Rise in Our Roots: A decolonial leadership session for people leading, supporting and funding social change

Does it feel as though social justice work has become harder?
That there is no time to waste, yet inequity remains deeply entrenched?
That the struggle is shared, but its burdens are not carried equally?
And are you and others feeling exhausted or demotivated, with the challenges sometimes seeming insurmountable?

Health Poverty Action and The Innovation are collaborating to bring Rise in Our Roots to London.

24 September | 10.00am–12.00pm | Camden, London

Five minutes’ walk from the Tube

Join us for a special two-hour circle exploring the struggles facing social leaders and how decolonial approaches can help us reconnect with our identity, agency and energy.

“Encouraging, inclusive, powerful and attentive. You invited us into a very deep experience in a most loving way.”
Madeleine

This participatory and reflective experience will introduce three of the decolonial approaches at the heart of Rise in Our Roots, a six-week process inspired by Paulo Freire’s approach to reflection, learning and action. You can learn more about the wider programme here.

We have been piloting this approach in South Yorkshire, where polarisation is high and a deeper response to how we support social leaders has felt necessary.

✨ Play and humour will sneak in too. After all, how can we explore the deeper questions without making space for some joy? ✨

The session is for leaders, managers, funders, donors, organisations and changemakers involved in social leadership, equity and creating the conditions for people to flourish.

“I rarely have the chance to ask who I am, what matters to me and how I want to be of service.”
Jay

During the session, we will...

Hold council to explore the challenges facing community and social leaders
Begin reconnecting with the ancestral wisdom carried through our families, cultures and communities
Rebuild our life energy for the heavier times
Uncover old worries and ancestral anxieties that continue to shape us

“The times are urgent; let us slow down.”
Bayo Akomolafe

We love this quote because part of what we want to offer is a space to slow down, reflect together and drop into who we are. From there, we can take action from a more grounded place.

This won’t be a meeting or a set of slides. We’ll connect as people in ways we rarely have space for in our day-to-day working lives.

Every session is unique, so we don’t know exactly where it might take us. We will remain flexible and respond together to what is present in the room.

Our intention is that you leave feeling more connected, resourced and energised for whatever comes next.

Come ready to ground, reflect, connect, move and explore.

We’ll combine personal reflection, group sharing and gentle, optional somatic experiences, because we don’t want this to be only a cognitive experience.

Who is the session for?

95% of participants have taken more purposeful action in their lives and communities.

You’re passionate about social change. You have strong values, a clear sense of purpose and ideas about how things could be different. You work with communities or social leaders in the UK or overseas.

But sometimes you get lost in the noise. You feel exhausted by the struggle. Your anxieties and worries begin to hold you back.

You want to reconnect with your own energy and draw strength from our collective ancestry in service of your community.

The full Rise in Our Roots programme centres community leaders. This special session invites people from across the whole system, reflecting our decolonial approach:

Community and social leaders
Organisational leaders and managers
People working with local leadership and community partners
Programme, partnership, equity and organisational-development staff
Funders, commissioners and sponsors

Everyone attending will join as a participant. This is not a space for observing or studying community leaders, but for reflecting together on our own experiences and how we show up in the work.

✨ If this speaks to you, we’d love you to join us. ✨

For organisations

For organisations, the session offers a chance to explore how the complexities of identity and inherited assumptions influence how we show up, work together and make decisions.

We have seen the value of introducing these approaches before teams begin new strategy, innovation or service-design work.

Rise in Our Roots can also be brought into organisations before strategy, innovation, service-design or team-development processes. It can help teams slow down, reflect together and reconnect with the communities and purpose they serve.

Organisations can also sponsor places or future cohorts for community and social leaders.

If you would like to bring Rise in Our Roots to your team, sponsor a cohort or help us take the programme to another location, please contact Mo at [email protected].

Venue

We’ll send the venue details with your confirmation. It’s a five-minute walk from Camden Town Tube station. Even those of us from up north found it :)

The venue is on the first floor and is accessible only by stairs. If there are ways we can make the session more accessible for you, please email us and let us know.

Snacks will be available from 9.30am, so please feel free to arrive early, meet others and settle into the space.

Pricing

We would love to offer every place for free. However, we know that when events are free, people sometimes have to cancel at the last minute because life is busy and social justice work often brings unexpected demands.

We would also love to cover the costs of creating the session.

We are committed to making the event accessible, so tickets are offered on a sliding scale from £20 to £75. We also have five fully subsidised places available.

Please choose the rate that feels sustainable for your current financial circumstances. Higher-priced tickets help fund subsidised places, while everyone receives the same experience.

The information on the payment page will help you decide. You may also find this sliding-scale model helpful.

Places are limited. Choose the ticket price that works for you and join us in Camden.

About Adeola and Mohammed

Adeola

“I am a social justice advocate and an inclusive wellbeing and EDI coach. My work is rooted in helping Sheffield’s communities thrive with courage, strength and authenticity.

I was born in Bradford, carry Dominican, Jamaican and African heritage, and was raised between Sheffield and The Gambia. At thirteen, I embraced Islam with clarity and courage, trusting a call that felt bigger than me.

My passion for identity, belonging and wellbeing comes from my own journey of healing and growth. I understand how many of us move through life feeling stuck or unseen while holding so much potential within us.”

Mohammed

“I am two generations of refugees, and service is in my DNA. My heritage is South Asian and Pacific, a mix that shapes how I see the world. I grew up in inner-city Birmingham, a melting pot of tension and diversity.

I am a leadership space-holder who blends courage, compassion, humanity, music and play. I have supported leaders in more than 25 countries, from South Sudan to Sheffield, and I care deeply about justice and belonging.

Over the past five years, I have run emerging-leader programmes for more than 1,000 people. Now I am imagining what becomes possible when we focus this energy in one city.