RSA Events

Visionary designer Deanna Van Buren shows how innovative design approaches and systems thinking are helping to transform criminal justice. The Bicentenary Medal was instituted in 1954 to commemorate the founding of the RSA over two hundred years earlier, and has been awarded annually for outstanding contribution to the advancement of design in industry and society. In the RSA’s current account of design, the medal is awarded to an individual who has ‘used design to great effect as an instrument of civic innovation.’ This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 4th December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/using-design-to-end-mass-incarceration

Journalist, writer and critic John Harris joins RSA Public Services & Communities Director Ed Cox to host an evening of story-telling by ordinary people living extraordinary lives. Bringing a range of experience from across the UK, our narrators explore the ‘new giants’ facing 21st century Britain - inequality, isolation, intolerance, disempowerment and climate change. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 3rd December 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/12/britains-new-giants-the-stories-of-extraordinary-lives

Morag Myerscough RDI uses design to transform spaces into places, creating specific local responses to create community and build identity. The title ‘Royal Designer for Industry’ was introduced by the RSA in 1936 to promote the important contribution of design in manufacturing in industry, to encourage and reward outstanding practitioners, and to raise the profile of the design profession. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 29th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/rdi-address-2018

The RSA’s education director Julian Astle talks to a group of educators about the importance of ‘mission’ to excellent schooling. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 27th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/my-school-my-mission

Award-winning comedian and broadcaster Robin Ince unites comedy and science in this hilarious, informative and touching exploration of the human condition. Informed by deeply personal insights as well as interviews with some of the world's top comedians, neuroscientists and psychologists, Ince calls on us embrace the full breadth of our inner experience - no matter how strange we worry it may be! This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 26th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/what-makes-us-human

In his Albert Medal lecture, Citizens UK founder Neil Jameson presents a roadmap for radical change, charting a course to major systemic change in politics and public life. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 20th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/reweaving-the-fabric-of-society

Acclaimed social psychologist Jonathan Haidt explores how we can create institutions and public spaces that foster viewpoint diversity and mutual understanding, and where people can civilly and constructively disagree. Just as the Enlightenment coffeehouse did in its day, the advent of social media has brought down barriers to participation in public discourse. More people than ever take part in public conversations about the big issues of the moment, and yet it seems we are becoming ever more polarised and stuck. Has this all-inclusive openness come at a cost? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Tuesday 20th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/why-a-21st-century-enlightenment-needs-walls

Ted Howard, community wealth building visionary, shows how we might dramatically expand the vision and reality of democratic political economy. What kind of economy is suited for living inside a democracy? How might we redesign our local economies – from the community level up to the national – in order to produce more equitable, inclusive and sustainable outcomes that benefit the largest number of people? How do we create a shift from today’s extractive economy to a democratic political economy? This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 19th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/the-making-of-a-democratic-economy

Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks to C4 broadcaster Jon Snow about the qualities that make truly great leaders - those who summon their talents to enlarge the opportunities and lives of others. In today’s polarized world, stories of authentic leadership in times of apprehension and fracture take on a singular urgency, offering essential lessons for aspiring and established leaders from every field. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Monday 19th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/leadership-in-turbulent-times

A panel gathers in honour of David Marquand to reflect on the state of social democracy today, and examine how progressive politics can invigorate our society. Amidst the rise of populism and anti-democratic sentiment, it’s often easy to feel pessimistic about the survival prospects of liberal and social democratic values. But the threats to progress stand alongside great opportunities, and progressive ideals recognise the potential for good in people and in politics. This event was recorded live at The RSA on Thursday 15th November 2018. Discover more about this event here: https://www.thersa.org/events/2018/11/social-democracy-now