative way for co-operative businesses to operate in partnership with public institutions as part of a healthy, resilient localised economy.