On Tuesday evening, we welcomed the RSA (Royal Society for arts, manufacture and commerce – The RSA – RSA) to the hub for a very insightful evening, listening to talks and conversations working to address place-based social challenges, driving inclusive and sustainable action. The event was a mix of RSA fellows, University researchers and staff, entrepreneurs and members of the public.
Fred Bassett FRSA kicked off the evening talking all things RSA and his vision within Southampton and the surrounding region, followed by Professor Clinton Styles on the vision of the Future Towns Innovation Hub and Hannah Dalgleish on the recently developed Centre for the South initiative, set up by the University of Southampton.
We then heard pitches from some very inspiring individuals within the area, discussing what they are doing to enhance communities, health and wellbeing, and general quality of life. Christopher Amedu FRSA described his work at Southampton City Council within the Business and IP Centre (BIPC), and how they help entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses – Home – Business and IP Centre Southampton (bipcsouthampton.org).
Rebecca Kinge FRSA then took to the stand and spoke about Southampton Voluntary Services (Southampton Voluntary Services (southamptonvs.org.uk)) and the Southampton Collective (About Us – Co-production | Community | Culture (socollective.org.uk)).
Sanjay Mall then told us about The Big Difference, a food distribution charity serving growing communities within Southampton, and discussed the opportunities but also challenges of becoming a more sustainable organisation The Big Difference.
Finally, we heard from Mary Jackson, Head of Education and Communities, at Learning Through Landscapes (Outdoor Learning and Play Charity | Learning through Landscapes (ltl.org.uk)), the UK’s national School Grounds charity. Mary is passionate about improving and utilising school grounds and encouraging teaching to take place outside with nature.
Watch this space for future RSA Engage Hampshire Events!
