Forum for Global Challenges, University of Birmingham
Lodestone used networks across business, parliament and the third sector to secure speakers for the Forum for Global Challenges. We began by drawing on our own networks as well as desk research to ensure all themes of the Forum were covered. We worked on a process of prioritisation alongside the University to ensure all speakers were well suited to the Forum and its themes.
Following our initial work on potential speakers, we prioritised those that were most engaging and have international reach, as well as keeping diversity at the forefront our suggestions. We provided the University with detailed profiles of potential speakers, including examples of speaking, and highlighted our connections with them. We also created a master list which included a larger amount of speakers who were relevant to the topic. This was drawn on throughout our work, allowing flexibility when speakers weren’t available. When the team had signed off on initial speakers, we reach out to them and their teams with an invitation to discuss the Forum and the potential of them to speak at the Forum. We then facilitated meetings with both the Forum Team and said speaker, as well as staff briefings on what the Forum was and what we would like from them.
We secured speakers which included Dr Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive Officer of Oxfam GB, Yu Ping Chan, Senior Programme Officer - United Nations, Sonia Sodha, British columnist and author, and Mark Britnell, Vice Chair & Global Healthcare Expert at KPMG and former Global Chairman of KPMG Health.