Menu
John Smith Trust

Fellows’ Ideas Exchange 2025

Shifting the power: challenging prevailing narratives and imagining a fairer future 

This year’s John Smith Fellows’ Ideas Exchange Programme will start online from October 2024 and culminate in a 3-day in-person workshop 21-24th March 2025. We invite all Fellows across the network to register their interest in participating and help to shape the programme by telling us what ideas you’d like to discuss together under the theme of ‘shifting the power’. 

The theme for this year’s programme is ‘shifting the power’. The war at the heart of Europe has changed the world we live in and we all continue to feel its impact in our societies, politics and economies. We all want to live in peace and feel secure about our futures. Yet some of us face the daily reality of violence and destruction, elsewhere, families have been displaced, lives and livelihoods have been disrupted and new allegiances and trade patterns have emerged. The outcomes of the many elections in 2024 have a big impact on the prospects for peaceful futures for all our societies, and the types of governing and governance systems that will determine the way ahead. 

  • People across our regions are re-evaluating their historical relationships with each other and imagining alternative future trajectories.  
  • At the geopolitical level, we’re asking ourselves what shifts are needed to challenge predominant historical narratives and power relationships? How can countries reposition themselves to better reflect their interests and preserve and develop their own governance systems in a way that ensures that resources are directed towards the well-being of everyone in our societies?  
  • At the national level, many countries face critical decisions on the types of leadership required to work towards accountable power structures and inclusive and sustainable systems and societies. Those who are displaced or whose lives have been disrupted are asking themselves what kind of nation state they will want to contribute to in the future or indeed imagining an entirely different state based on values rather than geography.  
  • At the individual level, we know that fairer societies are more peaceful societies, so what can we do to make things fairer? Are we putting the values we know will lead to better outcomes for wider society into practice in our own work? Are there things we can be doing as individuals that will lead to a fairer, more peaceful future? 

Please express your interest in participating by answering all of the questions below. You have until Friday 8th November to register your interest. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch: amy.melson@johnsmithtrust.org

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Why do you want to participate in the 2024 Fellows’ Ideas Exchange? (max 300 words)
How do you want to contribute to the event? (max 300 words)
Do you wish to participate*
Select all that apply.
Please confirm city and country.
Travel to Podgorica*
For in-person participation, can you travel to Podgorica, Montenegro?
Please feel free to outline any logistical requirements or ask any questions about the location here.
Funding*
Accommodation and meals will be covered by the Trust and travel grants are available for those who need them. Please select.
Personal data

If you have any questions or would like to discuss your participation, please contact admin@johnsmithtrust.org.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.