The organisers of Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) and leading industry trade association Licensing International have joined forces to host a series of License to Move initiatives to encourage the licensing industry to get moving and raise money for the Light Fund.

To kick off the campaign, both organisations—with support from major UK media outlets—will host a social walk through some of the key sights in London, including Camden Market, London Zoo, Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Big Ben and the London Eye. The walk till take place on Thursday 31 August, starting at Camden Market at 2pm (sign up for the walk here).

Everyone from the licensing community is invited to join and walkers can choose to walk the full 10k or join at 5k, when the group reaches the Serpentine Café in Hyde Park. All walkers will finish in the same place – Jack’s Bar at 96 Isabella Street behind Southwark Underground station.

This walk will be the first of several initiatives in support of the Light Fund. The campaign will culminate with several activities taking place at Brand Licensing Europe on 4-6 October at ExCeL London (register for free to attend here).

Licensing International UK MD Steve Manners said: “It’ll be so lovely to bring everyone together for a summer social to clear the cobwebs, brighten our moods, and facilitate a bit of laid-back networking. We all know that exercise is good for our physical and mental wellbeing, but it’s just so much easier and more fun to do in a big group.

“We’re hoping to see lots of licensing industry faces on the day. It’s completely free to take part, we just ask that you set up your License to Move profile page ahead of time and make a donation to the Light Fund. You can also share your page and encourage others to donate.”

The License to Move licensing industry initiative was launched earlier this year, led by Informa Markets’ Global Licensing Group, with support from trade association Licensing International and key licensing media outlets. Its principal aim is to promote wellness and get the global licensing industry moving, all whilst raising valuable funds for industry charity Light Fund (Licensing Industry Giving Help Together).

“Of course, walking is just one ‘moving’ option,” said Ella Haynes, BLE’s event director. “You can also run or swim, hop, skip and jump, be really adventurous and go canoeing, rowing, abseiling or paddleboarding, or calm things right down with a lovely yoga session.”

Additionally, people may want to take part in the following organised events to rack up their License to Move miles:

• Friday 11 August: Light Fund trustee Ian Downes is hosting his second ‘walk and talk’ sightseeing tour to raise money for the charity. Numbers are limited, so please email Ian on ian@startlicensing.co.uk if you want to join.
  
• Wednesday to Friday 4-6 October: Keep an eye open for lots of License to Move activities taking place at BLE this year. More news to follow soon!
  

“The licensing community is also very welcome to be spontaneous and do their own thing,” added Ella. “Why not book ‘walk and talk’ meetings during BLE instead of sitting in a café and donate the price of a Costa cappuccino to the Light Fund? Or organise your own group License to Move-ment like a docklands cycle, BLE showfloor step count, or a company Step-tember challenge of hitting two million steps between you! The possibilities are endless, and we’ll do everything we can to support them.”

Light Fund chair Trevor Jones:“We want this to be the biggest Light Fund event ever in terms of participants. License to Move is a totally inclusive campaign and we invite everyone to take part in some way. Any activity is permitted whether you’re on your own, with a few friends or part of a larger company initiative. Just sign up on the website, set your own target and have fun, doing good and feeling good contributing to the Light Fund’s support of great causes. You can walk, run, cycle, swim, hop, skip – or move any way you want – it’s your choice!”

Ways you and your team can get moving in August and raise money for the Light Fund as part of License to Move:

• Can your team do 100,000 steps this month? Bring a team together and add up the steps on your lunch breaks, weekends and evenings. Take advantage of the better weather to get moving this August for charity!
  
  
• Take your meeting on the move. Why not connect with someone from the licensing industry and donate your lunch or coffee cost to the Light Fund?
  
  
• In the spirit of the Ice Bucket Challenge, do 5km / donate £5 / nominate 5 people from licensing or within your own team. Look out for nominations over the coming months and make sure to pass it on! 

The route

For media information
Charlie Le Rougetel at BIGTOP
charlie@bigtop-pr.co.uk
07736 330676

About Global Licensing Group
The Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets is the licensing industry’s leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. The following events and information products are produced for the licensing industry by the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets: Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo Japan, Licensing Expo Shanghai, The Licensing Leadership Summit, License Global magazine, License Global Daily E-News and The Licensing Mixtape podcast. Global Licensing Group events are sponsored by Licensing International.

About Licensing International
Licensing International is the leading trade organization for the global licensing industry. Licensing International’s mission is to foster the growth and expansion of licensing around the world, raise the level of professionalism for licensing practitioners, and create greater awareness of the benefits of licensing to the business community at large. Founded in 1985, Licensing International members in over 40 countries enjoy access to an array of benefits, including extensive educational programming and worldwide networking events. Visit LicensingInternational.org for more information and to utilize licensing’s definitive online resource.

About The Light Fund
The Light Fund is a registered charity, which raises monies to fund worthwhile charity projects that help children, women and men. Since its inception, back in 2004, The Light Fund has raised over £2 million and funded hundreds of different charity projects. The Light Fund’s fundraising activities take place throughout the year. In the Autumn registered charities are invited to submit projects (only online submissions via this website are accepted) they would like to have funded. In December of each year members of The Light Fund committee then individually vote on which of these projects to fund with the successful beneficiaries being informed by the end of the year.