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Braemar in London 2024 – Science for Good

Science for Good: (l-r) Anita Anand; Hayaatun Silem, CEO Royal Academy of Engineering; Dorothy Chou, Public Policy Leader at DeepMind; Professor Irene Tracey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford

For the past four years, I have sat down with my friend Roger Highfield, who is the Science Director of the Science Museum Group and is also working, in a personal capacity, as my collaborator on the Braemar Summit, to discuss themes.

The first year, 2021, was straightforward. It was the year that the world looked to science to save it from an epidemic. In some places Covid deniers were offering lemon and ginger as a solution. Meanwhile, a group of scientists in Oxford were working on a vaccine. Roger and I discussed how the collaboration of scientists, academics, policy makers and investors had cracked a global issue and wondered if there was a way of continuing this intellectual exchange outside the laboratory. We continued the discussion in September 2021 as the Oxford scientists, including Dame Sarah Gilbert, stepped off the coach in Braemar and headed towards the Fife Arms to the sound of pipers. The Braemar Summit was born. The theme that year was the New Enlightenment.

Each year, we have tried to match the theme to the direction of science and global politics. In 2023 we called it the Great Acceleration, to take account of the super computers and the impact of AI. In 2024 we went for a warmer theme, Science for Good.

Despite wars, superstition, misinformation and incivility in the public sphere, we were witnessing beacons of science. We quoted Marie Curie; “Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

In medicine for instance, there have been landmark breakthroughs in treating some of the worst diseases and conditions, through drugs, or genetic interventions.

There is evidence that a bold and determined course on tackling climate change, including investment, will benefit the economy as well as human existence. And robotics, which has advanced enormously, is now looking for design. Hardware will be a new source of delight. So creativity, the collaboration between art and science has been another theme for this year.

We were in Braemar in spirit rather than in actual location, holding the summit this year in the second week of September at the studio of the inventor and designer Thomas Heatherwick, in King’s Cross, with a dinner at the Francis Crick Institute. Also in the spirit, we found an international concert pianist, Stefania Passamonte, to play Chopin and Liszt on a grand piano in the great hall of the Crick, with hologram screens on either side of her.

Performance by the Royal College of Music string quartet

We were in the heart of the Knowledge Quarter and were delighted to welcome collaboration with DeepMind, based down the road, and our friends from Aria, Advanced Research and Invention Agency, housed within The British Library. Thomas Heatherwick spoke eloquently about his mission to humanise public space and humanity was at the heart of subsequent discussions.

We began with Professor Sir John Bell, on the title of science and ambition. As the new President of The Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) in Oxford, which aims to tackle health, food security, clean energy government policy Sir John has set himself a task.

Science and Ambition: Professor Sir John Bell, immunologist and geneticist

In the same altitude, we continued with a discussion entitled, The Age of the Cure followed by The Future of the NHS from Richard Meddings, Chair of NHS England. The sessions and speakers on stage were exhilarating but it was perhaps the conversations in between, over coffee or dinner which were most memorable. Many guests who come to Braemar mention the intellectual stimulation but also the geniality. It is an open-minded, good-natured event where you can discuss anything. Computer scientists debate with philosophers, economists and business leaders listen to dreamers. Even physicists talk to biologists. It is not transactional; it is genuinely conversational. It is the joy of serendipity.

Sarah Sands, Partner, Hawthorn Advisors and Braemar Co-creator

For further information on the Braemar Summit please visit www.braemarsummit.com.

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January’s negative reputation: 3 ways to fix it

The glasses are dry, the wallets are bare, and the decorations are a long distant memory. You’ve said ‘Happy New Year’ on Teams every day for the last four weeks, and you’re sure that if you say it one more time, your colleagues will have you committed. Thankfully, the month of January is almost behind us…

The internet tells us it is the most depressing month of the year, with Blue Monday, the post-holiday season and the short days and long evenings. If January were a client, it would be high risk, one that requires a strategic approach and proactive management.

Clearly, January has a reputation problem. But does the reputation match the reality? I have taken the toxicity of brand-January as gospel for years: ‘Hold off any big launches, too much real news around’, ‘‘Don’t organize events, everyone’s doing dry-Jan’. Then, last week I learnt that ‘Blue Monday’ itself was in-fact the machination of the PR machine at the now defunct Sky Travel. My foundations shaken; I sought to find a solution to fix January’s reputational crisis.

Like any good strategist, first, we dived into the data. Combing reams of articles about seasonal blues and piles of data on consumer peaks and trough. Finally, we arrived at our critical insight: January has fewer days of celebration than any other month of the year. Eureka! A strategy to fix this? We needed to find plenty of reasons to celebrate January.

Next came the tactics: what were the good days to shout about (strengths) and the bad days to steer well clear of? There were many more of the latter unfortunately: world hypnotism day (4th) – HR minefield; national squirrel appreciation day (21st) – risk of rabies; national peanut butter day (24th) – serious allergy problems; national croissant day (30th) – likely Brexit issues.

Then, we arrived at the golden nugget: three celebratory days to fix the reputation of January:

  1. Lunar New Year (22 Jan)

The Lunar New Year, like January itself, is misunderstood. Its remains clouded in controversy, having undergone its own internal re-brand of late. But once people start to learn about it, they embrace it.

Here at Hawthorn we marked the occasion with drinks and cheese (moon shaped), while many of our clients took the opportunity to mark the occasion on social. It was progress, but not nearly enough….

In 2024, let’s push the boundaries and make Lunar New Year the ‘Christmas? What Christmas’ celebration that it truly deserves to be. After all, it’s the Year of the Dragon next year. What better way to start the year?

  1. Burns Night (25 Jan)

A stalwart of the calendar year that goes criminally under-leveraged, as far as January’s profile goes. Burns Night celebrates the life of the poet Robert Burns. Our Scottish colleagues get sick of explaining what this means and why we should care.

This year we had the pleasure of taking to the Tower of London with our client who deals in scotch whisky, for a spectacular celebration, just down the corridor from the crown jewels themselves! Anyone on the fence about the strength of the occasion after that was well and truly converted by the end.

In 2024, our goal is to make Burns Night a staple of social (and client) calendar.

  1. Dry January

Dry January rallies and polarizes in equal measure. At no other time of the year does the nation rally behind a coordinated mission to not go to the pub. That sense of camaraderie and minor achievement is rarely seen outside of a major football tournament. And while some may be losing their drinking buddies, others will be gaining a temporary gym buddy. This is to be commended.

At Hawthorn, we’ve stood in solidarity by moving our January social to next month.

In 2024, Dry Jan needs to be celebrated for the achievement that it is. Perhaps a badge for all those doing it? Or a wristband?

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Name Role

January may bring challenges and uncertainty, but we are excited to have had a successful and productive start to 2023. We have gained new clients, planned exciting events, and have been presented with many opportunities for growth. Let’s embrace January as an opportunity to think creatively and set a positive tone for the rest of 2023.

By Gordan Carver, Senior Director

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