Two weeks on from Anthropy LIVE 2022, what have we learned  ​​

02 Dec Two weeks on from Anthropy LIVE 2022, what have we learned  ​​

St Neots Initiative took our vision to the Eden project for the first UK regeneration event “Anthropy LIVE 2022”. Two weeks on, the learnings from the 130 sessions, 400 lead participants and over 1,100 attendees are powering hope for the future. 

Founded by John O’Brien MBE, Anthropy 2022 is a new movement launched to help build back the UK’s people, places and prosperity. On 2nd November, a team from St Neots Initiative took part in the 3 day event at the inspirational Eden Project in Cornwall.   

Anthropy 2022 asked vitally important questions which sparked each and every one of the St Neots Initiative to think differently about how we can all work together to find new ways to make change happen. As a team who have been involved since the movement’s inception, we have had a direct impact on the ‘Vision of Britain’. This first of its kind publication is being drawn up using findings and outcomes from the talks, discussions and workshops at Anthropy.  

One of the key learnings from the event for our team was ‘from little things, big things grow’, and we, the people of St Neots are proud examples of how working together and making seemingly small actions, can lead to big changes. As a town and community, St Neots embodies two of the forward-thinking themes of Anthropy 2022; ‘Our vibrant places’ and ‘Our equity of opportunity’. The team from St Neots Initiative presented St Neots as a case study for success in front of a UK-wide audience and impressed the event attendees (now fondly known as ‘Anthropists’). 

Joined on the panel by former Mayor of St Neots, Stephen Ferguson, the Chair of St Neots Initiative, Alex Hughes led the session ‘Perspective on people, place and prosperity: St Neots Project’.  

Alex was also selected to host a keynote session with ‘Smiley Movement’ where they explored how businesses can drive positive impact through collaboration with charities and brands. The key findings from the session were how big brands can help support charities and Community Interest Companies (CIC) in a meaningful way, whether that is through sharing networks, championing messaging, embedding expertise and co-branding.  

The St Neots Initiative team, including Secretary Debbie Phillips and Youth Voice project lead Pam Branch (pictured) also represented our town at the inspiring session exploring collaborative growth through community. 

“St Neots Initiative is 100% behind Anthropy’s approach to enable communities to help themselves; it is the CoGrow way. It was humbling to learn so much from so many incredible people, including Sir Tim Smit, Duro Oye, Piers Linney, Sadiq Khan, John O’Brien, Dame Julia Cleverden and Dame Darcey Bussell. I have learned that my hope for the future of the UK is well-placed. We have a huge raft of change-makers beavering away in their local (and national) areas to improve the people, places and prosperity of the UK.” 

St Neots Initiative will be channelling the momentum from Anthropy through reigniting the group, bringing in new members to represent our diverse community, launching community events and engagement experiences.