Sixth Form Conference 2025: Democracy and Truth in a World of AI and Social Media

Below is a report from the latest conference organised by TEAM Global, held at Ursuline High School. If you would like to organise a conference in partnership with TEAM, we support you every step of the way—from selecting a topic to finding speakers and ensuring the day runs smoothly. If you are interested in hosting a TEAM conference at your school, college, or university, please contact John Wilson at johnjohnbwilson@aol.com.

On Thursday 17th January, we hosted an inspiring Sixth Form Conference, welcoming students and staff from six other schools (City of London Academy, Raynes Park High, Ricards Lodge, Rutlish, Wimbledon College, and Ursuline Academy Ilford).

The students listened first to a panel of speakers involved in Politics, including Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon – Conservative Peer, Paul Kohler – New Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon, Siobhain McDonagh – Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden and Sheri-Ann Bhim – Our alumna and local Merton councillor.

They then enjoyed talks from different experts in AI and Social Media. Ben Shields, Founder & CEO of Know-Me.ai, spoke about his work in AI and how it is vital that ordinary people engage with it so that it is not used for the benefit of a minority (drawing links with the first Industrial Revolution). We were honoured to hear Paulette Watson MBE talk about her leading work in EDI and AI and her particular focus on women (particularly young black women) and creating space and diversity in a white and male-dominated sphere. Jonathan Gifford from the Cabinet Office spoke of his work in countering Disinformation around the world, in particular when it is used as a weapon in conflicts.

We finished with a debate on the motion "This House believes that social media and AI are a force for good for democracy," led by Tom Rattner and Daniel Brookes from the ESU, which the students joined in with really well.

A huge thank you to Loredana Roberts for chairing the event and to TEAM Global for their generous support. The day was a thought-provoking exploration of democracy, truth, and the evolving role of AI and social media in shaping our world. Well done to all our student leaders for their professionalism in presenting at and leading the day.

This is some of the feedback we received from students after the conference:

“It gave me an insight into the political spectrum and the world of fake news and disinformation.” “I was interested to learn that I could join a political party age 16.” 

“I developed a further understanding of global affairs and the issue with AI.”

PROGRAMME.pdf

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