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

The rise of political extremes has been underway for a while, but in 2016 and 2017 there has been some breakthroughs and a dramatic change in tone in countries around the world as political leaders are elected who may undermine decades of progress. The Nordic countries have also been experiencing this and there are people and parties aspiring to it.

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 Nordic Campaigning Forum 2017 we'll be exploring how to get better at engaging the rest!

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.

How the agenda works

This agenda may be unlike anything you've experienced before - or maybe you have elsewhere! The ECF agenda is largely participant-driven. This makes it responsive to the needs and interests of the people who join. There are a few key design features that make it powerful for learning:

1. Everyone is experienced: Participants apply (and are accepted) based on a basic criteria that ensures they have enough experience to share, as well as learn from others. This means everyone there is an expert on something - even if you don't realise it yourself!
2. Proven agenda framework: the 2-day agenda has been tested and refined annually since 2002. So we know it works to connect people and help them share and learn.
3. Participant-led: Open space sessions (see the methodology) are times when participant-proposed topics (at an agenda setting event on both days) are assigned to times and rooms. People self-select to join one, or many, because part of the approach is that it is OK to move if you aren't learning.
4. Plan your time: Participants get the most out of ECF events by setting their own objectives and pursuing them at the event. A recommended strategy is identify what you need to learn, what you can share (so others learn but also you tend to get further feedback to learn from) and willing to explore outside your normal expertise/boundaries to discover new ideas and possibilities.
5. Volunteer to present: There are two times of presentation slots on each day: peer presentations (45 minute presentation/workshop  slots run concurrently) and ignite-style talks (7 minute back-to-back presentations at the end of each day). Space is limited, but you can use them to share what you've done, introduce and idea or to get feedback.

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 Camp15 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 constantly been ahead of this shift, and in 2017 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.