Outlines of Conference Presentations

Presentations at M25 Consortium’s Annual Conference 2026 – Sunshine through the rain: celebrating our successes

This page provides brief outlines of the Presentations and sessions.

Keynote Presentation
10.10-10.30

Truth, trust and democracy: the role of the House of Commons Library and good information in the UK Parliament’

Martin Reid, Director of Library Services, House of Commons Library

This presentation will explain how the House of Commons Library puts accurate, authoritative, timely information at the heart of the UK’s parliamentary democracy, describe the rewards and challenges involved in providing a library service in such a unique environment, and discuss some of the Library’s most important recent initiatives, including developing a digitisation strategy for Parliament and leading training to educate law makers about mis- and disinformation.

Speaker Presentations

(in programme timing order)

End of lunch break mindfulness session
13.30-13.45
A Mindful Pause.
Jem Shackleford

A short session of easy and accessible mindfulness practices to help settle for the afternoon. 

Closing presentation
15.05-15.20
“The Art of Being Brilliant”
Dr Andy Cope

In a world where there’s a lot of talk about ‘best self’ and ‘living your best life’, THE ART OF BEING BRILLIANT shows you how. Based on the science of positive psychology, the art of being brilliant is evidence-based but with the big words surgically removed and replaced with common sense, doable principles and great fun. 

 The art of being brilliant is grounded in the real world. The truth is simple – when the world’s doing its worst, it’s even more important that we know how to be at our best.