When:

23rd June 2009, 06:30PM

Where:

Demos, 3rd Floor Magdalen House, 136 Tooley St, London SE1 2TU

David North - Government Affairs Director, Tesco
Jo Swinson - MP for East Dunbartonship and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs
Francis Maude  - MP for Horsham and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Silvia Guglielmi - Researcher, Demos
Dr. Alessandra Buonfino - Programme Leader, the Young Foundation, and Demos Associate

Richard Reeves - Director, Demos (Chair)

Demos is delighted to launch Wishful Thinking, a new pamphlet exploring the wishes and aspiration of the British population.

The report, based on 12 months of research in communities across the UK, paints a portrait of a society of individuals who have simple and pragmatic personal aspirations, but express a desire for large-scale global change.  While people are largely content with the circumstances of their own lives, the world “out there” feels insecure and uncertain.

The launch event will interrogate the impact of the current economic downturn upon people’s capacity to think positively about their futures, and on their ability to enact their wishes. Jo Swinson MP, Francis Maude MP, Silvia Guglielmi and Alessandra Buonfino will talk about the implications of the report in the context of the recession in a discussion chaired by Demos’ Director Richard Reeves.

We regret that this event is by invitation only. Please contact events@demos.co.uk or 0207 367 6333 for more information about the project and publication.

We are grateful to Tesco for their kind support of this project and publication.