Photo by Astaine Akash on Unsplash

FOLLOWING THE SUCCESS OF the inaugural event “In conversation with Anthony McCourt” in July 2018, I'm delighted to announce this second "In conversation with" event.

I created this bi-monthly event in a desire to encourage more of a "salon culture" in Birmingham. And our first event showed me that it really is possible to create a space for considered conversation and insight. I'll be interviewing people from the world of business, culture, policy and government - and we'll be in conversation about a specific theme or question of importance. Rather than the soundbites you get in a panel discussion, we'll converse: teasing out a topic in more depth. The aim is that the conversation will leave all of us in the room challenged, enlightened and energised.

The topic this time is learning: not in the sense of schools or colleges or universities - but in relation to the curiosity and quest for knowledge of the citizens of Birmingham. Our question is "How can we make Birmingham a learning city?" What do we mean by that and is it a learning city already? What structures and opportunities do we need to create? What can we do to make learning attractive, even sexy?

Given the rise of "infotainment" brands like TED and the TEDx movement; with technology making all ranges of skills and capabilities available to all just by searching "How to" on YouTube, how do we promote opportunities for learning in Birmingham? How do we share and value expertise in ways that work for Brummies?

My guest for this event is Anneka Deva. Anneka is a self-confessed "curious lifelong learner. Creative mathematician. Multipotentialite." You may know her as the woman who created TEDx Brum (She also plays an active role in the international TED community, having taken part in the TEDxSummit in Doha, TED Global in Edinburgh, and TEDx events around the world.) More recently her "passion project" has been to launch the first Enrol Yourself programme outside London. Enrol Yourself is an award winning social enterprise redesigning lifelong learning by harnessing the power of peer groups to multiply individual and collective development.

We'll be basing our conversation around her particular interests: "the future of learning, how we create cultures in which people can flourish (in the 'eudaimonia' sense of the word), sharing stories that enable wider system change in education, and social change leadership development in young people."

Please join me and Anneka for what I know will be a lively, stimulating and inspring conversation.

Helga Henry "In conversation with...Anneka Deva" is on Wednesday 26th September from 6pm - 8pm at 1000 Trades Bar, Frederick Street, Birmingham, B1 3HE, in the upstairs room. Admission is free (there's a pay bar) but spaces are limited so please register as soon as possible