DAME VIVIENNE WESTWOOD WILL TAKE TO THE PODIUM TO INSPIRE CHARITY CAMPAIGNERS

Dame Vivienne Westwood will close annual campaigning conference People Power as Inspirational Speaker on Tuesday 6^th March 2012. The British fashion designer and Patron of human rights charitiesLiberty and Reprieve will inspire delegates with her motivations, inspirations and most recent work with rainforest charity Cool Earth.

 Organised by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK) and The Good Agency, People Power will unite charity and NGO campaigners with leading thinkers from government, media and the corporate sector to share experiences and discuss lessons learnt from the past to shape the future of campaigning. Tickets are on sale now at www.peoplepower2012.org.

 With International Women’s Day on Thursday 8^th, People Power will celebrate powerful women within the sector like Dame Vivienne Westwood, as well as offer stimulating debate, workshops and talks. All designed to help make campaigning and activism more effective. Linda Butcher, Chief Executive, Sheila McKechnie Foundation says:

“Dame Vivienne Westwood’s tireless work within the voluntary sector, including her support for Occupy London and recent pledge to tackle climate change, makes her the perfect Inspirational Speaker for People Power.”

Matthew Sherrington, Strategy Director, The Good Agency adds:

“We are thrilled that Vivienne Westwood will be speaking at PeoplePower 2012. She has inspired people her whole career, her provocative style achieving stand-out in its own right, and for its political and cultural comment. She knows a thing or two about stirring things up, and igniting people power”.

Other high profile speakers joining Dame Vivienne Westwood include:

• Salil Shetty, Secretary General, Amnesty International
• Deborah Doane, Director, World Development Movement
• Adrian Lovett, European Director, ONE
• Emme-Jane Cross, Founder and Chief Executive, Beatbullying
• John Sauven, Executive Director, Greenpeace
• Juliette Jowit, Senior Writer, the Guardian and the Observer
• Glen Tarman, Head of Advocacy, Bond
• Kirsty McNeill, Director of Strategy, Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown
• Maurice Frankel, Director, Campaign for Freedom of Information
• John Stewart, Chair, HACAN ClearSkies and AirportWatch

For more information on People Power visit: http://www.peoplepower2012.org/

To buy your ticket now, visit: http://peoplepower2012.eventbrite.com/

ENDS

Notes to Editors

 For further information or to request interviews, please contact: 

Brogan Barker on 020 3031 3604 / brogan.barker@thegoodagency.co.uk

• About Dame Vivienne Westwood:

 Vivienne Westwood began designing in 1971 redefining street culture.  The first British designer to show inParissince Mary Quant, Vivienne also led a new direction in fashion when she adapted historical costumes, traditional Savile Row tailoring and British fabrics and made them modern.

 The iconic orb logo represents this, a symbol of taking tradition into the future. Vivienne is a two time winner of the British Designer of the Year award and in 2007, she was awarded the Outstanding Achievement in Fashion at the British Fashion Awards. Her contributions to fashion have also been recognised by her appointment in 2006 as Dame Commander of theBritish Empireby Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

 Vivienne’s work was exhibited throughout the world when the V&A museum hosted a retrospective to celebrate her 34 years in fashion – the largest exhibition ever devoted to a living British fashion designer, which toured for over 4 years.

 Vivienne uses her catwalk shows inParis,LondonandMilanto talk about the urgent need to stop climate change. She is Patron of the human rights charitiesLibertyand Reprieve and is committed to working with the rainforest charity Cool Earth.

For further information, please visit www.activeresistance.co.uk

• About The Sheila McKechnie Foundation:

 The Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK) is the only registered charity in theUKdedicated to connecting, informing and supporting campaigners.  SMK promotes the rights of campaigners and believes that they play a vital role in achieving true democracy.  The charity runs an annual awards programme to support new and emerging campaigners, a series of events about effective campaigning and manages the online community for campaigners (campaigncentral.org.uk).

 For further information please visit www.smk.org.uk

• About The Good Agency:

 The Good Agency create communications that inspire action.

 The Good Agency have brought together expertise in branding, fundraising, campaigning and communications for over 15 years. They work above, below, through and on-line in the voluntary, private and public sectors. And they do this all for one reason: to make good things happen.

 For further information, please visit www.thegoodagency.co.uk