What kind of future does civil society have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to shape?
Looking beyond individual action to interrogate the power our sector holds as a collective to drive change, our closing keynote will inspire you to take your experience at IFC 2026 back out into the world and turn conversations into real action.
Addressing how we must rebuild trust and belonging in polarised societies; why it is imperative that we create movements, not just organisations; and the role of narrative, power, and systems change, Rashad Robinson will implore us to take up the mantle of our collective responsibility to drive what comes next.
American civil rights leader Rashad Robinson has been an activist since his school days, when he began leading local protests and became involved with national civil rights organisation the NAACP. In his career, Rashad led Color of Change for 13 years; co-led the largest advertising boycott in history: a $7 billion boycott of Facebook and Instagram; and led an effort to get more than 100 local and regional newspapers to accept same-sex wedding announcements before they were recognised as legal in the United States. Rashad’s first book, From Presence to Power, was published by Penguin in 2026 and will be available at IFC 2026.
The keynote will be held in person and streamed as part of IFC Online.