Spotlight: IPPC 2025

The theme of 2025’s conference was Words of Unity, Acts of Hope. 

Despite the widespread optimism heralded by last year’s global election marathon, the first few months of 2025 appear to have been marked by a return to the politics of fear and uncertainty. From the horrors of the wars in Gaza, Sudan and DRC and threats to international humanitarian law, the return of Donald Trump’s brand of nativist politics and the creeping ascent of the global far-right, to the more existential threats posed by climate change and the rolling out of Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives across social, political and economic life. Indeed, commentators believe that we are reaching a dangerous turning point in history and a shift towards a more unequal and chaotic world order. 

Yet despite this uncertainty, there are many reasons to remain hopeful about the future. For example, in the days and weeks following the UK far-right riots during the summer of 2024, charities such as Conversations Over Borders and Action Foundation launched campaigns to deliver messages of compassion, solidarity and hope to many of those affected by the violence. Across the Occupied Palestinian territories, moreover, Jewish and Palestinian activists and civil society organisations are working together to raise awareness of the mass human rights abuses being committed by the state of Israel. Indeed, in the face of concerns about climate change and the role of AI, new communications technologies are creating stronger, more resilient networks of scientific collaboration and youth activism for change.

The annual IPPC conference brings together students, activists, politicians and public relations experts to discuss and address these vital challenges. Beginning with a special keynote address by the journalist and historian Taj Ali, the conference included a series of lectures, workshops and film screenings organised around the themes of unity and hope. 

2025 guest speakers

Taj Ali 

Taj Ali is an award-winning historian, journalist and campaigner, whose work focuses on class and socio-economic inequality. He is a former co-Editor of the Tribune magazine and his work has been featured in The Independent, Guardian, Metro and Huffington Post, and he regularly appears on BBC. More recently, Taj has been chosen as the winner of the prestigious RSL Giles St. Aubyn Award for his forthcoming book Come What May, We’re Here to Stay: A Story of South Asian Resistance (University of Manchester Press, 2025). The book sheds light on an important but neglected aspect of British Asian history and identity, and provides a blueprint for political organising in the 21st century. 

Cllr Dave McCobb 

Cllr Dave McCobb is the  Director of Field Campaigns for the Liberal Democrats. For the past 20-years, he has led a variety of winning campaigns and is considered the “mastermind” behind the Liberal Democrats’ recent electoral gains, playing a major role in breaking the “blue wall” of former Conservative-held areas across southern England. As a local councillor, he represents the Beverly & Newland Ward in Hull, where has a track record of running public communication campaigns and addressing the needs of his constituents. 

Rebecca Blanchard-Zintout

Rebecca Blanchard-Zintout studied IPPC between 2018-2019. Following graduation, Rebeccca went straight into a work placement with CNN international, Paris, and also worked for the Freuds group. She currently works as a communications and media relations officer for Sky, handling press inquiries, preparing comms materials and organising events. 

Annalisa Toccara-Jones

Annalisa Toccara-Jones studied IPPC between 2019-2020 and is currently studying for a PhD in the School of Journalism, Media and Communication. Her research focuses on public communication and adoption, exploring its societal impact, racial disparities, adoptee identity, media narratives, social media discourse, and the legacies of colonial adoption practices in the UK. Annalisa is also an award-winning producer, communications strategist, and director of Family Narratives, an anti-racist educational consultancy.

Thanaselan Rajendran

Thanaselan Rajendran studied IPPC between 2018-2019. He is the director and managing partner of Endeavour - MGC, a Malaysian political research and consultancy firm. He is also the chief executive of MyFarm Lab, a social enterprise that works with disadvantaged communities to create sustainable agro-technology practices and entrepreneurship.

Dr Maria Tomlinson 

Maria Tomlinson is a lecturer in Public Communication and Gender in the School of Journalism, Media and Communication, and is the author of The Menstrual Movement in the Media: Reducing Stigma and Tackling Social Inequalities (2024). Her research examines how journalists, activists, and civil society groups communicate with the public about gender and feminism through the media. As part of her research, Maria has collaborated with a broad range of NGOs and grassroots activists to improve the way they communicate about health-related topics such as menstruation and menopause.   

Acushla Young

Acushla Young is the Director of Programmes and Development at the global justice charity Irise International and Research Assistant at the University of Sheffield As part of her work, Acushla provides consultancy, training and fundraising support regarding community engagement, menstrual health, inclusive RSE, disability, empowering young people and engaging within these themes for researchers, educators, charities and other Non-Governmental Organisations.

Conversations Over Borders

Conversations Over Borders is an educational charity who support forcibly displaced people to share their experience with the British public in order to campaign for a fairer society. They offer English-language support, one-to-one online befriending, mental health support, and digital access and inclusion to people fleeing war and persecution. When far-right violence spread across the UK in the summer of 2024, Conversations Over Borders launched an innovative campaign to send a message of hope to those affected. 

Screening: No Other Land (2024)
Dir. Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham & Rachael Szor

No Other Land is an Oscar-winning documentary that recounts the forced displacement of the people of Masafer Yatta in the Occupied West Bank. It was made by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli activists as “an act of resistance on the path to justice”. In addition to winning an Academy Award for best documentary, the film has also won the Panorama Audience Award and Berlinale Documentary Award.