In partnership with Decathlon, London Sport hosted Active LDN 2023 on 17 October at Decathlon’s flagship store in Surrey Quays. The conference brought together all corners of the sport and physical activity sector and beyond to educate, inform, share ideas, and provide opportunities for networking and collaboration.
The event convened more than 300 guests to focus on “Active Solutions to London’s Challenges”. As the capital grapples with a number of issues including the child inactivity crisis, increased cost of living, high levels of obesity, poor mental health, loneliness and climate change, the conference encouraged attendees to think innovatively about how sport and physical activity can be used to combat some of these challenges.
Attendees saw an impressive line-up of high-profile keynote speakers to kick off the day, followed by specialised sessions that delve into relevant topics such as place-based approaches and driving effective co-production.
Read more about our speakers
Title: Chair
Chris has been CEO of a successful UK-wide charity (Sported); tutored multiple medal-winning coaches in the Olympic and Paralympic sports, and contributed to the learning, development and strategy formulation of hundreds of organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Chris has recently been appointed Chair of the British Basketball Federation, and also chairs English Professional Football’s Integrated Coaching Board, a partnership aiming to modernise and improve career and learning pathways for coaches and managers in the men’s and women’s game. Chris served two terms as an Independent Board Member of Sport England, where he focused on widening participation in sport and activity for all, and was the driving force in initiatives aiming for national teams and leaders in sport to reflect the broader population. He was a member of the Commission on the future of Women’s Sport; Deputy Chair of International Inspiration, the ground-breaking London 2012 International Development Programme, and has also sat on Comic Relief’s UK Grants Committee. In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Chris was awarded an OBE for services to sport.
Title: Research and Policy Manager
Shriya has worked on a global level on impact projects around Europe, India, Ghana and Malaysia. Developing strategy for the European Commission she has worked on Erasmus programmes specifically geared toward sport and sustainability. She worked on the Commonwealth Games 2022
in Birmingham and is passionate about netball, archery and tag rugby; having played competitively and won domestic honours. Shriya is now the lead researcher at Sporting Equals, driving change through data and opinion gathering to inform on policy change.
Lawrence is a highly qualified coach with extensive experience in football coaching spanning over two decades. He holds a UEFA A licence and an Advanced Youth Award, demonstrating his commitment to professional development. His coaching journey began with six years of teaching in primary and secondary education in West Yorkshire, before spending five years coaching football in Utah, USA, where he played a pivotal role in developing various community programs. Subsequently, he dedicated four seasons to coaching in the academy at Bradford City Football Club, before joining The FA In 2013 as a part-time coach mentor in West Riding, supporting grassroots coaches in their personal and professional growth. By 2015, Lawrence had become a full-time Regional PE & Coaching in Education Coordinator for the South East of England, where he facilitated the development of community coaches affiliated with professional football clubs. In 2020, Lawrence assumed the position of Coach Development Officer, but has since taken up the role of a National Coach Development Lead, overseeing a team of Regional coach development officers across the England.
Her thought leadership and the impact on her work for her clients have been recognised through multiple awards. In 2022, she was made a Research Hero for services to the research industry and was elected to the main Board of the Market Research Society. Prior to joining the commercial sector, Marie-Claude held the post of Lecturer in Social Psychology at the LSE for seven years. Marie-Claude recently authored the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC)’s high-profile report on Lived Experiences of Discrimination in Cricket
Christian d’Ippolito is an award-winning media professional that has been involved in a NASDAQ listing and two major company acquisitions. He is now the driving force behind Steel Warriors, an anti-knife crime charity that turns confiscated knives into outdoor gyms; using calisthenics as a medium for social change. He is fascinated by urban sports, video culture, social media, emerging platforms and how all of these are converging.
Andrew has been in his role as Assistant Director for Greenspace and Leisure at Islington Council for the last six years. Prior to that he’s been involved in urban parks management and working with communities to improve their local environment for the last 25 years. Andrew is focussed on reducing health inequalities for Islington’s residents by getting people active, getting them outdoors in nature and reducing social isolation.
Mark is the Executive Director of the National Park City Foundation and London National Park City. Mark was previously Chief Executive of the civic technology charity mySociety, and enjoyed a diverse career in digital communications and campaigning as COO of design consultancy BERG, a senior advisor at political campaigners Blue State Digital, and volunteering on the national executive of the Green Party of England & Wales for five years.
Originally studying Architecture at Strathclyde University, he got his commercial start in 1996 working for a small web design agency in Birmingham before setting up glue London, the UK’s first digital advertising agency in 1999, going on to become global managing director of Isobar, following glue’s acquisition in 2005.
In an increasingly interconnected sector, addressing complex challenges requires innovative and collaborative solutions and approaches. This workshop invites participants to explore the alignment between place-based approaches, collaboration, and sustainability. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how focusing on the needs and opportunities of specific geographic locations can lead to more effective problem-solving, community engagement and the capacity to foster collaboration, ensuring long-term sustainability.
Title: Chair & Founder
Yashmin Harun BEM is a champion for MSA but wears several hats in which she continues to challenge National Governing Bodies to improve representation, accessibility and opportunities for not only South Asian females but for the community as a whole. Despite her role as a Credit Policy & Governance Officer at SMBC Banking International, Yashmin is currently studying for her Masters in Global Public Policy for which she was awarded a scholarship.
Yashmin is a multi-award winning trailblazer, breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes. As the first Muslim woman to become an iNED at British Fencing, elected Director at London FA, member of the FA National Game Board and FA Council Member, as well as her role in banking, she is inspiring the next generation and ensuring diverse voices are influencing strategies and policies to ensure sports becomes truly inclusive. Yashmin’s most recent awards includes the Asian Woman of Achievement Award for Sports and Sister in Business Award in 2023.
Yashmin Harun BEM is a champion for MSA but wears several hats in which she continues to challenge National Governing Bodies to improve representation, accessibility and opportunities for not only South Asian females but for the community as a whole. Despite her role as a Credit Policy & Governance Officer at SMBC Banking International, Yashmin is currently studying for her Masters in Global Public Policy for which she was awarded a scholarship.
Yashmin is a multi-award winning trailblazer, breaking barriers and challenging stereotypes. As the first Muslim woman to become an iNED at British Fencing, elected Director at London FA, member of the FA National Game Board and FA Council Member, as well as her role in banking, she is inspiring the next generation and ensuring diverse voices are influencing strategies and policies to ensure sports becomes truly inclusive. Yashmin’s most recent awards includes the Asian Woman of Achievement Award for Sports and Sister in Business Award in 2023.
with Sport England (as one of the 12 local delivery pilots) has provided valuable learning around community development and the conditions needed within a place to tackle inequalities in physical activity.
3 in 5 girls in London are not achieving the recommended levels of activity and therefore not reaping the physical, mental and even social benefits that an active life can bring. In this session, we’ll explore creative solutions that can turn the tide and support a new generation of women and girls to be active.
Title: Head of Insight and Innovation
Tanya is Head of Insight and Innovation at Women in Sport, a UK charity with a 40-year record of success in securing change, based on its deep understanding of the needs and aspirations of women and girls and breaking down stubborn gender inequalities within the sports sector and beyond.
Tanya leads the charity’s influential body of research to understand the impact of significant life-stages on women and girls’ sport and exercise journey. She passionately believes in the power of sport to transform lives and that women and girls should not be denied the joy and freedom sport and exercise offers. Using deep insights into their wider lives, she drives solutions that can create lasting change for women and girls in sport and society. Prior to her role at Women in Sport, Tanya worked in higher education as a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology and is currently an Associate Lecturer at The Open University.
A former professional basketball player having played in countries including Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, England, and United States. Also, a former Bulgaria international having represented Bulgaria in the EuroBasket Championships. Having earned a master’s degree in International Sport Management,
following retirement from professional sport, I pursued a career in the sport industry. I joined Black Prince Trust in 2022 as a Basketball Development Officer and soon after, I was promoted to my current role as Programmes and Partnerships Manager. Prior to joining Black Prince Trust, I worked at University Campus of Football Business (UCFB) as a Deputy UK Events Manager. In addition, I am a basketball coach and over the last two seasons I was the head coach for University College London (UCL) women’s first team. I also coach for Love Basketball Academy, the biggest women’s basketball club in London, as well as Ramla Ali’s Sisters Club, an organisation focusing on providing Muslim women with a safe environment to train without fearing discrimination.
Rebekah is a Sports & Culture Manager at London Youth. She’s a youth sector development specialist, supporting grassroots youth community organisations to deliver pan-London programmes. Prior to London Youth, Rebekah worked in youth organisations spanning both sports and the arts, as well as directly in schools. Rebekah’s journey as a young Londoner was defined by trusted adults in grassroots youth community organisations. Now, her own focus is on providing young Londoners the same positive opportunities she had through programmes such as Good for Girls, using sport and art to help young women discover and develop themselves, and shape social change.
Title: Monitoring & Evaluation Manager
Kelly is the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager at Access Sport, responsible for the charity’s monitoring and evaluation activity, as well as our wider research related activity. Kelly’s role provides evidence and insight to support the ongoing develop of Changing Places and Changing Sports programme delivery and to inform the strategic direction of the organisation. Prior to joining Access Sport, Kelly has worked in research-based roles within the Sport for Development and wider third sector where she worked on numerous research, evaluation and capacity building projects supporting organisations to better understand and evidence the impact of their work.
Join us on the journey as we explore the process of community engagement in sport and physical activity. In this session we will explore the process of moving from co-creation to co-production, reviewing the most effective methods to encourage and empower communities.
Title: Leisure Services Development Manager
Simon joined London Borough of Lambeth in March 2023 overseeing and delivering a range of strategic points including; project managing current and proposed sporting facilities, leading the sports partnership action plan, managing the sports and health development team and over the past two
months working with the parks development team until a head of department has been recruited. Simon’s has previously worked in sports development, project management and policy roles at local authority, Sport England and LOCOG. Recently Simon was the Chief Officer at a non-league football club. Notable achievements include: delivery of over 50 community buildings and parks, leading on the cycling and walking infrastructure plans, supporting the 2012 volunteer recruitment policy, sourcing over £30m of funding and providing over 30,000 inactive or fairly people over 5 years the opportunity to take part in sporting and leisure opportunities and recruiting over 300 young volunteers. In Simon’s spare time, he follows Ipswich Town, plays golf and cycles.
Title: Youth & Community Worker
Luke Billingham is a youth and community worker at Hackney Quest, a long-running grassroots charity in Hackney. He is involved in mentoring, youth voice and community development projects, with a particular focus on the Hackney Wick neighbourhood, where he grew up, and on seeking to see the benefits of Hackney’s many MUGAs maximised for the community. Luke is also an academic researcher based at the Open University, working on a multi-university project looking at the public health approach to violence reduction. In 2020, Luke co-authored the Final Report of the cross-party parliamentary Youth Violence Commission, and in 2022 he co-authored his first book, Against Youth Violence.
Title: Strategic Lead for Football
A recent host of the Olympics, Paralympics, Euros and countless other events, London is undoubtedly a city of sport. But do these major events really justify the investment, and do they live up to their promise of boosting community sport and activity levels?
Title: Professor of Applied Sport Management
Girish’s expertise and primary areas of research include the socio-economic impacts of major sporting events, the social value of community sport and physical activity, and performance in elite and professional sport settings. He has conducted research assignments for a broad range of organisations including agencies in charge of elite and community sport (e.g. UK Sport, Sport England and Sport Ireland), governing bodies of sport (e.g. British Cycling and Rugby Football Union) and organisers of major events (e.g. All England Lawn Tennis Club and London Marathon Events).
Title: Principal Researcher
Title: Baseball/Softball UK
Jon has spent over twenty years in sports development and education, including the Youth Sport Trust, London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games education team, and establishing his own education agency. Jon is now leading the Legacy Programme for the MLB London Series, through which BaseballSoftballUK, Major League Baseball, and the Greater London Authority is using a major sports event to drive engagement and increase participation in baseball and softball.
Title: Senior Manager, Sports Team
Lauren leads the Mayor of London’s sport team, the focus of their programme and policy work is sport for social outcomes primarily through their flagship programme Sport Unites. Prior to the GLA, Lauren spent over 20 years in programme management and began her career in international development, focusing on sport for development before moving back to the UK and leading projects within the youth and VCS sectors in London, she also works as a project management consultant and trainer for non-profits and is a Non-Executive Director for Goalball UK.
Natasha is the founder and director of the fast-growing community disability organisation WeSwim. WeSwim aims to get people out of their homes, integrated into a supportive community and more physically active via swimming. Adults with disabilities face chronic loneliness, and the WeSwim volunteer-led sessions provide a safe space for people to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of being in the water, and being with others. Natasha is an operations and service delivery expert and has 15 years of experience working with not-for-profit organisations in the support of vulnerable groups and disabled people. Previously, she was Service Delivery Manager for Guide Dogs, responsible for strategy, service design and delivery. Prior to that she worked for the Mayor of London as a senior adviser, and for the Blue Cross animal hospital. Alongside full time work, she chaired the disability charity Pimlico Puffins for 10 years.
Grace Roach is a Vision Rehabilitation Assistant for Mertonvision, a charity for visually impaired people. Grace has an extensive career working with people with sight loss, providing practical and emotional support to people wherever they may be on their sight loss journey to enable them to understand their diagnosis, deal with their sight loss and maintain their independence. She has also had many volunteering roles over the years and currently volunteers for Blind Veterans.
In her late teens Grace suffered an accident. This left her with serious visual impairments, and required her having to relearn the basics of walking, talking, and feeding herself. She has faced a long road to rehabilitation, overcoming mental as well as physical challenges. Grace is a passionate advocate of the role community organisations can play supporting rehabilitation and reintegration of disabled people, with dignity and non-discrimination. Her own personal journey has benefited for sport participation. She has done yoga, dance and has recently overcome her fears and started swimming with WeSwim.
support his mental health and ongoing recovery from paralysis. He is also an Independent Advisor for Inclusive Sportswear CIC, umpires hockey at national level in both England and Belgium and has coached at European Cup level
Highlights from Active LDN 2022
Active LDN 2022 saw stellar line-up of inspirational speakers, panel discussions, and interactive workshops.
Our first in-person conference since 2019, Active LDN 2022, put Places and Spaces under the microscope by looking at health inequalities, active environments and design, and children and young people.
Thought leaders, decision-makers, policymakers, and professional and community organisations from across the sector came together to be part of the conversation to shape the future of sport and physical activity in London.
Thanks to our partners
Decathlon was founded in 1976 in Lille, France, with a mission to make sport accessible for the many. Decathlon UK opened its first store in Surrey Quays, London, in 1999 and has since developed into a successful UK sports’ retailer operating from over 47 stores nation-wide, online and through the Decathlon mobile app, giving its many customers a range of convenient ways to shop for their sporting needs.
Play Innovation offers unique physical activity experiences for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It does this through its patented target games – which offer countless physical and mental benefits as well as teach key life skills – and by working collaboratively with partners to transform tired parks, playgrounds and ball courts into welcoming, inclusive and engaging social hubs.
Exergame Europe provides fun and functional fitness technology and gaming fitness products. Also known as active gaming, exergaming, immersive fitness and interactive fitness, products that are geared towards improving overall health and wellness through improved reaction time, balance, co-ordination and strength training exercises. Individuals can challenge themselves to improve their fitness or compete against others with essential feedback through recorded performance scores.
Sid Lee London was established in 2021 following Sid Lee’s acquisition of UK sponsorship agency Infrared. The global creative group, headquartered in Montreal, Canada, currently has seven offices worldwide, including two in Europe. The London office is building its UK reputation around a unique, creative-led full-service offering, working with a growing roster of top-tier sports rights holders and partner brands that include FIFA, Lidl, OPPO and now, London Sport.
Proud Partner of Active LDN 2023
We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s Active LDN and wish everybody an enjoyable and successful evening.
The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile – the financial district and historic centre of London – and is dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK.
We have a long history of supporting sport and physical activity across the Square Mile and beyond, from celebrating major sport and participation events taking place in London to delivering smaller projects and initiatives to encourage our residents and workers to undertake a healthier lifestyle. We work with various partners and stakeholders to deliver on sport events and initiatives that:
- Contribute to a flourishing society through sport participation and encouraging sporting success.
- Shape outstanding environments by utilising our assets and open spaces to encourage physical activity and wellbeing.
- Support a thriving economy by showcasing London as a global sports destination and encouraging economic development from major sport events.
Find out about some of the sporting activities and events we are delivering to business and local communities in the City and across our open spaces on our website at: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/sport
Contact Us
Keep a close eye out on our social media channels, Twitter, LinkedIn and Istagram for all the latest news on the Active LDN Conference and for any questions just get in touch with us at [email protected] or call 0203 848 4630.
