OffGrid Agenda 2026
Our theme this year will look at uncertainty and our relationship with it.
As AI and technology continue to speed the car up to our supposed destination, we’ll be looking at the value of trusting in people to do their thing, creative thinking, ideas and challenging existing narratives to create something new.
Differentiation vs sameness.
We’ve spent just under a year pulling together what I really believe are some of our best thinkers. They’ll share their ideas, not pull their punches and look at the importance of uncertainty (and the potential fallacy of certainty), through a commercial, cultural and social lens.
Sir John Timpson – What happens when you put people first
One of the UK’s most inspiring business leaders & entrepreneurs, Sir John will share what he has learnt from people-first leadership. Sir John transformed a family business, with an emphasis on trust, empowerment and a radically human approach to organisational culture.
Ash Sarkar – Minority Rule – adventures in the culture wars
British journalist & political commentator, Ash Sarkar will provide a reality check on culture wars, blame cycles and distraction, urging deeper systemic thinking beyond surface narratives that divide society.
Carissa Veliz –Prophecy. Predicting the future or determining it?
How in control of the future are we? Lecturer, philosopher, tech & AI ethics commentator, Carissa Veliz, will be looking at prediction, power and privacy and what happens when technology starts claiming certainty about the future
Adam Mastroianni – The decline of deviancy
Experimental psychologist Adam Mastroianni will challenge us to look at whether there is a cultural shift towards conformity, arguing that mischief, risk-taking and deviation fuel creativity, exploration and progress and it may be leaving the room.
David Buonaguidi – Making and doing things that matter
David worked in advertising for over 30 years – founder of St Luke’s, set up 4Creative, Karmarama – success!!.. but he then decided it wasn’t stacking up and left to become an artist. David will be coming to talk about life pre, during and post Adland and the role of creativity, ideas and stepping into the unknown.
Margaret Heffernan – Embracing uncertainty and regaining our creativity
How much do we really want certainty? Or fear uncertainty? Tech CEO & author, Margaret Heffernan argues that we must embrace uncertainty to regain creativity, learning from artists’ adaptive thinking to thrive in unpredictable futures.
Carl Benedikt Frey – How progress ends. Technology innovation and the fate of nations
Is economic and technological progress inevitable? Are we on the great leap forward, as often promised. Carl looks at the current innovation cycles as well as what has come before us, to challenge the belief in “inevitable progress”, showing how technological and institutional dynamics shape national futures and innovation outcomes.
Joel Morris – Be Funny or die. How comedy works and why it matters
Comedy is a game that all humans play. It can soothe our pain, vent our anger, make us feel less alone and provide the answer to life’s most difficult questions. So, what are the rules? How does comedy do its magic and why does it matter. Award winning writer, Joel Morris, will be coming to both deconstruct the craft and show us what comedy really tells us about ourselves.
Hilary Powell – How art and culture create real change
Can communities effect change? Artist and cultural activist – Hilary Powell – believes so. Hilary will discuss how through art, communities can engage, participate, connect and challenge the macro narratives we are given to reimagine better systems and better futures.
Jamie Bartlett – How to talk to AI (and how not to)
How often are you talking to an LLM? Claude? ChatGPT? Do you understand why they respond as they do – and does it matter anyway? Technology commentator, journalist & author, Jamie Bartlett, will be offering practical insights on understanding how AI thinks, how it’s reshaping us, and how to engage with it critically and creatively.
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are musical mavericks who turn the humble uke into a genre-defying powerhouse, blending virtuosity, wit and sheer originality. Described by NME as “both hilarious and heartfelt,” they have earned admirers worldwide, including David Bowie, who said: “In their company the usual divisions between one sort of music and another dissolve. Now punk, now a symphony, now both together.”
