The Future of Knowledge 2021 – Knowledge Quarter

THE FUTURE OF KNOWLEDGE:

Building Back Together

KNOWLEDGE QUARTER CONFERENCE 2021

The Knowledge Quarter is uniquely placed to convene some of the world’s greatest minds to discuss and debate the future of knowledge.

Tuesday 6th July: Working Together

Wednesday 7th July: Learning Together

Thursday 8th July: Growing Together

The Future of Knowledge: Building Back Together

In the heart of London, tucked into a one-mile radius around King’s Cross, the knowledge economy has been booming. Until the COVID-19 pandemic put the world into an uneasy stasis, what has come to be known as the Knowledge Quarter – bursting with world-leading universities, research institutions, arts establishments, museums, galleries, tech giants and dynamic start-ups – was a living hub of knowledge industries, with the namesake organisation working tirelessly to facilitate communion and to catalyse interaction. But as we return to a new normal, it has become clear that there is more to this gilded hub, that this is not just a place of work, but a place where people live. We must ask whether we have done enough for the communities who have suffered through the COVID age just a stone’s throw from our grand and well-kept buildings. Have we failed our closest neighbours, and in this unprecedented time, is there more that we can do?

It has been widely believed that the wealth and growth generated in gleaming towers would eventually ‘trickle down’ to those at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder. That model of the economy was a myth, and the result is inequality. Rampant unemployment, soaring child poverty, and bitter social isolation are some of the economic and social characteristics associated with the very same area proudly described as an intellectual boom town just a paragraph ago.

The pandemic has highlighted the true cost of our short-sightedness. What is urgently needed is an inclusive form of growth, identifying development policies that will positively impact the world outside our laboratories and campuses. The questions we look to answer are: how can the Knowledge Quarter share its resources for the widest possible benefit? How can we invite local communities to participate in the activities of an innovation district, to form a new intellectual and social commons?

Two long years since the KQ organisations last came together, this summer’s three-day conference will face these vital questions head on. We will hear from experts who have championed inclusive economies, quality employment, local entrepreneurship, education support, participatory governance, and more. We will listen to partner organisations grappling with these themes and hear the voices of the local residents whose lives these policies will impact. We will discuss how the KQ as a whole (partner organisations and neighbouring communities alike) can recover from the pandemic together: to work together, to grow together, and to learn together, for the benefit of all.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Hellen Keller

Programme

Activity	Description	Timings
Day 1: Tuesday 6th July
Welcome	Simon Cane, Director or UCL Culture and Chair of the Knowledge Quarter Board	13:00 – 13:05
Keynote and Q&A	“Do Something: Activism for Everyone” by Kajal Odedra, writer, activist and UK Executive Director of Change.org	13:15 – 13:45
Plenary Session	The Future of Working Together [read more]	13:45 14:45
Networking	Networking in the KQ Lounge	14:45 – 15:05
Lightning Talks	Current Approaches to Working Together: Tales from the KQ [read more]	15:05 – 15:45
Youth Roundtable	Working Together – A Young Person’s Perspective [read more]	15:05 – 15:45
Youth Roundtable	Youth Roundtable Summary of Day 1 by Sayra Tasnim	15:45 – 15:50
Poetic Chronicle	Summary of Day 1 by Gboyega Odubanjo	15:50 – 15:55
Closing	Jodie Eastwood, CEO, Knowledge Quarter	15:55 – 16:00
Networking	Networking in the KQ Lounge	16:00 – 16:20

Day 2: Wednesday 7th July
Welcome	Simon Cane, Director or UCL Culture and Chair of the Knowledge Quarter Board	13:00 – 13:05
Keynote and Q&A	Raymund Antrobus, Poet and Teacher	13:15 – 13:45
Plenary Session	The Future of Learning Together [read more]	13:45 – 14:45
Networking	Networking in the KQ Lounge	14:45 – 15:05
Lightning Talks	Current Approaches to Learning Together: Tales from the KQ [read more]	15:05 – 15:45
Youth Roundtable	Learning Together – A Young Person’s Perspective [read more]	15:05 – 15:45
Youth Roundtable	Youth Roundtable Summary of Day 2 by Jemima Barnes	15:45 – 15:50
Poetic Chronicle	Summary of Day 2 by Ibrahim Hirsi	15:50 – 15:55
Closing	Jodie Eastwood, CEO, Knowledge Quarter	15:55 – 16:00
Networking	Networking in the KQ Lounge	16:00 – 16:20

Day 3: Thursday 8th July
Welcome	Simon Cane, Director or UCL Culture and Chair of the Knowledge Quarter Board	13:00 – 13:05
Opening Plenary	The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy	13:05 – 13:15
Keynote and Q&A	“A manifesto for change: How generation justice will lead the way in building back better” by Athian Akec, Teenage MP, writer and activist	13:15 – 13:45
Plenary Session	The Future of Growing Together [read more]	13:45 – 14:45
Networking	Networking in the KQ Lounge	14:45 – 15:05
Lightning Talks	Current Approaches to Growing Together: Tales from the KQ [read more]	15:05 – 15:45
Youth Roundtable	Growing Together – A Young Person’s Perspective [read more]	15:05 -15:50
Youth Roundtable	Youth Roundtable Summary of Day 3 by Louis Howell	15:45 – 15:50
Poetic Chronicle	Summary of Day 3 by Rakaya Fetuga	15:50 – 15:55
Closing	Juliette Morgan, Head of Sustainable Development, British Land	15:55 – 16:00
Networking	Networking in the KQ Lounge	16:00 – 16:20

Conference Speakers

Adam Lent

Chief Executive, New Local

Athian Akec

Teenage MP, writer and activist

Bhavit Mehta

Events Manager, Knowledge Quarter

Caroline Wilson

Director of Inclusive Economy and Jobs, Islington Council

David Crichton-Miller

Chief Executive Officer, SQW Group

Dr Carol Homden OBE

CEO, Coram

Dr Jane Riddiford

Co-Founder, Global Generation

Elle Docx

Communications Director, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Emma Bellerby

Creative Learning Assistant Manager, The Place

Gboyega Odubanjo

Poet

Hana Dethlefsen

Public Engagement Manager (Exhibitions), The Francis Crick Institute

Ian Goldin

Professor of Development and Globalisation, University of Oxford

Ibrahim Hirsi

Poet

Jack Sallabank

Founder, Future Places Studio

James Goodman

Director of Partnerships and Learning, Local Trust

Jane van Zyl

Director, Working Families

Jasbir Sondhi

Vice Principal, Westminster Kingsway College

Jasmine White

Head of Programme, Poet in the City

Jemima Barnes

UCL Arts and Sciences Graduate

Jennifer Nadel

Co-Director, Compassion in Politics

Jo Stevens

Managing Director, Oxford Innovation

Jodie Eastwood

CEO, Knowledge Quarter

Josh Hillman

Director of Education, Nuffield Foundation

Juliette Morgan

Head of Sustainable Development, British Land

Kajal Odedra

UK Director, Change.org

Kwasi Kwarteng MP

Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Lord David Willetts

President, Resolution Foundation

Louis Howell

Social Mobility, Diversity & Inclusion and Talent Development Consultant

Madeleine Goodall

Heritage Coordinator, Humanists UK

Mathew Barber

Consultant for Research and Data Visualisation for the KITAB team, Aga Khan University

Nishma Gosrani

Financial Services Partner, Bain & Company

Omar Salha

Founder and Director, Ramadan Tent Project

Rakaya Fetuga

Poet

Raymond Antrobus MBE

Poet and Teacher

Rose Alexander

Community Manager, Regent's Place

Sarah McKinley

Director for European Programs, Democracy Collaborative

Sayra Tasnim

Former Regent High School Student

Simon Cane

Executive Director, UCL Culture

Thea Sherer

Director of Group Communications, Springer Nature

Tickets

General Ticket

A limited number of tickets are available free of charge for non-KQ attendees. Please select “General Ticket” at the checkout.

General tickets

KQ Partner ticket

Unlimited numbers of staff from KQ partner organisations can attend free of charge. You will be able to benefit from networking with others in the KQ Virtual Lounge. Please select “KQ Partner Ticket” and ensure you select which organisation you are from at the checkout.

KQ Partner tickets