What is the event?

Join us at Nesta to explore how communities pull together in the face of emergencies and hope emerges in unexpected places.

The evening will start with a film screening of "The Response: How Puerto Ricans are restoring power to the people" introduced by Tom Llewellyn, leader of The Response Project for Shareable.net

This 30-minute micro-budget film from Shareable.net, an award-winning non profit media outlet, action network, and consultancy. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, a quiet revolution has been percolating on the island of Puerto Rico. What began as an impromptu community kitchen meant to help feed survivors in the town of Caguas quickly grew into an island-wide network of mutual aid centers (Centros de Apoyo Mutuo) with the ultimate goal to restore power — both electric and civic — to the people.

The movie screening will be followed by an expert panel debate exploring the potential for restoring power to communities

The event will also feature the exhibition ‘Encountering the Future: Community-Led Resilience’: Nesta, working with futures organisation Changeist, community designers from across the UK and experts from the  front line of emergency response, have created five scenarios and artifacts from the not too distant future. These highlight the trends on our horizon and the creative potential of communities working together. Come to interact and discuss the future for community-led action.

Who is it for and why should I come?

This event is for community activists and organisations, charities, government and emergency service professionals, technologists and researchers, as well as all those interested in exploring ideas for community-led resilience in emergencies. 

Timings

Registrations will open at 5:30pm with the event starting promptly at 6:00pm. The event will finish by 8:30pm. Light refreshments will be provided