Brendan Barber, General Secretary, TUC 

Frank Cottrell-Boyce, playwright and screenwriter (24 hour party people, millions, welcome to Sarajevo) Phil Redmond, Deputy Chair of the Liverpool Culture Company and the Culture Collective

 

We will be showing the film 'Grow Your Own' and holding a session with Carl Hunter, one of the film's writers. And we will also be showcasing 3 or 4 local bands (including The Trestles, Alun Parry, and Claire Mooney).

The day will also include a series of CONVERSATIONS 

 

"Whatever happened to the protest song?" - has the protest song disappeared? And what use are they to political campaigning organisations anyway? Do they ever make a difference? - with Steve Higginson, Ian Prowse, Amsterdam, Peter Hooton, The Farm, Alun Parry, The Alun Parry Band, Alan O'Hare, The Trestles

 

Getting trade unions back in the script - there used to be a time when the trade union story played a part in fiction - remember Bobby Grant in Brookside? But now the unions are written out, and only seem to feature in tales of 'glorious defeats'. How can trade unions get back in the script, and what should the storyline be?

Stephanie Power, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Frank Hont, Unison 

 

"The new mass market (agency workers & freelancers)" - if more and more people are becoming agency, freelance and 'portfolio' workers, what challenges does this pose to trade union organising?

Dr Jennifer Johns, University of Liverpool, Sam Meech, freelance designer, Vinny Lawrenson-Woods, Culturepool 

Art and earnings - how do unions support artists and people working in the cultural arena to get paid 'the rate for the job'. How do people move away from the idea that artists just work for the love of it

David Jacques, Kelly Wood, MU, Dave Cotterill, Bright Moon Films 

 

Whose capital, whose culture? We've had capital of culture year, but who was it for? What kind of culture was promoted during 08? Were local artists involved? Or were we all simply spectators?

Kate Rodenhurst, Impacts 08, Phil Thornton, Spider Project, Joe Ankrah, Capitalists of culture 

 

Art for everyone? - Who got involved in the year? Who did the events impact on? Has 08 made art more accessible to a greater number of people? How do you encourage more people to get involved in the arts/culture?

Ruth Gould, DadaFest and Claire Rider, marketing manager, National Museums Liverpool 

 

Where do people go for their politics? - if fewer people are joining political parties, and trade unions are struggling to maintain membership levels, does this mean people aren't interested in politics? What do people consider political activism now? And how are people getting political messages?

Kevin McManus, Director, ACME and Phil Hayes, The Picket 

More information is available from

 

Alan Manning 

TUC NW Regional Secretary 

0151 236 5432 

www.tuc.org.uk/northwest