Oli Barrett

Presenter, host, and serial founder @TOTScampaign @CleanandCool @StartUpBritain @10xFiverYE @VIYproject

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

✨ A post about connections: between departments, between problems, and between the people who could solve them;

https://t.co/peWvbh0QjW

[Ben Phillips @benphillips76]

“I may have spent a load of my life in international conferences, I might have been better persuading people to join local organisations in my own area.”

[National Grid Partners @ngpartners_]

Tomorrow we kick off #NGASummit 2026! 🚀

Two jam-packed days in Boston that bring together the sharpest minds in energy for the conversations shaping what's next for the grid.

See the full agenda ⬇️
https://t.co/1eN2siNe5c

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Children who take music lessons develop a larger corpus callosum, the bridge between the two halves of the brain, and the change is permanent. A 2005 review in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences found that early music training produces structural brain changes that persist into adulthood, even if the person stops playing.

The review was led by Gottfried Schlaug at Harvard Medical School, one of the leading researchers on music and the brain. He found that children who started instrumental training before age seven had a significantly larger anterior corpus callosum than non-musicians, and the size difference was still visible in adults who had not touched an instrument in years.

The corpus callosum carries signals between the left and right hemispheres. A larger one means faster, richer communication between the two sides, and the effect shows up in tasks that have nothing to do with music: spatial reasoning, verbal memory, and the ability to process multiple streams of information at once. The music built the highway, and the brain uses it for everything.

Schlaug also found that musicians had larger cerebellums, the region involved in timing and motor coordination, and more grey matter in the areas that process sound. The brain had physically reorganised itself around the demands of the instrument, and the reorganisation was visible on a scan.

The age window matters. Children who started before seven showed the largest changes. Children who started after ten showed smaller ones. Adults who took up an instrument for the first time showed the least structural change, though they still showed some. The brain is most willing to be rebuilt by music during the years when most parents are debating whether to sign their child up for lessons. https://t.co/hrHlmtHjjg

[National Grid Partners @ngpartners_]

That’s right! @OliBarrett is returning to emcee the #NGASummit, and if you were there last year, you know why. Serial founder, natural connector, and the person who kept the energy up between sessions all day long.

The @ngalliance_ Summit returns to Boston on September 16.

[Doniya Soni-Clark @doniyasc]

Confirmed DCMS briefs!

Ian Murray MP, Minister of State

Responsible for:
• Media (including BBC Charter Review)
• Online harms and misinformation
• Creative industries
• Telecommunications, digital infrastructure and Ofcom
• International

Stephanie Peacock MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Sports
• Ceremonials
• Tourism
• Office for the Impact Economy
• Government Digital Service (Digital Products & Digital Transformation)
• Place - overview of DMCS’s overall impact and presence in communities and responsibility for place based programmes including the allocation of arts funding in Arts Everywhere and Town and City of Culture.

Baroness Twycross, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Heritage, including world and living heritage
• Covid commemoration
• Appointments
• ALBs (general oversight and reform)
• Honours
• Corporate Minister

Ruth Mackenzie, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Arts Council and sponsorship
• Museums and cultural property (including the museums funding in Arts Everywhere)
• Libraries

Vicky Foxcroft, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Responsible for:
• Youth
• Civil Society
• Gambling
• National Lottery
• Digital Inclusion and Skills

Baroness Lloyd, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State - Minister for Space, Cyber and Regulatory Reform joint with BSIT

Responsible for:
• National Cyber Security
• Government Cyber Security
• Spectrum Negotiations (with Minister Murray. POs will provide further guidance)

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

@CharlesCumming @RoryStewartUK @RestIsPolitics Hugely enjoying it - thank you for another sensational read! 📚 🌟

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

@jstockwood Hugely enjoyed it too - THANK YOU for being a brilliant guest 🌍

[Lord Jason Stockwood @jstockwood]

Really enjoyed this conversation with the always brilliant @OliBarrett for Future Forum. Covered a lot of ground from politics, football to technology and back. https://t.co/8aktN3FDsu

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

@BenFletch @CharlesCumming Next you'll be telling me that the Dad in Home Alone was 44...

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

When the back of a spy novel by the brilliant (@CharlesCumming) described "an elderly man' emerging from the sea and "the old man" being spirited away in the middle of the night... I was intrigued.

But nothing could prepare me for the shock that this elderly man is... 48 😐

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

@davidyelland 🎥 Thought-provoking! Here's Boris in 2019: https://t.co/ZNFUuYZ7Ar

Or Rishi in 2023: https://t.co/EAhppKOglo

Although my first thought (admittedly in opposition) was WebCameron: https://t.co/o20cfqyN0R

[Doniya Soni-Clark @doniyasc]

The Government's published a WMS about the abolishment of DSIT and where briefs are moving. Here's what we know...

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

@dburrells Became Department of Culture Media and Sport, with the creation of DSIT (Science, Innovation, Technology) in 2023.

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

Interesting to see the D in DCMS is back as "Digital" (as it was from 2017-2023)

[UK Prime Minister @10DowningStreet]

Lisa Nandy has been appointed as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport @dcms.

[UK Prime Minister @10DowningStreet]

Jonathan Reynolds has been appointed Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.

[Nelson Mandela Foundation @NelsonMandela]

The Nelson Mandela Foundation presents the inaugural Nelson Mandela Global Leadership Forum, continuing our longstanding tradition of bringing together leaders, thinkers and changemakers to reflect on the defining challenges of our time and the kind of leadership needed to meet them.

At a moment when societies around the world are grappling with inequality, conflict, declining trust in institutions and deep political polarisation, the Forum creates a platform for courageous conversations, bold ideas and values-based leadership inspired by Madiba’s enduring legacy.

During #MandelaMonth, we celebrate Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy while asking what that legacy demands of us today.

We are honoured to welcome, New York Mayor, Zohran Kwame Mamdani as our inaugural Distinguished Speaker as we continue mobilising leadership for a more just and equitable world.

Stay tuned to our social media platforms for coverage from New York.

#MandelaMonth #NelsonMandela #GlobalLeadershipForum #itisinyourhands

[Oli Barrett @OliBarrett]

🌱The UK business world needs a new word;

enfrastructure (noun)

The infrastructure of entrepreneurship: the network of organisations, institutions, relationships and communities that enables businesses to start, grow and thrive.

https://t.co/d4lhzKIodW

#enfrastructure

[BCC @britishchambers]

Great conversation between our DG @BCCShevaun and @OliBarrett on the challenges and opportunities for British business - now and in the future.

https://t.co/j7PpekfYoC

[Rowland Manthorpe @rowlsmanthorpe]

In his speech today Andy Burnham promised to turn Britain into an "Innovation Nation" through decentralisation

But in AI - arguably the most innovative technology of all - he may find he is swimming against the tide

My analysis today for @SkyNews