Last week, with the brilliant Berry & Ali from Forward Action we organised an event, ‘Building Digital Power In The Age Of The Radical Right’, to bring together the community we’re proud to be a part of for a day orf learning inspiration, action and connection.
Paul, opened the day with the words that follow. We hope this will be the first of many community gatherings on this topic - so keep any eye on our social media for details.
I’m guessing we’re all here today because we recognise the threat of the far right and their success at promoting themselves and their messages.
From Reform UK’s surge, the influence of Andrew Tate, Trump-style populism sweeping Europe and the sight of 150,000 people on the streets of London at Tommy Robinson’s march, the far right is no longer hiding at the edges.
It’s driving the news-cycle and forcing mainstream parties onto its ground. Well funded, disciplined and digitally ruthless, far right voices flood our feeds and make toxic ideas feel normal.
If it’s a battle for attention, they’re winning and we need to respond with as much determination and focus as they do.
So we wanted to bring people together today, charity leaders, campaigners and the wider sector who refuse to give ground to these toxic narratives and spend a day immersed in the problem and hopefully some solutions.
Today’s all about…
Highlighting how the right captures attention online and in communities and uses this attention to shift public opinion and the policy direction of government.
Showing you some examples of hope, activities & campaigns from organisations that have already started to push back.
And we want you all to meet new people. We’ll only win by making new connections and creating new collaborations. So make sure you introduce yourself to at least three new people today.
The sector we work in has the opportunity to reach millions of people and inspire them to take action. To do this we need to be strategically smart, co-ordinate resources and importantly keep our messages simple. We need to communicate our values & ideas as simply as the far right do - otherwise we won’t cut through the noise.
The hope for today is that you leave a little better informed about the threat, inspired by strategies and tactics from others and better connected with like minded people that you can work with to combat the threat.
Huge thanks to everyone that came and to all the brilliant speakers. Special thanks to Pelican House for kindly letting us use their space.
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