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Elevate Great's Inaugural Lecture - Who's In Charge?

12 October 2026
York, UK

In collaboration with

“Change is possible and it’s the many, not the few, who will ultimately deliver it.” These were the remarks of Elevate Great’s CEO, Dr Sophie Flemig, as she opened the inaugural lecture in a new series co-hosted with the University of York.

The event - held on 9th October - is the first in an annual series between our organisations which will explore themes of life, justice, and inequality. 

The partnership between Elevate Great and the University of York reflects a shared commitment to advancing social justice and connecting ideas with action, combining University of York’s research with Elevate Great’s experience of building alliances for change across the public, private, and third sectors. It also connects directly to our joint commitment to public good.

The lecture attracted a large audience to York’s Guildhall to hear from our speaker, Ingrid Robeyns, Professor of Ethics of Institutions at Utrecht University and a leading public intellectual who contributes widely to debates on justice, democracy and economic inequality. 

In her keynote address – ‘Who’s in Charge?' - Ingrid made the case for renewed citizenship to help tackle some of societies deep-rooted and persistent challenges. 

This was followed by an absorbing panel discussion hosted by Elevate Great’s CEO, Dr Sophie Flemig and featuring Professor Karen Rowlingson (Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of York), Professor John Wright (Director of the Bradford Institute for Health Research), and Andrew Milligan (Economist). All our panellists brought their unique perspectives and constructive challenge to the discussion. 

Elevate Great would like to thank all participants, including the Guildhall audience, for their questions and engagement.

Author info

Barry Cameron

Barry Cameron

Director of Strategic Communications

Barry is a communications leader with over 25 years of experience in media relations, public affairs, consumer PR and internal communications.

During this time, he has advised CEOs and leadership teams on reputational matters across a broad range of issues – including merger & acquisition and crisis management.

His roles have included an Executive position with one of the UK’s largest long-term savings firms, and leadership of external communications for a global asset manager. Working within FTSE 50 organisations for brands such as Standard Life and Tesco Bank he has successfully managed many communications campaigns.

He has a degree in Politics from the University of Stirling and spent the early years of his career as an assistant to Westminster and Holyrood parliamentarians.

Barry has prior experience of the charitable sector, having served as a non-executive Trustee of a national Scottish charity (CHAS) for ten years.

At Elevate Great Barry is responsible for all our internal and external communications and uses his excellent stakeholder management credentials to identify and collaborate with the right partners to help us achieve our goals.