Award-winning political scientist & Harvard professor to open IFC 2023

The Resource Alliance has announced that award-winning political scientist and Harvard professor Erica Chenoweth will present the opening plenary at this year’s International Fundraising Congress.

Erica Chenoweth’s research on nonviolent civil resistance has shown that nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts, and that the movements that engage over 3.5% of a population have never failed to create change. This is known as the 3.5% rule. This research has influenced global movements including the Extinction Rebellion, and has also led to Foreign Policy naming Chenoweth as one of its Top 100 Global Thinkers.

Commenting, Ruby Chadwick, director of programmes at the Resource Alliance, said:

“Our theme for IFC 2023 is UNITE. This year’s event is built around how we can – and must – come together in a world on fire, where war still rages, women are still being stripped of their rights, and the few still have more than the many. We already know that the thing that delivers real change is people power, but Erica Chenoweth’s work proves it.

“Throughout history, when ordinary people UNITE against those in power, they have achieved radical change. Ordinary people like those who come together for IFC every year, who spend their lives working to create change.”

The International Fundraising Congress returns to Noordwijkerhout in the Netherlands on 17-20 October  this year, and will once again be presented in a hybrid format enabling delegates to attend both in person and online. Early bird pricing is available until 16 September.