About.





Speakers’ Corner Trust (SCT) was established in 2007 and is concerned with citizens’ abilities to engage in open public debate, free speech and active citizenship. In creating new opportunities for people to come together to discuss their interests and priorities, we are tapping into that reservoir of ideas, intelligence and community spirit which make neighbourhoods, cities and societies viable. SCT is a small charity with big aims.


Whether running research projects into the impact of Covid 19 on local democracy or helping to give care leavers more of a voice in society, we are interested in working with national and local partners who share our values.


We run a very efficient organisation with minimal overheads. If you share our values and would like to become a research, project, or sponsoring partner please get in touch. You can donate as an individual or a grant-making body via the CAF here [link] However please contact us first to discuss what you would like to see happen as a result of your generous giving.



Promoting freedom of speech, public debate and active citizenship.





Trustees.



Louise Third MBE



Chair and interim CEO



I was a member of the founding committee for Nottingham Speakers’ Corner, and remain the main contact for the project in King Street. Between 2010 – 2015 I served as a Trustee and Director, and returned as Chair in 2018. My role has been to oversee a review of the charity, and work with my fellow Trustees to plan for a sustainable future.


My professional life is in public relations, public affairs and corporate communications. I enjoy making speeches, and writing speeches for others. The aim of Speakers’ Corner Trust appeals to the radical and the campaigner in me. Feelings that get even stronger with age!



Stella Femi Bolt



Trustee



I have been a Speakers' Corner Trust director and trustee since 2018.


I am a community activist, passionate about fairness and equality and organiser of the ‘We Are Superwoman’ women empowerment conferences which were held annually from 2015-2018.


I am a speaker, writer and project manager currently working for the Croydon BME Forum.



Michael Ezra



Trustee



Natan Sharansky, the former Soviet dissident, divides countries of the world into two categories: those where you can stand in the town centre and denounce the government without fear of arrest or worse, and those where you cannot. Fortunately, the UK is in the first category. Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park is the practical embodiment of that freedom. There is no reason for such freedom to be confined to central London.


Speakers’ Corner Trust celebrates and promotes this freedom around the country and even beyond. It is this spirit that attracted me to the charity where I have served as a Trustee and Director since 2018. After qualifying as a Chartered Accountant, I have worked in investment banking and fund management. I provide a wise eye over the financial affairs of the charity. Voluntary work as a Trustee makes me feel good!



History





2007-2017



SCT was the brainchild of Peter Bradley, former Labour MP for The Wrekin and a public affairs consultant. He gathered a small, supportive group to develop the aims and objectives of the charity, and to form the first Board of Trustees. Peter stepped down as director in 2018. Peter can be contacted at petercsbradley@gmail.com.


Local Speakers’ Corners


Under Peter’s guidance, SCT was instrumental in helping to establish a number of physical speakers’ corners across England. The first pilot Corner launched in King Street Nottingham in February 2008, and the second was in Lichfield in 2009. Run by local committees of volunteer enthusiasts, the Corners organise annual programmes of gatherings to debate, campaign, or simply celebrate something together. Other Corners were started in Croydon, Reading, Medway, Ipswich, Leeds, Brighton & Hove, Sheffield, Bradford, Leicester, Herefordshire, Walthamstow, Lincoln, and Bristol. However most are now dormant, awaiting the renewed interest of an active group of local citizens!







"Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of democratic life. It is by the free exchange of ideas among citizens about how they should live together and how they should be governed that we create and sustain the democratic society. So the rights to free association and expression are scarcely less important than the right to live in peace and free from want."

Václav Havel, playwright, former President of the Czech Republic, Founding Patron of Speakers’ Corner Trust



Partners.





We work closely with the following partners.



Pitt-Watson Barnes Trust



TMF Global Services (UK) Limited provide pro bono company secretarial services and handle the charity governance requirements with Companies House.



Donations from the Pitt-Watson Barnes Trust enabled the organisational review in 2019, and contributed to the development of the new SCT Online Forum for Debate.



The Joseph Rowntree SST Charitable Trust has provided grant funding for the 2020/21 research project ‘Covid 19 impact on local democracy’.



Promoting freedom of expression



Registered Office: c./o Tmf Group 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London, United Kingdom, EC4A 4AB
Speakers’ Corner Trust
Company registration 06116102
Charity No 1120913