Festival of Politics 2026
By Susan Tong, 30/10/2026
The annual event, The Festival of Politics held in the Scottish Parliament is a friendly, engaging and easily accessible point of exploration for girls and women interested in learning about the issues of a modern society and how we can empower ourselves through advocacy and conversation.
The festival is an opportunity to engage with the nation’s best think tanks – to hear their viewpoints, facts and understanding of current issues that affect our collective lived experiences. Drawing expertise from a varied pool of speakers from Members of the Scottish Parliament, authors, advocates and campaigners to esteemed lecturers and specialists of their respective fields, attendees are invited to Q&As after each talk. The discussions that follow often highlight areas of enthusiastic debate and may inspire budding advocates to explore these issues beyond the festival.
This year proved to be the most worthy and vibrant one yet. Held in August over two days, 2026 welcomed a selection of twenty-four different subjects including these which I attended:
Human Trafficking in Scotland
Why Social Media Abuse Towards Women is Damaging Democracy
Challenging the Manosphere
America vs China
I found each talk compelling. At times, I strongly agreed with the points raised; at others, I was prompted to question them and note ideas for deeper contemplation and further research. For example, it may seem like an obvious conclusion that social media abuse towards women damages democracy, but do we know how it does this? Who profits from such discourse and what are the real time ramifications for a society facing the unprecedented magnitude of constant streams of misogyny through a near-borderless medium? Through the talk, Why Social Media Abuse Towards Women is Damaging Democracy, the panelists discussed the enormous power concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals and by the for-profit corporations that benefit from dysfunction, explaining terminology such as, “conflict-profiteering” – the systematic prioritising of gains to the disregard of ethics and morals, and the role of Ofcom, the government-approved regulator authority for the UK on all subjects media and advertising. Certainly, the changes happening on the international front affect not only international relations between nations but also the perception and behaviours of more localised societies as debated by the panelists in the America versus China talk. What does it mean for women’s fight for equality as the balance of power and influence ebb and flow, and how can learning and embracing cultures with foundations based on differing schools of thought to Western philosophies enable – or hinder progresses made, and what of the future? Can the hybridisation of the best parts of each culture prove to be the cog that changes the discourse of equality allowing progress to flourish as barriers dismantle, or will it introduce a new set of challenges?
Whether one agrees or contests, there is no denying the energy and passion of the people in attendance with our collective desire to learn, engage and share our thoughts. It is this very nature of the event that makes fertile ground for girls and women to participate and find out where they stand on issues that affect us as valuable members of society. The festival is a safe and curated platform on which we listen, discuss and reflect about the parts we play in both our personal and civic journey.
The Festival of Politics invites people to participate for fun, for knowledge, for community and for advocacy. Priced at £7.50 per ticket for each session, which includes complimentary teas and coffees throughout, and live performances in the general auditorium, there are also concession tickets, and free tickets for Deaf BSL-users at BSL-interpreted sessions. Tickets can be purchased on the Festival of Politics website.
In the meantime, the 2026 sessions are now available to watch for free at https://www.festivalofpolitics.scot/ where you can also browse through the latest events until the festival returns in 2027, I hope to see you then!
Susan is the Social Media & Communications Coordinator at SAY Women. She is a writer and artist, and alumni of Glasgow School of Art. In her own time, Susan enjoys exploring natural landscapes and supporting ecological endeavours.