Danny Sriskandarajah: Can this be the century of the citizen?

Civic space is under attack in many parts of the world, democracy feels fragile, economic inequality is rising and the digital tools that were supposed to connect and empower us are weakening the social fabric.

Yet Danny Sriskandarajah, an experienced civil society leader and author of Power to the People (2024), believes that this can and will be the century of the citizen.

He presents his manifesto for change, designed to inspire citizen action around the world. He explores how we, as individuals, can make a difference through greater community engagement, and how we can reimagine our democracy and democratise our economies to deliver as a society that works for the many and not the few.

From public ownership of social media spaces to democratising share ownership, and from re-energising cooperatives to creating a people’s chamber at the United Nations, he shares ideas for how we can reclaim our power and change the world.

This event is open to all.

Danny Sriskandarajah became the CEO of the New Economics Foundation in January 2025. Previous roles have included running CIVICUS, the Johannesburg-based alliance of civil society organisations, and being CEO of Oxfam GB, where he introduced a series of reforms to involve partner organisations and challenge fundraising orthodoxies. He is a Trustee of the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, a member of the UN’s High Level Advisory Board on Economic and Social Affairs, and a member of Quadrature Climate Foundation’s Advisory Council. He has previously served as a Trustee of Comic Relief, the Disasters Emergency Committee and on two United Nations high-level panels. His opinion pieces have been published in newspapers in more than 30 countries, and he regularly appears on broadcast media, including programmes such as the BBC’s Today programme, Hard Talk and Question Time. He is the author of Power to the People: Use Your Voice, Change the World.

This event is hosted by the University of Bath Institute for Policy Research (IPR).

If you have any questions about this event, please contact us via Eventbrite or email [email protected]

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Please note: this is an in-person event.

This event will take place in Room 0.18 in the School of Management building (10 East), University of Bath Claverton Down campus.

The School of Management building has level access with double-width automatic doors. There are lifts inside the building. There are accessible toilets inside the building.

Room 0.18 is tiered with dedicated spaces for wheelchair users at the front of the room. There is a hearing loop.

First West of England runs services between Bath and the University campus. Visit the bus section on the website to find out about the bus services you can take to and from the University’s Claverton Down campus.

You can walk or bike from the centre of Bath using North Road, Bathwick Hill or Widcombe Hill. These routes involve a steep uphill climb. It will take 30-40 minutes to walk to campus.

Visit the cycling and walking section on the website for more detail about the routes.

If you drive to the University, you can use the Pay to Park parking on campus and pay using the JustPark app. There is Pay to Park parking for visitors in the East Car Park and the South Car Park. If you have a Blue Badge, you can use disabled parking spaces free of charge. There are Blue Badge spaces in all campus car parks.

Visit the parking section on the website for more detailed information on parking at the campus.

View an accessibility map of parking and wheelchair access points on campus. Visit the Campus Car Parks page on AccessAble for more information.

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Host or Publisher Institute for Policy Research (IPR)