Closing keynote

Plenary session 1 – 2pm

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In this closing keynote, epidemiologist and activist, Kate Pickett, will explore the power and importance of community wealth building in the fight against inequality. Kate will share her your thoughts on how community wealth building can contribute to a more equal society and how we bridge the gap between debates on social justice and those on economic justice. Kate will then be joined “in conversation” by CLES’s Chief Executive, Sarah Longlands and take questions from the audience. Before we head for a short break, Sarah will also share her reflections from the week of Summit activity.

Speakers

Sarah Longlands is the chief executive of CLES. She is an expert in regional and local economic development and argues for economic and social justice and the creation of places which enable people to live good lives. Before joining CLES in 2021, Sarah was Director of IPPR North, the dedicated think tank for the North of England. She previously worked for CLES until 2011 and began her career in local government, working in County Durham and North Yorkshire. She has a PhD in Urban Studies from the University of Glasgow.

Kate Pickett FRSA is a British epidemiologist and political activist who is Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York, and was a National Institute for Health Research Career Scientist from 2007-2012. She co-authored (with Richard G. Wilkinson) The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better, and is a co-founder of The Equality Trust, a non-profit organisation seeking to explain the benefits of a more equal society. Much of Kate’s research focuses on the social determinants of health, including the influences of such factors as social class, income inequality, neighbourhood context and ethnic density on such varied outcomes as mortality and morbidity, teenage birth, obesity, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and health-related behaviours.