Happier Together – with Jon Yates

Join us for a special event with author Jon Yates to learn how we can overcome our divisions to create a happier and less polarised society.
About this event
How can we heal our divisions and find ways to thrive together?
Our society feels increasingly polarised these days. In the online world, anonymous rants stoke heated exchanges and algorithms encourage echo chambers of “people like us” – increasing our fear and distrust of others. Polarisation is heightened ever further, increasing hostility and entrenching societal divisions.

At this event, author Jon Yates will share important findings about how we have become so divided, but also why it’s vital we find ways to connect with people who are different to ourselves. Jon will explain how division makes us all worse off and how spending more time with people who are not like us can help our society become more tolerant and understanding. Jon will explain how the post-pandemic world is an opportunity to start a new set of conversations. We have the opportunity to decide what sort of society we want to live in and how we can build that together, in a way that works for everyone. We can be stronger – and happier – together.

The event will take place on Zoom at 7pm London time (GMT).

To see the start time in your time zone, please click here.

About The Speaker

Jon Yates is Executive Director of the Youth Endowment Fund, a £200m charitable fund focused on integrating young people into society. After graduating from the University of Oxford, he started his career as a community worker in the London Borough of Newham, before joining McKinsey and Company, where he advised charities, companies and government on strategy and organisational development. He has co-founded a series of charities and initiatives including The Challenge and More in Common aimed at improving life chances and understanding. These programmes now reach 1 in 6 Britons in their lifetime. He is the author of Fractured: why our societies are coming apart and how we put them back together again.

The event will be hosted by Dr Mark Williamson from Action for Happiness.