We launched the Ditchley Summer Project on 4 July, at a time of transition from lockdown in the UK and with the aim of helping members of the influential Ditchley community review what they had learned so far during the pandemic and prepare for action in the struggle to renew and rebuild that surely lies ahead. We held over 30 sessions and discussions with an extraordinary range of people over a three-week period, with more than 700 members of the Ditchley community registering on the virtual space on which the event was hosted.
Following the conclusion of the Ditchley Summer Project, we reviewed all sessions in order to determine what main themes emerged across the entirety of the programme, whether on specific topics such as multilateralism, globalisation and trade, or on values such as freedom, responsibility, care and order. It was clear across all discussions that a resumption of the human journey towards individual empowerment and freedom remains our overriding aim.
We are delighted to share with you the summary of the Ditchley Summer Project, which we hope gives you a deep repository of knowledge to help inform your own action over the next months. You will find in this summary the personal overall reflections on the discussions of the Director, James Arroyo, followed by key bullet point summaries of every session and, finally, longer reads on the majority of the sessions.
Over the next weeks we will hold more Ditchley community sessions and are planning a similar shortened intense period of activity in early December.