Theme: Radically Social

Bradford has long been a lab for social innovation – from the formation of the Independent Labour Party and Titus Salt’s worker’s village in the 1800s, to William Forster’s work on the first national education legislation, the first schools to offer free meals to children and the first UNESCO City Of Film.

With waves of Irish, German, South Asian and Eastern European immigration, the city has continued to be a place where a diversity of minds experiment with progressive ideas, to tackle social issues.

Join us for a day of stories from those developing the ideas, projects and communities that are tackling the systemic social and environmental issues of today.

The National Science and Media Museum
Pictureville
Bradford, Bradford, BD1 1NQ
United Kingdom

Asma Elbadawi

Basketball player, spoken word poet and visual artist

Asma is a basketball player, spoken word poet and visual artist. Born in Sudan and raised in England, Asma’s dual cultural heritage deeply influences her creativity, paired with a focus on international development and female empowerment. Asma holds a BA Hons in Photography, Video and Digital Imaging as well as a Masters in Visual Arts.

Dr. John Baruch

Visiting Professor - Leeds Beckett University

School of Computing, Informatics and Media. He directs the Bradford Robotic Telescope – the world's first robotic telescope, which he helped build.

Emma Harvey

Head of Product, NHS Digital

Emma’s 20 year career in Digital has encompassed marketing, service design, software development, games design, and more. She has worked with many household names across Europe and is currently Head of Product at NHS Digital, where she oversees a portfolio of products spanning identity management, data processing services, the Spine and some patient-facing services.

Irena Bauman

Architect

Irena Bauman is a Director of Bauman Lyons Architects and of MassBespoke Ltd Her practice and research are concerned with how architecture and architectural thinking can facilitate local communities to co-make good places and to mitigate, adapt and become more resilient to the challenges ahead. She has received three Innovate UK research grants to develop MassBespoke off-site construction system suitable for distributed fabrication. She is currently the recipient of Royal Commission 1851 Fellowship to develop business model for Build InCommon- community based factories for socially useful production. She is the author of How to be a Happy Architect in which she challenges the architectural establishment to be more in tune with the needs of society and a co-editor of Architecture and Resilience – Interdisciplinary dialogues due to by published in December 2018

John Bolton

Cofounder - School of Rock & Media

John has been a drummer & percussionist for over 31 years, and has a background in Jazz, jazz fusion and classic rock. John has worked on many projects over the years from doing session work across the region to band projects such as the cellar Rats, Dead Futures, and more recently, Bradford Punk band The Negatives. John is a qualified Youth & Community Development Worker and brings 12 years in youth work and has worked on detached and outreach projects in Texas USA, and most areas across our region.

Jude Kelly

Founder, Women of the World Festival

Jude Kelly was the Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre in London for 12 years. Southbank Centre is Europe’s largest Arts Institution and London’s 3rd biggest tourist attraction.

Lucie Lee

Independent artist and researcher,

Lucie Lee, an independent artist and researcher, will be performing a short excerpt from Lost, an interdisciplinary and experimental performance using a fusion of dance theatre, digital technologies and science. The inter-relationship between each discipline allows new methods of practice to come to the forefront of the artistic research.

Mandip Sahota

Director of Strategies & Stories

Mandip is Director of Strategies & Stories, a strategic planning & communications agency for innovators, disruptors and social change makers.

Maria Mullin

Founder and Director of the Great Yorkshire Chorus

Founder and Director of the Great Yorkshire Chorus, Maria Mullin, has a lifelong passion for music and extensive experience working with choirs. She loves to see the positive power of singing at work in people, building confidence and bringing joy.

Mike Omoniyi

Founder and CEO of The Common Sense Network

Mike Omoniyi is the Founder and CEO of The Common Sense Network, named 1 of the 100 most influential BAME leaders in Tech by the Financial Times. The network combats cyberbalkanization, helping people leave virtual echo chambers and embrace debate and discussions.

Nafeesa Nizami

Counsellor

Nafeesa Nizami (Naz) is a Psychotherapist, Trainer and Lecturer. She is currently working in the areas of couples, young peoples, parents/families, groups and bilingual therapy for a national charity. Her clinical background includes having worked in the NHS and within child protection. Nafeesa is also undertaking her PhD at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on deconstructing Pre-Trial Therapy; exploring the relationship between law, therapy and sexual abuse through discourse analysis. The research considered through its examination to be a theoretical, political and ethical exercise. Nafeesa has a keen interest in the areas of mental health, social justice, politics, policy analysis, linguistics, ethics, philosophy, post-structuralism, colonial studies, childhood studies, and feminist theories.

Nasim Qureshi

Chief Executive Officer at Inspired Neighbourhoods

Nasim Qureshi is Chief Executive Officer at Inspired Neighbourhoods, a social business and a community anchor with Bradford wide reach.

Nathan Geering

Artistic Director

As an Artistic Director and creator of The Rationale Method Nathan has been pioneering research into the unlikely link between hip-hop and visual impairment and in 2015 Nathan became a fellow for ADAD’s Trailblazers program. This enabled him to begin to conduct academic research surrounding visibility of dance forms to people with visual impairment.

Neil Gibb

Consultant, writer, speaker and social advocate

Neil Gibb has worked for over 20 years with companies large and small, helping them apply new thinking and technology to improve their businesses. His clients have ranged from Shell, Barclays, the European Space Agency and the Nationwide Building Society to dozens of small tech firms, including currently a cryptocurrency and AI start-up and a data analytics company. Along the way he has published two crime novels, trained as a Jungian therapist and played a small but crucial role in the development of Viagra

Niall Bourke

Civil Engineer

Niall leads an enthusiastic and skilled Civil Infrastructure Team at Arup’s Leeds office. Niall was the Senior Engineer and NEC Site Supervisor responsible for the engineering design and construction of Bradford’s City Park which opened to the public in December 2011.

Norah McWilliam

Senior Lecturer

Norah McWilliam has had a life-long career in education, latterly as Senior Lecturer in Teacher Education at Bradford College and tutor in University of Bradford Disability Service.

Omar Salha

Activist & Academic

Omar is an MA graduate in International Studies and Diplomacy & was awarded the PhD Nohoudh Scholarship for the study of ‘Integration of Muslims in British Society’. His first academic chapter published by Routledge is titled ‘Diplomacy and The Beautiful Game: Muslim footballers as ambassadors of faith’. Omar regularly delivers talks, workshops and lectures in leading academic, professional institutions and conferences across the globe. He is also a Faculty Member for the Islamophobia Research and Documentation Project (IRDP) at UC Berkeley. Omar founded RTP in 2013, dedicated to serving the youth and wider community through open spaces of spirituality, dialogue and empowerment. RTP organises the world’s first community-led Open Iftar. Inviting people of all faiths and none to the breaking of fast to explore the Islamic faith and share community spirit through food, inspirational talks and discussions. To date, over 70,000 guests have been hosted across 10 cities and 4 continents.

Stefanie Stead

Chartered Architect

Stefanie Stead is a Chartered Architect and has worked across Yorkshire on a range of urban design, heritage, residential, retail and educational schemes. She is the Chair of the Construction Industry Council Yorkshire and Humber and also sits on the RIBA Yorkshire Council. She is a Regional Design Review Panelist for Yorkshire and Humber. Her interests lie in architecture as a wider profession – exploring the possibilities of what ‘architecture’ is, and what it could be. She is particularly interested in the narratives of a place, whether historical, political, socio-economic or folklore. She is a judge for a number of industry awards including the RICS, Constructing Excellence and the CIOB Committed to Construction Awards.

Steve Wyler

Independent consultant and writer in the social sector.

Steve is an independent consultant and writer in the social sector. He is Chair of Community Links, Board member of Groundswell, co-founder of A Better Way, an associate of the Carnegie UK Trust, and a panel member of the independent Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society. In 2017 he published a history of community business (In Our Hands).

Tony Saunders

Cofounder - School of Rock & Media

Tony has been a musician for the past 26 years and has toured all over the world. Tony has worked on various projects such as MELT, STUTTER, and now more recently Bradford Punk bands The Negatives.