A Festival of Transformation for the People: Bristol Transformed is Back

The Bristol Transformed festival will be held on May 13th-15th in Stokes Croft

When national politics are grim and the horizon of transformative possibilities feels so shrunken, gathering together to imagine and organise for a better future can bring much needed joy and resolve.

That’s why we’re so stoked that next month, Bristol Transformed will finally be returning for a full weekend of discussions, debate, art and collective celebrations.

Bristol Transformed is a grassroots, volunteer-led festival, a local offshoot of the UK’s festival of socialism The World Transformed.

After being postponed due to covid, it’s back this year and will be held in a range of venues in and around Stokes Croft over the 13th-15th May weekend

“Since the last festival, the pandemic has changed all of our lives, revealing the deep inequality at the heart of society” says festival co-organiser Isaac Kneebone-Hopkins.

Stroud and Bristol are deeply intertwined through culture and politics, and face similar challenges in the face of Britain’s increasingly unequal society.

Just like Stroud, soaring house prices and rents mean Bristol is becoming unliveable for those who make the city what it is.

Furthermore, both places are hubs for the UK’s environmental movement and after the IPCC’s latest report the urgency of tackling the climate crisis is even more salient.

“Now more than ever it is vital that we organise political education that is accessible, inclusive, and representative of our communities, and that opens up possibilities for a collective future” says Kneebone-Hopkins, and we couldn’t agree more.

Through providing a welcoming and safe space for inspired debate and respectful discussion, Bristol Transformed is all about giving people the tools they need to change their communities, workplaces, and lives.

The 2022 theme for the festival is centred around ‘Bristol For The People’ and panel sessions will be held on a range of issues from local challenges, exploitation in the workplace and tackling the climate crisis.

This year’s roster of speakers includes amongst others:

• Councillor for Clifton Down and co-leader of the Green party, Carla Denyer
• Professor David Nutt of DrugScience
• Writer, musician, and trade unionist Chardine Taylor-Stone
• Author Keir Milburn
• Amelia Horgan author of Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism, the Evening Standard’s best non-fiction book 2021

The folks at Bristol Transformed would love Stroudies to come along and join in.

Early bird tickets have sold out but the remaining tickets are available here from Headfirst with a variety of ticketing options for all, starting from £5 and volunteer spaces are available, apply here.You can follow Bristol transformed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and their website is here.