Category: Blog

So there I was: slightly disoriented, a little sweaty, surrounded by thousands of other young people. All of us were listening to a performance of Lukas Graham’s ‘7 Years’. I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no. I wasn’t at a concert or in a stuffy nightclub somewhere in London. Instead, I was in Strasbourg, France, enjoying the opening ceremony of the European Youth Event (EYE) 2016.

After many years of hanging around with academics I have learnt that ‘community partners’ is code in the international university world for ‘organisations and people who are NOT quite as important as us’. In my head I have often added my own secret addition ‘but are actually doing real things with real people’. This is why I like working with the Boingboing community and CUPP.

The creative task ahead of us in forming a future vision was based on the Miracle Question (from Solution Focused Therapy), and is something that anybody can do. The Question is this: “What would the ideal day look like for you if all barriers were removed?”

Prof Sue Kildea’s doing her talk on Indigenous birthing in an urban setting. Sue’s been working in this area for years now, though often out in the most remote parts of Australia. Working side by side with Indigenous Australians, she’s learnt loads about Aboriginal health and culture. I’m so excited that she’s here.

Co-production in resilience research and why it’s great is on the bill for today’s Resilience Forum. Anne Rathbone, PhD student in the Boingboing group at the University of Brighton, has been working with Arts Connect, a group supporting people with learning disabilities through Arts Practices, for 18 months now. They’re doing a co-inquiry group on resilience. She’s at the podium, along with Mikey and Dominic from Arts Connect.