#SDMFOL, News from the Network & more in our May Update

It's been a busy month as we launched our inaugural?Festival of Learning - Harnessing the insights of leaders with lived experience. We're really pleased to curate this new training and professional development event and have loved the response on how bold, exciting and good-value it is!?You can buy your Festival Pass here. Keep reading for all the latest updates.

We're in the midst of recruiting for our third Future Voices cohort with the Voice of Domestic Workers. In June we'll be kicking off our new programme supporting 12 more migrant domestic workers to be confident public spokespeople, to advocate for the rights of their community.?Future Voices is supported by City Bridge Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Trust for London.

And after two sell-out runs we're pleased to say our colleague Amal Abdi's play Desperate Times is back as part of the Futures Festival at the Pleasance Theatre London on the 31st May and 1st June, find out more.?

Thank you for the support you show us by reading our updates. Please do share this with your colleagues/community. And as always please keep in touch with what you are doing. We love to highlight projects and events with our networks. We hope to see many of you at our Festival of Learning next month.?

Do follow us?on?LinkedIn, Twitter?and?Facebook?and Instagram.?

Best wishes Jude, Helena,?Amal and Bridget? @sounddelivery?

Join our Festival of Learning and Create Your Personal Learning Journey

Two weeks ago we launched the Festival of Learning - Harnessing the insights of leaders with lived experience. This is the perfect opportunity to focus on you and your teams professional development. Tickets start from just ￡25 and will give you access to 20+ online, interactive masterclasses, learning lunches, peer discussions, wellbeing sessions, and a very special keynote speaker that you can pick and choose from.

ICYMI the?keynote talk will be from award-winning broadcaster, host and TV presenter Ashley John-Baptiste. Ashley's talk will be 'Looked After: A Childhood in Care – my lived experience, broadcasting, and beyond' and will be chaired?by fellow care-experienced journalist?Sophia Alexandra Hall, deputy digital editor at The Big Issue.

We've also announced our partnership with Charity Meetup for an?in-person networking event at the Impact Hub Euston on Friday 14 June, 10:00-13:30. Grab your festival pass to join us to connect with local charities, funders, and media professionals while hearing from speakers and leaders with lived experience. Lady Unchained will be speaking and Ashley John-Baptiste will be there to sign copies of his debut book out in June.?

There will be no FOMO for the sessions you are unable to attend.?The recordings for most of the programme will be made available to ticket holders afterwards.?

Masterclasses include:

• Working with documentary and drama
• Changing the media landscape with Fully Focused
• Creating spokesperson networks
• Co-producing media with unrepresented communities with On Our Radar
• Putting your lived experience at the centre of your leadership
• Conversation on children and young people: SDMNetwork panel
• Our journey to being a visible public spokesperson
• How to pitch opinion pieces: Learn from CYP Now, The Guardian and The Big Issue
• What we needed for campaign success
• Building movements for social change

Learning lunches include:

• Writing about our experiences and finding an audience
• Start vlogging
• Social media for advocacy
• Empathy-led approaches
• Starting your own podcast tips and tricks

Peer Meet-ups on:

• Vicarious trauma: How can we look after our mental health at work?
• How can we tackle our imposter syndrome?
• How can we be vulnerable leaders?

Wellbeing sessions on: mindfulness, meditation and relaxation. Keynote speech:?Ashley John-Baptiste?'Looked After: A Childhood in Care – my lived experience, broadcasting, and beyond' Charity Meet-up?in person event?in London on Friday 14th June

BUY YOUR FESTIVAL TICKETS

The latest from the Spokesperson Network

Our Spokesperson Network have been busy sharing their expertise in the media, at events and on platforms where they have the power to influence change. Here are some of their latest highlights.?

• Palma Black?wrote a comment piece in Inside Housing on putting residents back at the heart of housing to fight against poverty and develop stronger communities.
• Steve Arnott?contributed and was quoted in?Joseph Rowntree Foundation's report, Poverty stigma: A glue that holds poverty in place.?Steve was also in The Big Issue?speaking on his work with the JRF Stigma Free Futures Design team and the Beats Bus.
• Lady Unchained?was in The Guardian on her Prison Radio Association show Free Flow which was nominated and?won Best Specialist Music Show at the?2024 ARIAs.
• BBC Radio 4's show File on 4 Generation Shame also won Gold for Best Factual - Single Programme. This show about forced adoption featured?Debbie Iromlou and other members from Adult Adoptee Movement.
• Kevin Osei was on a GB News panel discussing for University vs Apprenticeship.?
• Jan Cunliffe and JENGbA?were thanked in Fred Scott's speech?after winning the Emerging Talent: Factual at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards for London Bridge: Facing Terror.?
• Craig Jones MBE?was quoted in?The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mail and?across the media about the?UK’s first ever memorial to LGBT armed forces personnel.?
• Beth Thomas?wrote a blog about?Channel 4’s new show Big Mood and her thoughts on?bipolar representation on screen.

Subscribe to see all of the latest from our Spokesperson network Alumni on the alumni list.? You can also subscribe to our Sounddelivery Media blog to get thought-pieces straight to your inbox.? If you are a journalist or programme maker and want to talk about ways to work together with our network please get in touch: [email protected]?

Things to watch, listen to, and do?

BBC Radio 4's Café Hope offers engaging conversations focused on positive change and community impact. Hosted by Rachel Burden, this show invites guests to share stories of their efforts in making the world a better place. Each episode of Café Hope features individuals and projects that embody the spirit of change, whether through community initiatives or personal endeavors aimed at improving lives. From training ex-offenders to?supporting?vulnerable women running a community laundrette, this show offers a refreshing and realistic perspective on the efforts to create a positive impact, while?showcasing stories of failures as well as triumphs. Listen to?Café Hope episodes here.?

Me And The Voice In My Head?is a new documentary on Channel 4 that explores the realities of living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) through Joe Tracini's personal journey. The documentary combines candid documentary footage with scripted comedy elements, providing viewers with a new perspective on the challenges associated with BPD. Joe Tracini, known for his candid sketches on social media about BPD, shares his own experiences with the condition, introducing viewers to "Mick," the constant voice inside his head that fuels negative thoughts and urges self-harm. The documentary follows Joe's journey of seeking understanding and acceptance while addressing his struggles with addiction, past traumas, and aspirations of returning to stand-up comedy. Find out more about?Me And The Voice In My Head here.?

Laughing Boy is the new a play?at Jermyn Street Theatre. Based on the true story of Connor Sparrowhawk, a young man with learning disabilities whose preventable death in NHS care sparks a courageous campaign led by his mother, Sara. As Sara and her family seek answers, they uncover a distressing pattern of neglect and apathy that extends far beyond Connor's tragedy.This poignant?production explores both the personal and political, shedding light on the challenges faced by families navigating healthcare systems. You can find out more about the play and book your tickets here.?

Become An Amplifier

If you'd like to help us?amplify the voices of a dynamic network of people you can support us in lots of ways.?

• Become an amplifier?by donating either monthly or as a one-time donation. With?Gift Aid we are able to claim 25p for every pound you donate. Your donations will help to fund our work.??
• Volunteer your time if you are a journalist or media professional, become a sounding board for our charity and our Spokesperson Network.