The RSA (The royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce)

Sir Henry Cole’s birthday was on July 15th. To celebrate his extraordinary life, we hosted an event with historians including Sir Christopher Frayling. In this video Sir Frayling discusses Sir Cole’s list of achievements such as being the first director of the V&A and how he helped influence designers of his time and the designers of tomorrow. Watch the full talk here: https://thersa.co/3LrBDIN

Earlier this week, former Cabinet Minister, broadcaster, and podcaster Ed Balls joined us for a conversation at RSA House. We caught up with him before he took the stage to talk about our theme of courage. Here's what he had to say! 👏

Everyone deserves to live in a vibrant community, with opportunities to thrive in a flourishing natural environment. However, many do not. Introducing Prosperous Places - our new #DesignForLife initiative to respond to the unique ambitions and challenges of places, at a time when regional growth is at the top of the agenda. Delivered in partnership with local leaders and residents, Prosperous Places uniquely combines economic, social, and natural perspectives to achieve three specific aims: 1. Formulate local strategies and plans 2. Nurture local learning and skills 3. Improve local social cohesion and connectivity Learn more about how our multidisciplinary team of researchers, designers and delivery specialists, together with our network of over 31,000 global Fellows, can unlock the potential of your community: https://thersa.co/4cUwIw8

In this feature, Eoin O'Malley recounts the early successes of citizens’ assemblies in Ireland, notably in influencing referendums on same-sex marriage and abortion, by legitimising political decisions and fostering public consensus. “Representative democracy is essentially us as citizens sending people to parliament to govern on our behalf. In a general sense, all democracy should be deliberative. We’d like to think that, in the House of Commons or the Cabinet Office, they are deliberating, thinking rationally, coming up with reasons for the decision. When we talk about deliberative democracy, a lot of the time we’re thinking about ‘mini-publics’, where we take a random sample of people and ask them to think about a subject in an intense way. This gives us a sense of how ordinary people would think about an issue if they were exposed to different arguments, and if they were forced to deliberate, to talk with others who don’t hold the same views as them.” Read the full story: https://thersa.co/3LCUTmR #Governance #InConversation Photography by Kevin Lake

Embrace your inner artist and join us for a creative night of drinking and sculpting! You will be guided through hand-building with air dry clay, taught how to make pinch pots, and decorate these as you desire. Book your spot now: https://thersa.co/4cKDS5X

Sir David Attenborough, known as the ‘Godfather of natural history TV’, has introduced generations to the wonders of wildlife. From his groundbreaking ‘Zoo Quest’ series in 1954, to the acclaimed ‘Planet Earth’, he has explored nearly every aspect of life on Earth. Beyond entertainment, his documentaries have been instrumental in raising awareness about our planet’s beauty and vulnerability and addressing critical issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss. His contributions have earned him numerous awards and honours, including a knighthood in 1985 and the Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award, the UN’s highest environmental honour, in 2022. Join Sir David Attenborough and 31,000+ like minded Fellows: https://lnkd.in/eC65e-Ss Illustration by Pyotr Kovalenko #RSAJournal #DavidAttenborough #FamousFellows

Discover the pulse of creative education with the State of the Nations' report from #CreativePEC. Unravel the future of Creative Further Education in the Four Nations. Watch the launch now. https://thersa.co/3SJyiJh

Music composer Hannah Lena Rebel, FRSA is a young RSA Fellow who was invited to attend our President's Lecture back in June. Spend the day with her as she travels to London from Vienna for the exclusive event. Under 25? Become a Fellow for £1 per week. Join our community of inspirational young people, like Hannah, who are committed to social impact. ✅ Grow your network ✅ Realise your ambitions ✅ Get access to inspiring events And so much more. 🙌💙✨ Start your future. Learn more: https://thersa.co/3z0UKpV

Celebrate the Summer of Sport with us! Rally your squad, make unforgettable memories as we live-stream Olympics 2024 for FREE at our iconic London venue. For more details, visit: https://thersa.co/4cPbf7i

“I am proud to share that Taiwan was quick out of the ballot box blocks in January this year with smoothly staged presidential and legislative elections — despite insidious efforts of bad actors to sow the seeds of division and discord. The people demonstrated that free and fair voting is the ideal antidote for the ills of authoritarianism. They also showed the world what can be achieved through a whole-of-society commitment to doubling down on democracy. The Ministry of Digital Affairs, or ‘the moda’, cooperated closely with other Taiwan ministries and agencies to heighten vigilance in the lead-up to the elections. This was essential given the number of cyberattacks against Taiwan increased more than six times year-on-year and more than 33 times compared to the same quarter in 2022, according to US IT company Cloudflare. The reality is, Taiwan faces more and more cyberthreats by the day, with over 40% categorised as intrusion attacks.” Read more from Taiwan’s first Digital Minister, Audrey Tang, as she highlights the country’s approach to developing safe, sustainable and citizen-led AI as a model to revitalise global democracy: https://thersa.co/46ea92M Interview audio courtesy of Your Undivided Attention, a podcast by the Center for Humane Technology. Illustrator: Nat Wood #AudreyTang #DigitalDemocracy #AI #Governance