12/10/2026
Let’s tell this one backwards.
THE END — our finale. We didn’t ask one question, we asked three. Because better places need three things: young people with the confidence to shape their environments, communities who are collaborators and not an afterthought, and culture with a permanent seat at the table.
Growing the Next Generation — chaired by Samira El-Bahja (ISO Collective), with Beth Hughes (Royal College of Art), Siraaj Mitha (Open City Accelerate), Dhruv Gulabchande (Narrative Practice) and Barakat Omomayowa (SORI Collective).
Community as Collaborators — with Nouvella (The Urban Planher), María José Gonzales & Vicky Álvarez (Wards Corner), Saba Shafi (The Advocacy Academy) and Nabil Al-Kinani (Privatise the Mandem).
And to close, Meneesha Kellay (V&A East ) on Beyond Buildings: Protecting the Culture of Place — in conversation with our own alumni Tomi Balogun and Ayomipo Odedina.
REWIND — before the big questions, there were two days of doing, not watching. A public day. A schools day. 800+ young people cutting, building, sketching, arguing, imagining — a sector cracked open and handed to the next generation.
THE BEGINNING — and before any of it, a simple belief: that everyone should get to shape the places, spaces and communities around them. People. Place. Culture. Creating equity by design.
That’s why we start at the end — because the end is really the point.
Thank you to every speaker, every young person, and to , the Royal College of Art and all our partners. It takes a whole sector to open up a profession.
