Old power works like a currency. It is held by few. Once gained, it is jealously guarded, and the powerful have a substantial store of it to spend. It is closed, inaccessible, and leader-driven. It downloads, and it captures.

New power operates differently, like a current. It is made by many. It is open, participatory, and peer-driven. It uploads, and it distributes. Like water or electricity, it’s most forceful when it surges. The goal with new power is not to hoard it but to channel it.

We are living through an era of rapid technological change which is impacting how we live, work and communicate. From the QAnon movement fuelling Trump to the #MeToo online protests to the rebuilding of civil society in communities, these shifts are fundamentally changing the nature of power in our society... and so we must actively transform our politics to adapt.

How can we renegotiate the relationship between power and people? What principles should this renegotiation rest upon? What are the challenges of these new forms of power? Where can it go wrong? How can we update our institutions for a new age? How might we create new ones? What do we need from a future Labour government to make this work?

Join us for the launch of a new project to bring together a network of activists, theorists, politicians, practitioners and groups across civil society to explore how progressives can respond to these changes.

We'll be joined by some of the key thinkers and practitioners in this field including:

• Jeremy Heimans, co-author of New Power

"The best window I’ve seen into this new world is a book called New Power.” DAVID BROOKS, New York Times Columnist

• Steve Reed MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
• Shana Roberts, community activist in Telford
• Dr Sue Goss, writer, political scientist and system enabler
• Jason Stockwood, entrepreneur and investor