At the Campaigning Forum, you set your agenda and we help you find others who share it. Speakers and panels are there to provoke thought. Result: you learn more and connect with more people. This is the way events should be.

Theme: Campaigning in a world of fear mongering and fake news

In the last years, there has been a dramatic change in tone in countries around the world as political leaders are elected who may undermine decades of progress. One analysis of this is that growing numbers of people have been left behind and are expressing their frustration via the ballot box. Yet this frustration is being better mobilised by extremist groups like the far right despite through fear and lies. Could this be because most campaigning groups are content to engage only those convinced? What about the larger group of undecided? How are people's opinions set sustained? At the 2019 Campaigning Forum we'll be exploring how to get better at engaging more people and sustaining that support!

Event impact: incubator for change initiatives

Every year, ECF event participants leave the event and go on to have an amazing impact with their campaigning. They do this not only because they are amazing campaigners, but also because of people they connect with to learn from and work with beyond the event. This is how ECF has always been designed: as an incubator for change initiatives.

Focus: participants, not speakers

Most events used speakers as bait to attract paying 'attendees'. ECF is participant-focused: it is designed to be the most effective and natural learning and networking environment for the participants. This means you should focus on three things in deciding to participate:

1. Your learning goals: What do you want/need to learn?
2. Who is coming (see the latest list): Are there other people coming to the event who you can learn from?
3. Your contribution: What experiences and perspectives are you bringing and do you wish to present them?

The role of the organisers is to create the right mix of people for amazing learning to occur and to ensure this process is well facilitated. The role of speakers is to stimulate you and provide a common experience for discussing with others.

Who should come?

21st campaigning is increasingly shown to be successful not because a team of campaign experts run it, but by project teams with diverse expertise, often campaigners, fundraisers, volunteer managers, media officers, policy experts, digital experts/innovators and beyond. The Campaigning Forum is one of the few events that brings this mix of people together to connect, share and learn from each other on how to influence change.

The Campaigning Forum runs on ‘Chatham House Rules’ (= nothing is attributed without permission) so everybody can freely talk about their failures and successes.

If there is a topic you’re itching to learn about or to share, come along and suggest the session. The Campaigning Forum is the place to find others who share your interests.

Draft Agenda

In 2019, there will be a dedicated slot for presentations and open space sessions about having a campaigning impact, specifically:

1. Deepening and building political engagement amongst supporters
2. Effective influencing strategies
3. Getting supportive media coverage
4. Developing and sustaining local influencer communities

Mon Apr 8	Pre Event Courses
09:00-17:30 Oxford & London	Courses Planning effective campaigns by Chris Rose (Oxford) How to change the world with content strategy by Julius Honnor and Laura Robertson (London) How to make partnerships work really well by Mike Zelder (Oxford) Google Grant Ads Intensive Clinic by Jean O'Brien (London)
18:00-19:30	'Open Space Leadership' briefing This informal pre-dinner session will offer the chance to get the ball rolling and start to gather ideas and proposals for Open Space sessions. Join us to: share ideas and tips on successful Open Space groups review the potential agenda topics and themes that emerge from the participant questionnaires with a fun topic-sorting exercise help start to shape the Campaigning Forum agenda, working in groups to start developing session proposals. Open to all, though a working knowledge of Open Space methodology will be assumed.
19:30-20:30	Dinner: Kick-start connections and conversations with Campaigning Forum participants (Keble College dining room)
21:00+	Connect to kick-start connections and conversations (Keble College pub)
Tue Apr 9 Oxford	Campaigning Forum 2019 Day One
Sponsored by
Time	Summary
07:30	A morning walk or run for early risers in beautiful Oxford or Oxford University Parks. Meet at Keble College main reception
08:00	Participants in on-site accommodation: Breakfast & registration & discussion (dining room)
08:45	Participants in off-site accommodation: registration, coffee/tea, informal discussions
09:00	Welcome, introduction and agenda review (Room: Arco)
09:15	Warm-up activities and speed networking
10:00	Introduction to Open Space
10:15	Open Space Knowledge Exchange A
11.15	Coffee/tea break
11:45	Plenary speaker (Room: O'Reilly Theatre) To be confirmed
12:30	Lunch (dining room)
13:30	Peer Presentations To be confirmed based on participant contributions (participants propose a presentation in the application or later)
14:20	Open Space knowledge exchange B
15:30	Coffee/tea break
16:15	Open Space knowledge exchange C
17:15	Ignite talks (7 minutes each): To be confirmed based on participant contributions (participants propose a presentation in the application or later)
18:30	Speed Pitching & Apero Service providers and consultants tell you what they offer, answer your questions and/or take your feedback. 5 minutes per table then rotate. Free drinks (wine, beer, soft drinks) Engaging Networks - TBC ...more to be confirmed
20:00	Dinner (Dining room)
21:00+	Keble College Pub
Wed Apr 10	Campaigning Forum 2019 Day Two
Time	Summary
07:30	A morning walk or run for early risers in beautiful Oxford or Oxford University Parks. Meet at Keble College main reception
08:00	Participants in on-site accommodation: Breakfast & registration & discussion (dining room)
08:45	Participants in off-site accommodation: registration, coffee/tea, informal discussions
09:00	Day two agenda review, pulse check and agenda setting
09:30	Peer Presentations Getting punched in the face: what to do when your campaign fails right at the start. It's the story of WeDialogue, and a rapid learning / pivot process to completely rework the message, target audience and sign-up process so we could go from getting absolutely no email list, with no traction at all, even from people we knew (!) to hundreds of people signing up a day. More to be confirmed based on participant contributions (participants propose a presentation in the application or later)
10:15	Open Space knowledge exchange D
11:15	Coffee/tea break
11:45	Plenary speaker (Room: O'Reilly Theatre) To be confirmed
12:30	Lunch (dining room)
13:30	Open Space knowledge exchange E
14:30	Coffee/tea break
15:00	Teach In: share skills or knowledge with others. To be confirmed based on participant contributions (participants propose a presentation in the application or later)
16:30	Ignite Talks To be confirmed based on participant contributions (participants propose a presentation in the application or later)
17:30	Event formally ends
19:00+	Dinner and drinks in Oxford: Self-organised for those staying around
Thu Apr 11	Post Event Courses
09:00-17:30 London	Courses Develop a digital strategy everyone believes in by Branislava Milosevic (London) The Power of Story by Brian Fitzgerald and Lucy Taylor (London)

How the agenda works

Many times when you reflect on the conference you realise that the best bits were chatting to people during the coffee break or in a pub. So at Campaigning Forum, slots (time and room) are provided to have your own discussions with other people at the conference without feeling that you are missing scheduled sessions. In fact, that is the majority of the event. Its called open space (see the methodology).

2019 participants so far

Campaigning Forum History

Campaigning Forum started as the eCampaigning Forum (ECF) event in 2002 organised by Duane Raymond, then Oxfam's eCampaigning Manager. It evolved a highly anticipated and influential annual event plus a dynamic and highly active ECF global community that grows daily and has inspired similar events around the world like ECF Europe in Berlin, re:campaign in Berlin, Fwd in Australia and Camp16 in The Netherlands

Over the last decade, digital has shifted from a specialist role and an essential tool in campaigning and organisations. Campaigning Forum has consistently been ahead of this shift, and in 2018 is organised around key aspects of modern organisations: digital leadership, campaigning, fundraising, volunteering, media engagement and policy research and looking to the emerging trends. The aim is to bring together increasing diverse participants who share broadly similar goals around improving our world and connect them, help them learn from one another and inspire them to think beyond their current practices, roles and plans.