One woman, a suitcase, a bicycle and a head full of questions!
Hello! I’m Ema Wilkes, founder and CEO of Neo Community in Wirral, and I’ve somehow found myself on one of the most exciting learning adventures of my life!
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be awarded a Churchill Fellowship, giving me the opportunity to travel, meet extraordinary people, explore different approaches to community development and bring that learning home to the UK.
My research journey is called From Pantry to Power, and at its heart is a question I’ve been asking for years:
What happens when we stop simply delivering services to communities and start creating more opportunities for communities to own, shape and lead the things that matter to them?
At Neo Community, I’ve spent years working alongside some of the most incredible people. People who give their time, share their skills, support their neighbours, create friendships and make things happen, often with very little recognition.
And that’s important to me. Because community power isn’t something I’ve suddenly discovered through travelling. I see it every day back home.
But I also know there’s so much more we could learn, do and achieve.
That’s why I’m travelling to the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Portugal to explore how different communities organise themselves, share resources, influence decisions, build relationships and create opportunities.
I’m particularly interested in food, community ownership, shared spaces, volunteering, youth provision and how we move beyond simply responding to poverty towards building stronger, more connected and resilient communities.
Why am I blogging?
Well, firstly, because my head is already bursting with ideas and I need somewhere to put them!
But more importantly, I want to share this journey openly.
Not just the impressive projects and inspiring meetings, but the unexpected conversations, the things that challenge my thinking, the questions I haven’t got answers to and the ideas I cannot wait to explore back in Wirral.
You’ll probably find a mixture of research, photographs, personal reflections, community stories, plenty of enthusiasm and the occasional travel disaster!
And if you’ve stumbled across some of my older blogs, I’ve deliberately kept them here.
They’re part of my story.
Long before this Fellowship, I was writing about community, poverty, food, people and the things I believed needed to change. Looking back at those early thoughts while embarking on this new adventure feels rather special.
What do I hope to achieve?
I don’t want to come home with a beautiful report that sits on a shelf.
I want to come home with ideas we can test, conversations we can continue, relationships we can build and learning we can share.
I want to challenge my own thinking, celebrate what we’re already doing well in Wirral and explore what might be possible if we think even bigger.
And I want communities themselves to be at the heart of that conversation.
Because ultimately, people are not just the recipients of support. They are the knowledge, skills, relationships and power that make communities thrive.
So welcome to my little corner of the internet!
Whether you’re a community worker, volunteer, policymaker, funder, fellow traveller or simply someone who believes in the power of people, I hope you’ll come along for the adventure.
There will be lots of learning, probably a few wrong turns, and definitely plenty of cups of tea along the way!
Ema
Churchill Fellow | Founder & CEO, Neo Community
These are my personal reflections and learning from my Churchill Fellowship, rather than the official views of the Churchill Fellowship.
