BADU x Plexal | Reimagining What’s Possible (Black History Month spotlight)
📅 Thursday 22 October, 5-6pm
🎬 Short film screening (under 15 minutes)
💬 Spotlight panel with the BADU team (20 minutes)
📍Canalside, Office 41/45
What becomes possible when we stop asking people to overcome barriers alone and start reimagining the environments, relationships and opportunities around them?
Join BADU for an exclusive screening of their BADU Triathlon film, followed by a spotlight panel exploring the power of community-led change, representation and social impact.
Five years ago, BADU began working with five young people who couldn’t swim, supporting them to take on a triathlon. What followed became much bigger than a sporting challenge. It became a movement about reimagining wellbeing, challenging perceptions and creating the conditions for people to move from survival to thriving.
At a time when just 3.2% of triathlon participants were from Black and Global Majority communities, we wanted to look beyond the barriers to participation and ask a different question: what needs to change around people for them to see what’s possible within themselves?
Our approach has always been about looking at the whole picture. It’s not simply about inviting people into existing spaces; it’s about building the infrastructure, trust, relationships and support that make meaningful participation possible. Through community, connection and a different approach to movement and wellbeing, we’ve helped people aged 19 to 70 discover new possibilities for themselves.
At the 2026 London T100, BADU brought together 127 Londoners from 26 boroughs:
- 76% women
- 91% from Black and Global Majority communities
- 71% first-time triathletes
- 62% starting the programme unable to swim
- 71 participants reaching the start line
- 10 podium finishes
Behind these numbers are people challenging what they believed they could do, building confidence, finding belonging and accessing opportunities they may never previously have considered possible.
Through a short film screening and spotlight panel with the BADU team, we’ll explore what this journey teaches us about reimagining wellbeing, unlocking human potential and creating social impact that lasts. We’ll also reflect on the role of leadership, partnerships and the wider systems around people in making this change possible.
Whether you work in sport, business, health, education or community development, join us to explore what can happen when we look beyond individual potential and start reimagining what’s possible together.
Because thriving shouldn’t depend on how much people can overcome alone. It should also depend on what we build around them.
We look forward to welcoming you.
