​The invitation

​What if age brings not decline but expansion - expertise, conviction, wisdom that make us more formidable, not less? What if the anxiety we carry about ageing is culturally constructed rather than biologically inevitable?

​This workshop is for women in professional life who experience the gap between their capabilities and their visibility, for professionals working on age inclusion in organisations and public policy, and anyone building communities that challenge ageism. It creates space to question the narratives about what's supposed to happen as we grow older.

​What we will explore

​Through guided conversation, we'll examine:

• ​What becomes possible when we see age as expansion rather than decline?

• ​How do we maintain visibility, relevance, and fearlessness in a culture that expects diminishment?

​This isn't therapy and it isn't a lecture. It's an exploratory conversation among people willing to question what we've been told to expect - and to imagine different possibilities.

​Why this matters

​Age remains the most neglected dimension of diversity and inclusion work. While we've made progress on gender, race, and other protected characteristics, ageism - particularly toward women - operates quietly, systematically, and largely unchallenged.

​Your participation helps build a community of practice around age inclusion - and contributes to ongoing work rethinking how we understand ageing, authority, and professional longevity. This is how - together - we change culture.

​Why participate

​By participating in this workshop, you'll:

• ​Understand that ageing is not about decline - it's about expansion

• ​Connect with others challenging age-based assumptions in their work and lives

• ​Gain frameworks for thinking differently about age, authority, and professional longevity

• ​Contribute to building a community of practice around age inclusion

​About the facilitator

​After 25+ years of corporate leadership and board roles, Francesca Valli felt compelled to write about her experience of ageing purposefully.

​Francesca has led complex business transformations at global companies, serves on boards including AI startup Glia HQ, founded The Gherkin Challenge which raised close to £1.5m in aid of the NSPCC. Through deep community engagement - from building therapeutic gardens at a women's refuge to mentoring emerging entrepreneurs - Francesca has learned that with age comes not diminishment but duty: the obligation to put life-accumulated advantages to the service of a better world. This is her aliveness.

​Her Substack publication Rethinking Age examines how fearlessness, conviction, wisdom, keep women growing into their later years formidable and visible - challenging cultural narratives that expect invisibility.

​Read Rethinking Age at: https://rethinkingage.substack.com/

​Format and logistics

​When: 06-Jan-2026, 6:30-8:00 PM
Where: Newspeak House, London

​Schedule:

• ​6:30-7:00 PM: Arrivals and networking

• ​7:00-8:00 PM: Guided workshop conversation

• ​8:00 PM+: Drinks and continued conversation upstairs

​What to expect

​This is an interactive workshop, not a presentation. You'll be invited to share your thoughts, experiences, and questions. We're looking for participants who are excited to explore these questions openly and contribute to building a community around age inclusion.

​Light refreshments provided. Capacity is limited to ensure meaningful conversation.