2024 Speakers
Jonathan Rider
Co-Founder and Director at Aleph Strategies
Jonathan Rider is a Co-Founder and Director at Aleph Strategies, a research firm that supports humanitarian aid and development programmes in fragile countries. Jonathan has spent much of the last decade living and working in Afghanistan for organisations including UNESCO and the Aga Khan Foundation. He currently sits on the ICOMOS-UK Cultural Tourism Committee. He holds degrees in archaeology from the Universities of Nottingham and Oxford. Jonathan is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and an Honorary Member of the Scientific Exploration Society.
Pavan Mano
Cultural Theorist in Contemporary Literature and Cultural Studies
Pavan Mano is a cultural theorist working in the fields of contemporary literature and cultural studies. His current research focuses on nationalism’s continual generation of outsider figures and its intersections with race, gender, and sexuality, and his forthcoming monograph examines heteronormativity as a modality for the transmission of nationalism in postcolonial settings.
Kirstin Furber
People Director for Channel 4
Kirstin Furber, People Director for Channel 4, a renowned public speaker and expert on the Sunday Night Blues has worked in senior roles at Kantar, BBC Worldwide, 20th Century Fox and Discovery Channel. This experience convinced her that top leaders and managers create a culture that allows us to be the best we can be at work. Her life-long focus on the Sunday Night Blues and her current work with Investors In People and The University of Exeter have resulted in insights and practical, actionable leadership behaviours that can positively influence culture in an organisation.
Joe Seddon
Founder & CEO of Zero Gravity
Joe Seddon, the 26-year-old Founder & CEO of Zero Gravity, is a leading social entrepreneur. His tech-driven company empowers students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access top universities and elite careers, having guided over 8,000 students, including Oxbridge admits. Despite starting in his bedroom with £200, Joe's vision and self-taught coding skills led to the first tech-driven solution for social mobility. He's a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, received a British Empire Medal, and was named Leader of the Year by NatWest.
Amanda Prorok
Collective Intelligence and Robotics Professor at the University of Cambridge
Amanda Prorok is Professor of Collective Intelligence and Robotics at the University of Cambridge. Her mission is to synthesize controllers and interaction strategies that lead to cooperative and collaborative systems.
Mirela Ivanova
Lecturer in History at the University of Sheffield
Dr Mirela Ivanova is a Lecturer in History at the University of Sheffield, and her work focuses on the pre-modern history of the Balkans, Russia and Turkey and how it shapes the region today. She has written on this topic for the likes of History Today, the Los Angeles Review of Books and the Moscow Times. As a BBC/AHCR New Generation Thinker, she can also be heard on BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking.
Rachel Thomas
Chief Curator of the Hayward Gallery at the Southbank Centre
Rachel Thomas has curated International large scale group exhibitions on themes of ecofeminism, spirituality, climate change in art, such as Dear Earth; 2023, with Otobong Nkanaga, Agnes Denes, Hito Steyerl, Cornelia Parker and broadening the representation of BIPOC +LGBTQIA artists.
Bella Forristal
Head of Marketing at 80,000 Hours
Bella is interested in how to communicate important ideas well, especially about how (& why) to do good. She's currently the Head of Marketing at 80,000 Hours, a nonprofit that aims to help people have a big, positive impact with their career. She's also worked in movement building, and was part of the co-founding team of the Global Challenges Project. She studied Classics & Philosophy at Oxford, with a particular focus on ethics.
Shreya Ghodawat
Passionate Advocate for Sustainability, Climate Action, and Veganism
Shreya Ghodawat, India Ambassador of SHE Changes Climate and a WEF Global Shaper, passionately advocates for sustainability, climate action, gender equality, and veganism. She hosts the 'Sustainable tea with Shreya' podcast, sparking vital conversations on sustainability with influential changemakers. Shreya is also the co-founder of 'Meat Less, Meet More,' fostering an empathetic and connected plant-based community to make plant-powered living a luxurious and sustainable ethos.