New Constellations

In January 2024 we embarked on a remarkable journey with a group of young people from all countries of the UK and many different backgrounds; a voyage of discovery into a future imagined by and for young people and future generations. Together with leaders from Paul Hamlyn Foundation and as part of Kinship Discovery, we explored the challenges facing young people in the UK today, the glimmers of hope we want to keep in our sights, and a beautiful future animated by seven kinds of love. Follow the crew’s journey and hear their story of the future they dream of in this powerful encounter.

Made by Jo Barratt with Iris Andrews, Lily Piachaud and Gemma Mortensen. 

The wonderful young people whose voices you hear are Amira Hayat, Charli Ivy Perkins, Dami Fawehinmi, Ella Greenway, Felix Miller, Gage Oxley, Halima Ali, Jason Wong, Kaya Birch-Skerritt, Lilia Hakem, Nathan Holmes and Nirushan Sudarsan. Their fellow crew members on the journey were Cassie Robinson, Moira Sinclair, Jane Hamlyn and Olivia Gable of Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Special thanks to Ruth Ibegbuna and India Morgan of Northern Soul for so lovingly co-creating this journey with us.

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In September 2023, a small group of transformational leaders from across the world gathered deep in the Somerset countryside to go on a journey together. They came together in recognition that these times demand new kinds of leadership; that we must dream big, dig deep and act bravely. Through their journey, the group opened up to new and radically different possibilities and began to chart new courses towards bold dreams for the future. This audio piece tells the story of their journey in their own words.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud, Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir and Yasmin El Dabi

The wonderful crew who journeyed with us are Alice Jay, Cat Tully, Christine Lai, Jenna Nicholas, Jo Sparber, Kim Willis, Louis Butler, Manish Joshi, Mark Cridge, Mathieu Le Fevre, Mitya Savelau, Tara McGuinness and Tom Adeyoola.

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Jess Steele OBE is a community entrepreneur and bold innovator who has spent over thirty years working with communities, creatives, governments, funders, corporates and academics to transform neighbourhoods. Here she introduces us to the wonderful people, places and history of Hastings Commons, a community-led regeneration programme she spearheaded in her hometown, with new models of ownership, management and collaboration that inspire people far beyond the local area.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Li An Phoa and Maarten van der Schaaf are behind Drinkable Rivers – a movement bringing people together around a vision of a world in which we can drink from all our rivers; a sign of whole ecosystem balance. Follow them in this encounter as they walk the Thames engaging with local people, school children, farmers, fishermen, politicians, pilgrims and many more, giving attention to hope and helping us remember our connectedness to and through the water.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Lines from The Dry Salvages by TS Eliot read by Guy Hayward

Song lyrics to Old Father Thames (Keeps Rolling Along) read by Guy Hayward

Scarlett Somerville is an artist and activist currently studying for her A-levels. Deeply connected to her landscape and enchanted by nature, here Scarlett shares her vision for a simpler future as well as her perspective as a teenager profoundly troubled by a world that seems to be getting exponentially worse, yet not entirely sure her generation is taking things as seriously as they should.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Nightingales recorded by Scarlett Sommerville

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The question of how to define and how to identify ‘glimmers’ of the future has been an important part of our journeys and wider research at New Constellations. Gemma has been collaborating with Graham Leicester and Cassie Robinson on a collective enquiry around how to identify examples of the flourishing futures we hope to help reach towards.

Made by Jo Barratt

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Across four summer days in July 2023, 17 people from all walks of life in York came together to explore the future of the city that they call home. This audio piece tells the story of the journey they went on to discover and create more beautiful futures in York.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews, Lily Piachaud, Yasmin El Dabi and  Kate McLaven.

The poem ‘A nurse log’ is by Sarah Huggett

The wonderful crew who journeyed with us are Andrew Morrison, Ben Porter, Felicity Palmer, Frankie Sewell, Helen Jones, Laura Cooper, Laurence Beardmore, Layla Grainger, Mike Fletcher, Olivia Carpenter, Pete Kilbane, Sam Leach, Sam Watling, Sarah Huggett, Stephanie Wong, Victoria Hughes and Violet Cannon

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Ian Goldin is an academic, economist, author and optimist. Born in South Africa, he was involved in the anti-apartheid struggle and returned from exile to work as Nelson Mandela’s economic advisor. He was later Vice President of the World Bank, founding director of the Oxford Martin School and now works as Professor of Globalization and Development at the University of Oxford, leading research programmes on Technological and Economic Change, the Future of Work, and the Future of Development. Join Ian on a walk around Oxford as he explores the new Renaissance and critical crossroads moment he believes we’re living through, the opportunities and threats this poses, and how impossible ideas become reality. 

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at newconstellations.co, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Lucy Neal is an artist, theatre maker, writer, celebrant and community activist. Steadfastly involved in the grassroots Transition movement in her beloved Tooting since 2008, in this encounter Lucy invites you to join her as she bikes through her community and marches through the streets of central London, exploring what it means to hold the grief, love, devastation terror, beauty and infinite possibility of these times. Lucy’s recently republished book, Playing for Time: Making Art as If the World Mattered is a resource for artists, community activists and anyone wishing to reach beyond the facts and figures of science and technology to harness their creativity to make change in the world.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews and Lily Piachaud.

Music made for New Constellations by Art School Girlfriend.

Discover more at newconstellations.co, and join us on Instagram and X @newconstells

Peace-pilgrim and former monk, Satish Kumar has been inspiring global change for over 50 years as an activist, author, editor and speaker, seeking to inform and inspire a just future for all. In this encounter he reflects on how his spiritual relationship with nature can teach us to be compassionate, how to be kind, how to be generous, how to be non-discriminating. From developing meditation practices to growing our own food, Satish inspires us to nurture a relationship with the natural world, wherever we are living.

Made by Jo Barratt with Gemma Mortensen, Iris Andrews  and  Lily Piachaud.

This Encounter was made from an interview with Satish by Katie Revell for Farmerama.

Discover more at newconstellations.co, and join us on Instagram and Twitter @newconstells

Transcript