Be part of driving change that matters

Open, practitioner-led events where participants set the agenda, learn together, and go on to power change that transforms campaigns, careers, and communities.

• Next Campaigning Forum event: 14-16 April, 2026. Oxford, UK →
• Join a community that cares and helps: Campaigning Forum community →
• Subscribe for event announcements →

Not your conference-as-usual

Campaigning Forum events are not a typical speaker-led conference. They are practitioner-led events that harness the collective wisdom and experience of people like you who are driving social change. Using the proven open space/unconference model, the event invites participants to shape the agenda, spark fresh ideas, and build meaningful connections with peers across sectors.

This event brings the right people together to have the right conversations and experience sharing.

💡 Accelerate your learning to drive change that matters

By joining the Campaigning Forum event you

• Co-create a dynamic agenda tailored to your current challenges and interests
• Learn from a diverse, experienced community of campaigners, organisers, fundraisers, and strategists
• Build lasting peer connections that support your ongoing work and career growth
• Discover innovative tools, approaches, and inspiration to power your campaigns
• Engage in cross-sector collaboration that amplifies impact and creativity

🥇For those wanting to take their campaigning to the next level

Our events bring together experienced and motivated people working across campaigning, organising, fundraising, communications, community leadership, and beyond — all united by a commitment to driving positive change.

The mix of people with different experience and perspectives makes for a genuinely surprising learning experience as everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to share even if you don’t know it yet!

🌀 The format helps you thrive

This format unlocks the collective wisdom in the room — the hive mind of practitioners who’ve faced challenges, tested ideas, and learned what works. In this space, no one is just an attendee; everyone is a contributor.

By removing rigid schedules and top-down programming, the open space format empowers everyone to bring their most pressing questions and expertise to the table — sparking conversations and peer-led learning that matter to you.

💬 More than just an event

The Campaigning Forum is also an active, year-round community where members share insights, resources, and collaborate beyond the events themselves. Joining means joining a growing network committed to collective learning and impact.

🪁 A proven, enduring pioneer

The Campaigning Forum has outlasted many other well-known UK campaigning events, including NCVO’s annual Campaigning Conference, BOND’s Campaigning Forum, and SMK’s People Power Conference. This longevity is a testament to its unique, practitioner-led approach and its ability to continuously adapt to the evolving needs of the campaigning community.

Through more than two decades of change, the Campaigning Forum has remained vital by continuously evolving to meet the shifting needs of campaigning practitioners.

🌍 Inspired a global movement — and growing

As the saying goes, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Past participants have been so inspired by the Campaigning Forum that they’ve taken elements of it to create their own unique events — never duplicating, always adapting. This spirit of innovation has sparked practitioner-led, unconference-style gatherings around the world, such as:

• Re:Campaign (Berlin)
• Camp19 (Netherlands)
• Fwd (Australia)
• Impact Space (Netherlands)
• Unconference days alongside the US NTC conference
• Greenpeace’s Communications Conferences
• Unconference days at the UK’s Fundraising Congress
• Fundraising Space event
• …and many more

Building on this global influence, the Campaigning Forum is now in active conversations about organising new events in locations including Canada, the USA, South Africa, Poland, Italy, and beyond. These emerging gatherings reflect a growing appetite for open, collaborative spaces where campaigners and changemakers come together to learn, connect, and drive impact.

⚖️ Why the event model works

The Campaigning Forum doesn’t depend on a single keynote or a handful of experts — its strength lies in the shared knowledge of the people who attend. That hive mind is what keeps the event fresh, relevant, and impactful year after year.

Change is often slow and steady. So event continuity is key to supporting you in making change not just this year, but this decade and beyond.

Most other campaigning events depend heavily on external funding, sponsorship, or grants to keep ticket prices low and accessible. While this approach has benefits, it can also make events vulnerable to shifts in funding priorities, putting long-term sustainability at risk.

The Campaigning Forum takes a different path: it operates without external funding, with participation fees set to cover the true cost of running each event. This means:

• The event’s survival depends directly on serving its participants well — keeping the experience valuable, relevant, and engaging.
• We avoid reliance on sponsorship interests or funding cycles that may influence the event’s content or continuity.
• Participants invest in themselves and each other, creating a community-owned space that can adapt and thrive year after year.

This model ensures the Campaigning Forum remains a resilient, practitioner-led gathering — designed by and for those working to power change in campaigns, careers, and communities.

🤝 Persuade your boss to send you

1. Making the case for joining the Campaigning Forum event by Anya Pearson (Contentious)
2. How I (and my staff) benefited from the Campaigning Forum event by Alison Goldsworthy (Which?)
3. The best piece of advice I ever ignored by Rachel Collinson
4. How to make the most of Campaigning Forum events by Duane Raymond

🛡️ How do we ensure it is a safe event?

Safety can mean different things to each person: clean air, acceptance, harassment free, confidential, included, etc.

These are our policies and practices to help ensure safety whatever that means to you. If we are missing something, get in touch, we are always improving.

1. Safe air: Immune vulnerable & Covid safety policy
2. Inclusivity: Code of conduct: a safe inclusive event
3. Privacy: Privacy policy and practices: photos, confidentiality, online
4. Booking terms: Terms: cancellation, substitutes, etc.
5. Venue accessability: venue facilities, accommodation, etc.
6. Event accessability: Visual / hearing: let us know and we will instruct presenters on how to increase accessibility
7. Mental health: we will allocate quiet rooms to retreat to and in 2024 there is a coach with mental health training