We Make Camden Summit 2025

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We Make Camden Summit 2025

We Make Camden Summit 2025 2560 1707 WeMakeCamden

Driving change in Camden

On Thursday 22 May, more than 200 Camden residents, community organisations, and local businesses came together at the British Library’s Knowledge Centre for our fourth annual We Make Camden Summit.

It was a powerful day of reflection, celebration, and collaboration – all focused on the progress we’ve made towards our shared We Make Camden Missions, and the incredible impact being made across the borough through community-led action.

But we also talked about some of the biggest challenges facing our communities, like child health inequality, access to food, climate change and social isolation.

Together, we shared innovative ideas for how we can tackle these challenges.

Working towards our shared Missions

Our Missions are bold, long-term goals for the borough, developed in collaboration with people across Camden.

The Council plays a vital role in working towards these Missions, but we can’t achieve them alone.

That’s why we’re working with hundreds of residents, community organisations, businesses and knowledge institutions to deliver Mission-led projects that are creating meaningful change.

Together, we’re leading the way in a new approach to working – one that is driven by shared goals and maximises the impact we can all make.

But what does a Mission-led approach look like? We’ve put a spotlight on eight brilliant community projects that are already making a difference across Camden.

Putting a spotlight on community action

We were thrilled to have two fantastic hosts leading the day – the inspiring local resident Milli-Rose and the dynamic Alex Emeh-Gapo – along with our brilliant facilitator, Alain ‘Fusion’ Clapham.

Their infectious energy and passion set the tone and kept the momentum going throughout the event.

Local musician EB, brought the event to a close with a beautiful performance which was a perfect ending to the day.

Milli-Rose is speaking into a microphone while holding index cards. She is wearing a black sleeveless top and a Summit lanyard on. A white screen and dark curtains are in the background.
Alex and a BSL sign language interpreter are on stage at the event. Alex is dressed in a black suit, holds a microphone and a tablet. The interpreter is in a white shirt and green striped trousers signing. A red vertical sign in the background reads 'British Library'
Alex and a member of the Camden Community Wealth Fund Youth Panel stand in front of a podium with microphones, presenting to the audience. Both wear We Make Camden Summit lanyards and stand in wood panelled room.

During the event, we heard from inspiring speakers who shared how community action is helping to drive the Missions forward, including:

Jack Ironside from Arsenal in the Community and Sadiya Waasuge, a Kentish Town resident, talked about the difference the sports pitch refurbishment at Peckwater Estate will make to the lives of residents.

Tuli Halima-Aktar from Think&Do spoke about the Sharing Spaces initiative, that is bringing Camden’s communities together and creating spaces to connect with others, be creative and have fun.

Kevin Koffi and Jayde Allen shared the incredible crime prevention work they are delivering through Khadys Dream in schools, colleges and youth centres.

Jack and Sadiya stand at a podium in a lecture theatre, addressing the audience. Jack is wearing a red Arsenal sports shirt and Sadiya is wearing a pink headscarf and navy jumper. Behind them, a large screen displays an image of the new sports pitch and reads: 'Jack Ironside – Arsenal in the Community' and 'Sadiya Waasuge – Kentish Town resident.'
Sadiya wears a pink headscarf and a blue jumper and stands at a podium with two microphones, gesturing while speaking. Jack is partially visible on the left. In the background, a large screen displays an aerial view of the Peckwater Estate sports pitch.
Tuli is a light-colored hijab and a white shirt. She stands at a podium with two microphones, delivering a presentation. Behind her, a projection screen displays the text 'Tuli Halima-Aktar Sharing Spaces' alongside artwork featuring the same phrase.
Jayde and Kevin stand next to each other in front of microphones. Kevin is speaking to the audience and wears a We Make Camden Summit lanyard.
Jayde and Kevin stand next to each other in front of microphones. Jayde is speaking to the audience while Kevin is looking down.
Members of the audience clap the presenters while sat down.

We also heard from the Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Richard Olszewski, who launched the Raise Camden Taskforce to tackle child health inequality in the borough, and shared findings from our latest State of the Borough report.

He also announced the exciting news that applications to join the Camden Community Wealth Fund Diversity Panel are now open. The panel will be made up of 1,000 people who live, work or study in Camden who will help us decide how £2 million is invested in local businesses.

Richard highlighted Camden’s strengths and the importance of working collaboratively across the borough to share resource, expertise and influence to improve life for everyone who calls Camden home.

“Across our civic and community leaders, our businesses, our knowledge institutions, our public sector anchors – we have a huge amount of expertise, wealth and ideas, all seated in this room today.”

“Our Missions are all about how we bring those resources together – how we go beyond our individual roles to work together on the things most important to us all.”

We were also pleased to welcome Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister and MP for Holborn and St Pancras, who shared the purpose of the event:

“Everybody is here for one reason, united in wanting to make Camden a better place and making a real difference to people’s lives.”

Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Richard Olszewski, stands at a podium with two microphones speaking to the audience. He is wearing a navy suit, blue and white striped shirt and a green tie. He is gesturing with his hands as he speaks.
Sir Kier Starmer, Prime Minister and MP for Holborn and St Pancras, stands at a podium with two microphones. He is mid-speech, addressing the audience. He is wearing a navy blue suit, blue tie, white shirt and glasses.
Sir Kier Starmer meets Lifeafterhummus lead, Farrah, guest at the event. Farrah wears and blue, orange, black and white top with a We Make Camden lanyard. Kier wears a navvy suit, blue tie and white shirt. There are other people in the background of the photo.
Sir Kier Starmer stands between Milli-Rose and Alex Emeh-Gapo (event hosts) - they are all smiling. Milli-Rose has curly hair and wears and strappy black top and cream combat trousers. Alex wears a black suit, blue shirt and navy tie. Keir Starmer wears a navy suit, blue tie, white shirt and glasses. There are other people in the background of the photo.
Sir Kier Starmer stands between Kevin Koffi and Jadye Allen from Khadys Dream - everyone is smiling. Kevin wears a cream t-shirt and We Make Camden Lanyard. Kier wears a navy suit, blue tie, white shirt and glasses. Jayde wears a black and green checked jacket and a We Make Camden lanyard. Cllr Richard Olszewski is in the background.
A yellow board reading 'Raise Camden - Pledge your support' holds purple pledge cards with guests' commitments to tackling child poverty written on them.
Three women from Camden Council's Public Health team stand with the Leader of Camden Council, Cllr Richard Olszewski, with a table in front of them which has the new Raise Camden report on. Beside them is a Raise Camden pull-up banner and a board asking guests to make to tackle child poverty.

The movement is growing

Our We Make Camden movement is growing stronger every year, with more and more partners joining us to work towards our shared Missions for the borough.

The annual Summit is more than just an event – it’s a platform for action. It’s an opportunity to inspire and support new partners to turn ideas into tangible projects.

Many businesses pledged their support at the event, from creating new apprenticeship opportunities for young people to funding community-led projects on Camden’s estates.

It’s only through collaboration that we’ll find the solutions needed to make a positive impact in our communities, achieving more together than we ever could alone.

“Collaboration is the only way for us to achieve long-term, system level change. ”

Jayde Allen, Khadys Dream

A large number of guests at the Summit sit in a auditorium facing the stage. There are rainbow coloured lights in the ceiling, creating a colour hue over guests.
A woman from the Council's Public Health team bends down to speak to a guest. She is wearing a purple dress and a We Make Camden lanyard - she is smiling. The face of the guest she is speaking to is blurred.
A member of the Camden Community Wealth Fund Youth Panel is standing at a British Library podium addressing a room of people. She is wearing a black and white top, white cardigan, We Make Camden lanyard and glasses. There is wooden panelling on the walls behind and Alain 'Fusion' Clapham can be seen standing to the side of the room - he wears a white short sleeved shirt.
Two event guests are in conversation and laughing. The man wears a grey suit, white shirt and We Make Camden Summit lanyard, and the woman wears a blue denim jumpsuit, gold hoops and a lanyard - she also holds a water bottle and has a green coat over her arm. Other guests are in the background of the photo.
A member of the Child Poverty Panel is speaking on stage. She is sat in a chair holding a black and orange microphone. She wears a navy floral printed blazer with purple flowers on.
Kevin Koffi and Jayde Allen are on the stage facing towards the audience sitting in the auditorium. A white slide is on a large screen behind them, reading 'Kevin Koffi & Jayde Allen' alongside the blue Khadys Dream logo. There is a British sign language interpreter on the right of the stage.

Join us

The Summit may be over for another year but the Missions work doesn’t stop – and we want you to be a part of it.

Whether you’re a resident, business, community organisation, business or knowledge institution, there are loads of ways you can get involved to shape Camden’s future.

Email our Partnerships team at WeMakeCamden@camden.gov.uk to explore how we can work together.

We all have the power to make a difference. And when we use that power and work together, amazing things happen.

We can make real and lasting change.

📷 Photo credit: Jenna Selby   📽️ Video credit: Des Burkinshaw

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