Lily Allen, Bryony Gordon, Matt Willis and Tony Adams were among our guest speakers to support our Addiction Awareness Week (AAW) event in London (2 December).
Earlier this week, Addiction Awareness Week 2024 (30 November – 7 December), our national campaign week raising awareness of addiction and promoting recovery, was showcased at a special event in London.
Hosted at One Birdcage Walk, ‘The Addiction Conversation’, was a key moment for the Taking Action on Addiction campaign presenting a live podcast, spoken word performances, music and insightful conversations around addiction.
Sponsored by The Financial Times, this invite-only event included a varied audience of policymakers, public figures, media and people from The Forward Trust’s recovery community in support of this year’s campaign theme – Addiction Affects Everyone BUT Recovery Is Possible.
Led by The Forward Trust in collaboration with eight charity partners, Music Support, Nacoa, Faces and Voices of Recovery (FAVOR), Phoenix Futures, Steps2Recovery, Amy Winehouse Foundation, Visible Recovery and Kaleidoscope.
Two announcements followed from The Forward Trust: Football legend, Tony Adams, was announced as the new Chair of Trustees from February when current Chair, David Bernstein, stands down, and singer, songwriter, and actress, Lily Allen, was unveiled as a new ambassador for the charity.
At the event, the longstanding ambassador of the campaign, Bryony Gordon, hosted a conversation with Lily about her life in recovery from addiction, speaking candidly about her experiences and encouraging others to speak out about their own experiences to help reduce the stigma.
The first half of the evening also featured the debut of our AAW24 campaign video, ‘Recovery Is Possible’, which featured an introduction from TV personalities and presenters, Ant & Dec. The film was well-received and later released across social platforms, with support from Forward’s Royal Patron, HRH Princess of Wales.
Other speakers included Dame Clare Gerada, former president of the Royal College of GPs, who discussed with Forward Trusts’ CEO, Mike Trace, addiction policies within the NHS over the past 50 years, and Spoken word artist, Hannah Stanislaus, who performed their powerful poem ‘Shine A Light On’.
The second half of the evening saw a live podcast recording hosted by Bryony Gordon, who interviewed Busted’s Matt Willis about his experiences with addiction and recovery – a powerful conversation charting his highs and lows of recovery.
Matt and Bryony were later joined by Navraj Dhesi, founder of No More Pretending, for a Q&A session – an inspiring segment that considered relapse and shame.
Closing the performances, Seye Adelekan, a musical talent in his own right and also an acclaimed musician in touring bands (Gorillaz, Paloma Faith and Emile Sande), wowed guests with a short acoustic set with fellow musician Charlie Morton, intersected by his own experience of addiction and recovery.
Thanking guests for attending, Forward’s incoming Chair, Tony Adams, echoed the campaign’s messaging, asking people to keep on talking about addiction.
Reflecting on the event, Mike Trace, Chief Executive of The Forward Trust, commented:
“There continues to be a deep lack of understanding about addiction in Britain today. Addiction affects everybody and yet still this continues to be a hidden condition, a secret illness. This event brought people together in order to bring stories into the light because it’s only by hearing other people’s stories that we are more likely to recognise the symptoms in others.”
Addiction Awareness Week is a multi-charity, public-facing campaign working to raise awareness about addiction, improving understanding, and ending the stigma that surrounds it. By spotlighting real stories, new research, and events, the aim is to change misunderstandings and enable more people to speak openly about their experiences - highlighting the hope that recovery really is possible.
Photos from the event
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