We're just back from an amazing and inspiring trip to Berlin.
Along with the ever inspiring and ICONIC Berry, co-CEO at Forward Action we’ve been running events under the banner of Building Power in the Age of the Radical Right for a while now.
So we were beyond happy to be approached by friends in Berlin (huge shout out to Anne Isakowitsch and Jill Berger), who asked if we’d help them put on a similar event for German Civil Society. And of course we said yes! It was an incredible day. We were so proud to be there, to be invited to speak and to have a role in making it happen.
The programme was superb.
Arun Chaudhary, filmmaker, Obama's White House videographer and Bernie Sanders' creative director, shared fantastic examples of how progressives are taking on the right and winning.
We got to hang out with our pal, Gabriella Zutrau, who was digital strategist for the Mamdani campaign and hear her tell the amazing story of how they used organic social media to drive impressive IRL and online participation in the campaign.
We were moved to tears by Nika Kovač, who told the story of My Voice, My Choice. If you don't know it, you need to.
And then, oh my God. We met and spent time with Anat Shenker-Osorio, one of the sharpest messaging strategists in progressive politics. She spoke about how to use comms to fight the radical right. We’re still swooning. A quick aside, always take one of your work heroes to a cheap side street kebab joint and splash 18 Euros on a couple of falafel / halloumi wraps, it does more to articulate your brand values and make a connection than your website.
Go check out Anat’s podcast. Hands down the best podcast ever.
And finally, Greenpeace UK’s Miranda who hands down was the calmest, coolest speaker at the event. Hearing her opinions and models for organising in her late afternoon workshop was a real privilege.
Anne & Jill were superb hosts, brilliant to work with and have the energy that we need to replicate all over Europe. Want our advice? Connect with them, learn from them and share with them.
We say this often, meeting, connecting with and learning from colleagues all over Europe is a real honour. We don’t underestimate how lucky we are to be asked to do things like this and learn from amazing people from all corners of Europe.
If we're asked back, we'll be there in a heartbeat.
And here are the pics. There are always pics.
Header Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash