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Speakers’ Corner Trust is a registered charity which promotes free expression, public debate and active citizenship as a means of revitalising civil society in the UK and supporting its development in emerging democracies.

SCT’s approach is based on the belief that association between citizens and the free, face-to-face exchange of ideas, information and opinions – with each other as well as with the decision-takers among them – is a key to rebuilding trust and participation in Britain’s civil society and developing vibrant civil institutions and robust rights in emerging democracies.


  • Programmes & Projects

    SCT currently has three core programmes. To date it has focused principally on the development of local Speakers’ Corner projects in the UK which it is hoped will over time form a growing national network. However, SCT also has an international programme which it launched in 2009 with a major national initiative in Nigeria. Finally, SCT is developing an educational programme to provide a range of resources for senior secondary school students and adult citizens emphasising the importance and showcasing the techniques of active and vocal citizenship.

    Read more about SCT’s programmes and projects.

  • Special Initiatives & Resources

    SCT has formed a number of partnerships with major organisations through which it is able to pursue special initiatives which it could not undertake alone. It has, for example, worked with the Southbank Centre on the production of Speaking Out, a download designed to provide an introduction to the basic skills required for speaking in public, and with Central St Martins College of Art & Design, part of the University of the Arts London, on the design of prototype Speakers’ Corners.

    Read More »

  • News

    • SCT Launches Mobile Speakers’ Corner Design

      SCT has planned from the outset to create a mobile Speakers’ Corner which can be taken out into the community, urban or rural, to provide people with a platform in their own neighbourhood.

      Now a unique partnership has made this ambition possible. SCT has developed a brief and, with the help of the Bristol Old Vic theatre, launched a competition to design a mobile Speakers’ Corner which the Old Vic will then construct. The competition is being advertised on the Theatre Bristol website as well as the Royal Society of Arts’ Arts & Ecology site and it is hoped that the prototype will be available in late April.

      Read More »

    • SCT Launches Forum for Debate

      SCT has launched its new online Forum for Debate with a debate on The NHS and Finite Public Funds: the Case for Charging. David Furness of the Social Market Foundation proposes the introduction of charges to reduce unnecessary demand for GP services as a means of narrowing the shortfall in NHS funding; Joe Farrington-Douglas of the NHS Confederation opposes the idea on both ethical and economic grounds.

      The debate is the first in a series which will provide protagonists on either side of an issue with an opportunity to set out well-considered, rational arguments as a means of stimulating a broader public debate. SCT’s partner in the initiative, the British Library will provide an accessible bibliography of further sources of information on the topic.

      Read More »

    • ‘Speaking of Free Speech’ Quotes Available For Your Website

      You’ll see at the top right hand corner of every page on SCT’s website a well known – or perhaps not so well known – quotation on the subject of freedom of expression drawn from the Speaking of Free Speech page in our Library. Each time you visit a new page, the quotation changes.

      We’re now able to provide this resource to your website. If you would like to import Speaking of Free Speech quotations so that they appear in random order on your blog or website, just go to our Quotes for Your Website page to find out how.

      Read More »

  • Calling All Designers

    SCT, with the support of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre, is launching a competition for the design of a mobile Speakers' Corner.

    The competition is being advertised on Theatre Bristol's and the RSA's Art & Ecology websites. You can also access the Design Brief through this site but should enter the competition via Theatre Bristol.

    The competition winner will receive a commission worth up to £500 and it's intended that the winning design will be be constructed by the Old Vic by the end of April.

    Read more and access the brief »

  • Forum for Debate

    SCT’s new Forum page features debates and occasional essays about key issues as a means of showcasing ideas, providing a platform for opinion and informing and stimulating debate elsewhere.

    The first debate - on The NHS and Finite Public Funds: The Case for Charging - brings together the Social Market Foundation and the NHS Confederation to argue for and against the case for selective charging within the NHS.

    Would it threaten people's health and undermine the founding principles of the NHS or inject much needed realism into thinking about NHS funding and help sustain the health service through difficult economic times?

    Follow the debate »

  • Speaking Out

    Speaking Out is a new film jointly commissioned by SCT and the Southbank Centre which seeks to provide inspiration and encouragement to people who have opinions and ideas to communicate - and we need to hear - but perhaps lack the confidence or experience to express publicly.

    The fifteen minute film features campaigners, performers and politicians including poet Lemn Sissay, Justice Secretary Jack Straw and rock singer Natascha Eleanoré who share some of the basic skills they've learned from their own experiences.

    View the Film »

  • Get in Touch

    If you'd like to start your own local Speakers' Corner project, or let us know your suggestions for future SCT activities, comment on this website or join our mailing list, please do get in touch. Just click here for our contact details and to subscribe.

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