Campaigning Forum 2018
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 against the current
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. Most campaigning groups have also be content to engage those already converted to their causes. This needs to change. At the 2018 Campaigning Forum we'll be exploring how to get better at engaging the rest!
Focus on 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:
- Your learning goals: What do you want/need to learn?
- Who is coming (see the latest list): Are there other people coming to the event who you can learn from?
- 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
Mon Apr 9 |
Pre Event Courses |
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09:00-17:30 |
Courses
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| 18:00-19:30 |
'Open Space Leadership' briefingThis 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:
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| 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 10
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Campaigning Forum 2018 Day One |
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Sponsored by |
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| 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 |
Ignite talks (Room: O'Reilly Theatre)
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| 12:30 | Lunch (dining room) |
| 13:30 | Peer Presentations
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| 14:20 | Open Space knowledge exchange B |
| 15:30 | Coffee/tea break |
| 16:15 | Skills marketplace |
| 17:15 | Ignite talks (7 minutes each):
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| 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)
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| 20:00 | Dinner (Dining room) |
| 21:00+ | Keble College Pub |
Wed Apr 11 |
Campaigning Forum 2018 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
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| 10:15 | Open Space knowledge exchange C |
| 11:15 | Coffee/tea break |
| 11:45 |
Plenary speaker (Room: O'Reilly Theatre)Reaching beyond the choir, Léane de Laigue is Head of Communications at Climate OutreachCampaigning usually requires engaging and mobilising a broad range of people across multiple communities. Join Leane de Laigue, Head of Communications at Climate Outreach, to hear about how we’re reaching beyond the choir, in particular through our work with centre-right audiences and our Climate Visuals project. |
| 12:30 | Lunch (dining room) |
| 13:30 | Teach In: share skills or knowledge with others.
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| 15:00 | Coffee/tea break |
| 15:30 | Open Space knowledge exchange D |
| 16:30 | Ignite Talks
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| 17:30 | Event formally ends |
| 19:00+ | Dinner and drinks in Oxford: Self-organised for those staying around |
Thu Apr 12 |
Post Event Courses |
| 09:00-17:30 London |
Courses
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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).
2018 participants
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.
