Sian Hopkins

Labour Party Line-up Revealed

As we move past the Liberal Democrat conference on the coast and prepare for Manchester and the Conservative Party annual conference next week, our conference season is topped off by a visit to Liverpool with the Labour Party. The full programme has been released and includes over 40 events hosted in the Youth Zone and our new dedicated Skills Hub, supported by a roster of charity-partners, education providers and employers.

In an exciting development we also take on site a Youth Bus within the exhibition centre, promoting youth work in all places and spaces, as our studio for podcast interviews and conversations on some of the great inter-generational challenges of the day – from mental health to the climate crisis, education and future skills.

Backed by Youth Focus NW, the Commission On Young Lives and City & Guilds, and the energetic Walton Youth & Community group on board the youth bus. All events are held in the Exhibition Centre Liverpool, for conference delegates and visitors. Reports from the events will be posted and highlights included in our social media.

Anne Longfield CBE talks 18 years of Citadel

After Citadel had its anniversary last month, we caught up with some of the wonderful contributors and important organisations that Citadel have worked with the last 18 years.

Former Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield CBE, happily agreed to answer some of our questions about her experience working with Citadel.

What is your company/charity and what is your role within the company? How long have you been working there?

“We’ve been working with Citadel for most of its childhood and are delighted to have done so.”

“For me personally, this includes benefiting from the support of Citadel as CEO of charity 4Children, working collaboratively as Children’s Commissioner for England and more recently, collaborating as Chair of the Commission on Young Lives.”

What is your/the company’s relationship with Citadel and with its founder Jonathan Hopkins?

“Jonathan is a trusted partner to us in all things policy and influencing for young people. I first worked with Jonathan at the end of the nineties and continue to value his work.”

What are some of the main and key projects Citadel have worked on with you and what were the outcomes?

“We have worked with Citadel on the Youth Zone at party conferences since its inception – bringing together youth organisations and young people with political leaders to make the case for positive change.”

“As Children’s Commission and Chair of the Commission on Young Lives we worked closely on policies around youth workers in schools and new developments in the youth practitioner workforce.”

“In our next phase we will be focusing on a number of collaborations to improve opportunities and life chances for young people.”

Why is citadel such an important company?

“Citadel is important because it has detailed and long standing knowledge and understanding of social policy. This combined with unrivalled understanding and experience in public affairs.”

“Citadel cares about improving life chances and continues to work tirelessly to make the case and secure support for the measures needed to make that happen.”

What has been your favourite project/event you have done with Citadel or Jonathan Hopkins himself?

“Some of my favourite events have been at party conferences – often standing room only events with senior politician being questioned and held to account by young people about their policies and commitment.”

“Some of the best ideas have come out of those discussions.”

Why would you recommend Citadel to others?

“Citadel is one of those rare organisations that brings together extensive policy knowledge and public affairs experience to support organisations to super boost their profile, messaging and policy goals.”

“Jonathan has a forensic knowledge of policy and services and is directly plumbed into the policy machine across Whitehall, parliament and political parties as well as around the country.”

“Jonathan builds relationships with clients and decision makers with relentless commitment and determination to being about transformational change.”

“Happy 18^th Birthday Citadel – we look forward to working with you for many years to come!”

Party Conference Line-up is Released

With annual party conferences around the corner, the final line-up of charity-partners and fringe events has been released for the Youth Zone #YZ23.

Also this year we unveil the first ever dedicated #SkillsHub of education, training providers and employers.

With the Conservative Party in Manchester and Labour Party in Liverpool, the Youth Zone is supported by Youth Focus NW and backed by the Commission On Young Lives.

The founding partner for the Skills Hub is City & Guilds. The events are held in the conference centres for accredited delegates and visitors only.

Combined there is a remarkable 80 events hosted over 5-days between the two main conferences. With some 45 charities and sector partners, and up to 100 young people joining in.

#YZ23 is dedicated to supporting young people & addressing inter-generational issues of mental health, climate change, future jobs, cost-of-living &more.

#SkillsHub is championing Lifelong Learning from schools to adult learning, apprenticeships and employment, green skills and more.

Released today, the Conservative Party programme of events:

Full details for the Labour Party programme to follow soon.

Citadel turns 18!

This August, Citadel Policy & Communications turned 18 years old. We spoke with the organisation’s founder and director, Jonathan Hopkins, to tell us a little bit about the company and the impact it has made in its 18 year existence.

A consultancy for strategic communications in policy, research and public affairs; with an experienced team in government, media, marketing and campaigns, this company has achieved a great deal in the last 18 years.

Jonathan started the consultancy at a turning point in his career. After working in politics, marketing and campaigning and serving as a board director for PR-agencies, he felt he had become too distant from the causes he passionately believed in.

“At home, we had a growing family and young daughters that the macho-world of agency life kept me from. With all the great experience I’d gained, setting up a bespoke consultancy enabled us to specialise and create a family-friendly work environment.”

“Citadel grounded me back in public policy, affecting change for the better, working across government and media, for charities and businesses and community interests. We’ve gained a reputation and depth of work supporting education and skills, youth policies, justice and social inclusion.”

Starting off as a small company, Jonathan and co-founder, Jane Enticott, worked closely with others’ clients, providing specialist support for them including the likes of Matthew Moth at Madano and Rob Metcalfe at Richmond Towers, and with the encouragement of former colleagues Joe Brice, Stuart Thomson and Kevin Craig, to name but a few.

“As a company, we have been able to stay small but remain beautifully formed by keeping overheads low, and are quick to respond to whatever needs and issues are facing our clients.”

“There’s been a host of freelance associates who’ve come together on projects we’ve led, large and small. Anne Pinneydeserves special mention for adding research expertise to the team, and Graham Beech for joint projects together and as a client.”

Citadel Policy & Communications have an important year ahead, with both regional and general elections being held in 2024. This will signify a period of change, whoever is in power.

The team is consistently working closely with clients to continue to inform and support their business plans, with political insight, policy trends and positioning across public and political audiences.

At the same time, Citadel is continuing to develop bespoke approaches, supported by research, analysis and stakeholder engagement, most notably in education, future skills and with young adults (16-25). This is because these ages are the ones who all too often fall between the gaps in services and policies for children and adults.

Citadel’s work includes navigating the challenges to mental health, working with organisations like Brook, and exploring the employment sector with their newest client Youth Employment UK.

“There’s more to be achieved with leading youth charities too, with the likes of DofE and Scouts, and in an exciting development we’ve teamed up with Anne Longfield to secure legacy work for her Commission On Young Lives.”

“Our direct work, supporting young people has been a high point.”

“We are embarking on our 14th consecutive party conference season organising and hosting the Youth Zone for charity-partners and over 1,000 young people in that time taking part. Breaking down barriers and demystifying politics, providing a platform for youth voices on intergenerational challenges.”

This autumn Citadel has also added a dedicated Skills Hub backed by City & Guilds. So, between the Youth Zone and Skills Hub, Citadel will be hosting a remarkable 80+ events, across the 5 days at Conservative and Labour Party conferences.

This work surely stands out from all the other accomplishments, supporting a collective response that can demonstrate and provide many with a vast change for good.

Another key moment to mention would be the work done with the National Youth Agency throughout the pandemic. This included growing the collaboration of the national advisory board, building alliances and securing funding for youth services, charities and young people.

“We had a tremendous run rate of policy reports and recommendations on the national news.”

“If I can divulge some other favourites, they’d include consulting and designing victims’ services, girls’ rights campaigns on street harassment and civic leadership roles for school academy trusts.”

“A new campaign includes the British Youth Council in a young-people-led call for Votes at 16 and a summit in support of young migrants and refugees with the Positive Youth Foundation.”

“But if others will forgive me, Seyi Obakin and Centrepointhave been outstanding, with Citadel from day one and throughout our 18 years.”

So, what can we expect from another 18 years of Citadel Policy & Communications?

In short, more of the same we hope!

As Jonathan says, “the challenges remain great and the opportunities to help make a real difference are endless.”

The Review: A Working Title

You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. Why you should go see the play about a writer with writers block.

A week into their first performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I finally got to see Collision Theatre’s 45 minute production of ‘A Working Title’, and it was well worth the wait.

Just for context, I saw one of the first performances of ‘A Working Title’ back in Manchester, when the students of Manchester University first performed this script. So, when I saw how they adapted their writing to accommodate new actors and a shorter time of 45 minutes, I was pleasantly surprised with how seamlessly the play had been rewritten.

‘A Working Title’ follows the thought process and chaotic life of washed up screen writer Liam, as he faces a decline to produce a brand new film script for his sponsoring agency.

Tackling personal conflicts and alcoholism, the play laughs at itself, suggesting that a script about the writing process and the issues of writer’s block should not be an interesting watch. However, this cannot be said for this student production.

The audience involvement and melodrama from the actors was on point, with the dramatic acting of Liam’s thought actors, 1 and 2, delivering impeccable comedic timing, that had the audience in stitches.

Liam’s character was both believable and relatable to all of us in the creative industry, dealing with the sudden blank that appears out of nowhere when an original idea is needed, and an ever approaching deadline reaffirming the pressure we are already feeling.

The ever developing relationship with female lead and sister Alex, explores the affect of family tensions and painful unspoken feelings that can rock the creative process.

One moment you will be laughing and the next holding back tears, as a turmoil of emotions reflects truly the turbulent nature of the human condition and how there is always more happening under the surface.

If you haven’t already, head down this evening to TheSpace on The Mile at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and treat yourself to this 5 star piece of theatre. If you don’t chuckle or resonate with these well-written characters, I’ll eat my hat.

Don’t miss ‘A Working Title’

For the next couple of weeks, Manchester University student performers with Collision Theatre are taking their play, ‘A Working Title’ round the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

With the help and funding of Citadel, Collision Theatre will be performing this week at theSpaceUK space 1 on the mile, from 2:10pm. Their second week, the 21st to the 26th of August, will include evening performances at 7:30pm, at theSpaceUK on Niddry Street.

Here is a sneaky look at what to expect from their performances, displayed in a mockumentary created by actor Carys Hopkins and the rest of the creative team:

Collision Theatre introduce: “A Working Title – a working documentary”

‘A Working Title’ heads to Edinburgh

Here at Citadel we are proud to encourage and support youth projects and groups to achieve their goals. This week, Manchester based, student company: Collision Theatre headed up to Edinburgh to perform their first original play, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival, thanks to the help of Citadel.

The creative team and actors, all students at Manchester University, will be presenting this original performance, “A Working Title” for the next two weeks. Rehearsing 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, we caught up with members of the creative team, who happily agreed to take a break from their hectic schedule.

Can you give us some background on who you guys are and what your play is about?

“A Working Title is about Liam, a struggling writer facing a creeping deadline. Creative block, pessimism, bizarre ideas and familial tensions combine to make a wacky, multimedia piece. Merging styles of theatre and film, we explore a writer’s fractured mind and discover what can be made into film, and why we write or perform.”

“Our creative team consists of our director and writer, Michael Bryceson and our producers, Sebastian Moulds and Jenifer Hosking. We then have a cast that consists of Oljas Kudabayev as 1, Carys Hopkins as 2, Conor Mather as Liam and Josselin Ball as Alex.”

What are you hoping people take from your play?

“Perseverance is vital. The family you choose is important and laughter is the best medicine. No ideas are bad (unless they are) and it’s all about the destination – not the process. Never take Collision Theatre seriously (unless you should), don’t write about festivals unless you’ve been, and Shakespeare doesn’t work on film unless you are Leonardo DiCaprio. Also that we are a very serious group of performers. Definitely.”

What are you most looking forward to at the fringe festival?

“The most exciting aspect is to be surrounded by like-minded creatives where we can see what shows they have poured their hearts and time into! Everybody at the fringe will have different backgrounds, shows and messages they want their audiences to take away from seeing the show.”

“We have seen some fantastic shows already with the dramatic societies at the University of Manchester, such as ‘If I Were To Die Tomorrow’, ‘Be Home Soon’ and ‘The Spark Project’. We are excited to see how it they have improved and evolved since the show was originally shown in Manchester.”

“There are also new shows that we have yet to see from our peers at the university, including ‘SOFAR’, ‘Lonely Hearts’ and ‘Bishops’. These are all being brought by brilliant groups of creatives, and we are ecstatic to witness what they are bringing to the Fringe.”

“Aside from University of Manchester shows, we have seen some shows that have a fantastic online presence. One named, ‘dusk: a bite-sized love story’ seems hilarious, and we cannot wait to see it in person!”

Catch “A Working Title” performing at 1 of their 12 shows at the Edinburgh Festival from the 14th of August.

From the 14th to the 19th of August the group will be at theSpaceUK space 1 on the mile, from 2:10pm. Their second week, the 21st to the 26th of August, will include evening performances at 7:30pm, at theSpaceUK on Niddry Street.

Towards the next election

As we emerge from the pandemic straight into an energy crisis, and the economic upheaval post-Brexit, hikes in the cost of living bring tremendous pressures on families and businesses alike.

With a newly appointed Government in place and just a short run up to an expected 2024 general election, a focus on short term fixes and long term gain is finely balanced.

A home, a job and fair income to meet basic needs are essential. Investment in education and a green economy are major priorities. At the same time, taking care of the social fabric, across communities, for public services and civil society which are critical for our collective health, safety and security.

It is a short window of just 18-months or so until the next election. Yet the decisions of today will have a much longer lasting impact for any economic gains and social returns – and opportunities – that may follow.

Youth Zone returns to party conferences

20th Sep 2022

The Youth Zone rolls into Liverpool for Labour Party annual conference, with a packed agenda of 21 events and activities in a little over 48 hours. Topics range from mental health to climate change, online harm, SEND, civil society, Votes-16, schools education, employment, equalities, sports and the economy. In addition, a Youth Bus (mobile youth work unit) will be on site, with youth workers promoting services with young people and investment in youth work. A full programme of events will then be carried forward to Conservative Party conference, in Birmingham, as the party of Government with new Ministers.