Future Leaders: Cohort 8
Climate | Culture | Connect
The Future Leaders Programme is a nine-month, immersive experience that equips participants with essential leadership skills. As a cohort, we completed four main modules which concluded in a strategy retreat at St. Davids in Wales.
The skills and techniques we have developed have given us the self-awareness to be more emotionally intelligent leaders, equipped us to empower others and taught us how to lead with impact. We have been provided with an action plan for ongoing development beyond the scope of the programme.
As we have moved on to the final project phase of the programme, we have come together to deliver a project we are all passionate about, one that will benefit each of our organisations as they strive towards Net Zero by 2050.
Mission statement:
To create a free platform to bring communities together through sustainable, accessible, cultural events which inform, engage, and inspire.
Vision statement:
Connecting sustainability and culture to enable everyone to feel inspired and joyful about our future.
Who we are
Rahul Mohan, Net Zero Carbon Sustainability Lead, Environment Agency
Jessie Acton, Senior Marketing Manager, Shakespeare’s Globe
Lewis Osborne, Compliance Officer, OFTEC
Adam Padilla, Scheme Insights Manager, MCS
Lovely Chavan, Sustainability Consultant, Q Sustain
Samuel Seabrooke, Rail Sustainability Lead, Mott MacDonald
Ash Farrah, Principal Resources and Programmes Officer, Manchester City Council
People are constantly looking for meaningful ways to engage with their communities, but many feel overwhelmed by climate anxiety and uncertain about how to make a difference. We aim to bring the joy of discovery and the power of education to sustainability, much like the inspiration people feel through the arts - whether it’s their favourite music, a captivating exhibition, or a night at the theatre.
With a plethora of sustainability-focused events happening across London and Manchester, we believe finding them should be easy and reliable. Our vision is a free, accessible platform that brings communities together through sustainable cultural events that inform, engage, and inspire action.
Climate Culture Connect is a non-profit event listing platform designed to connect individuals with local events focused on sustainability, nature and climate change. With growing public interest in environmental awareness across diverse demographics, there is a clear market need for a dedicated platform that brings attention to green initiatives and sustainability-driven events. Climate Culture Connect will enable event organisers to promote their activities while allowing users to discover and engage in sustainability-focused events within their communities.
Our primary objective is to foster cohesion, awareness and enthusiasm for environmentally oriented events. To achieve this vision, we are seeking an initial investment to support the platform’s development, enabling us to bridge this gap and drive forward meaningful community engagement on climate action.
Next stage of research
The next step with our research will be to understand further how users will most be interested when interacting with the site. An element of this will be geared towards understanding the desire from stakeholders for this kind of platform, and whether there are any aspects of user experience that we may wish to incorporate.
Following on from this, we wish to design a survey that asks arts and cultural organisations who run or have run relevant events whether they would find the service useful, and in what ways they can see themselves making use of it.
Why use Climate Culture Connect?
Users would be drawn to Climate Culture Connect for a variety of reasons, each rooted in the desire to engage meaningfully with both the environment and their communities. Some could be motivated by a strong interest in educating themselves about climate and environmental issues, seeking accessible ways to stay informed and involved in the movement for a sustainable future.
