On Sunday 1 March 2026, a group of our students hosted AMPLIFY 2026, an International Women’s Month Summit dedicated to celebrating and uplifting women.
AMPLIFY is the legacy of Catherine Thomas - a mum, friend and fierce female advocate. Through our community and events, the students behind AMPLIFY aim to create a space that captures her infectious energy to champion every woman. To recognise her lifelong devotion to women’s safety, they are in a charity fundraising partnership with Women's Aid and have raised over £800 to support women’s safety initiatives.
Under the theme Dare to Deserve, the day brought together high-level speakers, workshops, a debate and mentoring all aimed at challenge the idea that women must earn safety, a voice or opportunity.
Highlights included a keynote Q&A with Sophie Richards on endometriosis awareness, an interactive ball-throwing workshop explorin
g the five buckets of success, a student debate on whether AI enhances gender equality, and one-to-one mentoring through Project AMPLIFY Lounge with members of the BANES Women’s Leadership Network.
The event also marked the launch of the AMPLIFY students' new collaboration with BANES Women's Leadership Network (WLN), in which 19 local female leaders have volunteered their time for a year to mentor young women in the university community. We are grateful to be working closely with Hannah Wilson, the founder of BANES WLN and build relationships with the women in her community.
Founder of AMPLIFY, and School of Management student Lauren Bennett said: "Our event featured 27 speakers and student hosts, seven exhibits from societies and local communities, an in-house podcast hosted by Be The Change Media Network, partnerships with five local female founded businesses and four event sponsors. This was more than a conference - AMPLIFY is a movement that sparks new ideas, new conversations and new ambitions. We’re on a mission to change how we raise our young women and Sunday 1st of March 2026 was just the beginning."
The team are already planning for AMPLIFY 2027. If you’d like to be a speaker, sponsor, volunteer or have something else you can bring to the event, or would like to get involved in the new mentoring programme, please reach out to contact@amplify-community.com.
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