Festival of the Oppressed 2025
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The world is in a bad place and the future doesn’t look bright. Across much of the world, from the centres of imperialism to occupied Palestine, we are witnessing advances for a far-right that seeks to remake people in their own, oppressive image. Against this dark vision of the future, rs21 is organising our inaugural Festival of the Oppressed. Lenin described revolutions as, ‘festivals of the oppressed and exploited’, and to transform this unequal, undemocratic world, in the face of climate catastrophe, we need nothing short of a revolution. We want to reignite popular agency, build new solidarities, and imagine alternative futures.
But we need to work out how we get there. Join our weekend of spirited discussion, concerted investigation and collective fun, as we come together to explore how oppression, in its racialised, gendered, sexual, colonial and classed forms, is structured and reproduced today. How are forms of oppression defined and remade by capitalism? And how might we be best placed to resist and transcend this oppressive social world?
The event is taking place in London on 21-22 June, we welcome anyone interested in these questions to join us and enrich these conversations. There will be several workshops, panel discussions and more over the weekend.
Speakers include:
Shanice McBean, Sita Balani, Gabriel Winant, Alyssa Battistoni, Helen Charman, Alex Stoffel, Sivamohan Valluvan, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Paul Murphy TD, Tithi Bhattacharya, Robert Chapman, Barnaby Raine.
More details and full programme coming soon!
Accessibility
The building is wheelchair accessible with lifts and accessible toilets. Full accessibility info can be found here.