This year our annual Symposium took place at The Temporary Theatre, National Theatre, South Bank, London on Friday 20th February 2015. Entitled ‘Great Minds. (Think. Differently.)’, this year’s event continued the participatory debate we began last year with It’s a Man’s World. This year’s twist on the panel debate and key note speeches was facilitated by […] … more »

In a blog we posted back in January this year we asked the question ‘Is Ched Evans Your Problem’ as part of our regular dialogue with the general public we call Great Minds. Here at Safe Ground we don’t just highlight issues or problems, we provide solutions. One suggestion we made was the following: “Football […] … more »

The stage was set figuratively by a quotation by the poet Muhammad Iqbal that was emblazoned on the wall in the centre of the National Theatre’s Temporary Theatre: ‘Nations are born in the hearts of poets, they prosper and die in the hands of politicians.’ The layers of meaning are manifold because subtext is nuanced […] … more »

In the spirit of dialogue opened up at our Great Minds symposium last Friday 20th February our friends at Give-A-Book relay their impressions and reactions to the event with a blog on their website that you can find here. … more »

Kathy Evans, Chief Executive of Children England, argues that the voluntary sector devalues itself when tries to put a price on what it does. Evans argues that “charities today are routinely compared with commercial business or public services. We should, apparently, be more like one or both of them, less like ourselves.” To read her full article […] … more »

It has been widely acknowledged that there is a wide difference between what political parties say and what voters think those parties will do in office. In Matthew Taylor’s new post he outlines a new approach to political debate in order to tackle this topic. Read more here.   … more »

Russell Webster writes about the challenges of modern commissioning where it is generally recognised that most offenders or people with addictions face multiple problems which interlock and reinforce each other. Read more here. … more »

In The Telegraph’s latest article, Jessica Abrahams explores why prison population figures weigh in favour of men. Focusing on gender roles, Abrahams highlights how programmes like Man Up have helped to tackle issues surrounding masculinity head on. To read The Telegraph’s latest article on issues with crime and gender please click here. … more »

At Safe Ground, we believe that open and honest dialogue and debate is the only way to begin overcoming entrenched or contentious issues. So with the announcement today that Oldham Athletic are set to sign Ched Evans, convicted of rape in April 2012, two members of the team decided to debate whether he should be […] … more »