Topic Othering to Mattering: A resilient journey – Anne Rathbone
Session Summary
The construct of Mattering can be thought of as Belonging + Making a Difference. In this forum we will explore some of the literature on Mattering, Belonging and Making a Difference through the lens of co-production and social action, and how all of these link to resilience. We will see the importance of Mattering for resilience. However, some of us have more opportunities to matter than others, so we will also think about Mattering from an inequalities perspective. This is where we will explore othering and its relation to mattering through the context of feelings and experiences. Finally, we will think about the implications of what we have learned about Mattering for our practice in working in a therapeutic way with young people, whether in one to one work, group co-production or participatory research. This interactive session will combine theory and practice examples and concepts and will be relevant to parents, support and engagement practitioners and managers, researchers and well, anyone who cares about thinking of all the ways we can help to build the resilience of young people and other community members, in which that transform the odds stacked against them.
Presenters
The Arts Connect Ambassadors and Resilience Champions
Dominic, Katie, Mikey, Ruth, Sophie and Harry are all Ambassadors of Arts Connect, Sussex UK. Arts Connect seeks to reduce social isolation of people with learning disabilities through the provision of opportunities for participation in the arts. The Ambassadors Group work to support and promote members’ decision making in the design and implementation of Arts Connect activities.
Dominic, Katie, Mikey, Ruth, Sophie and Harry are also co-researchers and Champions of resilience. The main themes coming out of their research were (a) the unfair exclusion of people with learning disabilities through people’s prejudices and discrimination and (b) the resilience building power of helping others and making a difference.
Oliver Gibbs
A current student of Social Work and already holding a BA Hons in Youth and Community Work, Oliver Gibbs has lived experiences of both othering and mattering. New to the concept before, Oliver has been able to identify personal experiences, through involvement in co-production and one to one work, that helped ensure he mattered. Working within the Resilience Revolution, he actively tries to provide young people the opportunity to be involved and be listened to, promoting a sense of belonging and making a difference.
Anne Rathbone
As Senior Training and Consultancy Manager in Boingboing, Anne Rathbone is coming near to the end of her PhD on resilience and people with learning disabilities with the Centre of Resilience for Social Justice (University of Brighton). Her PhD involved a participatory Co-inquiry research project undertaken with members of the Arts Connect Ambassadors taking decisions on research direction and activity. She became interested in the importance of mattering because her Co-researchers were so motivated and nurtured by the resilient building power of belonging and of making a difference. They developed a shared purpose of making a difference by educating others about the rights of people with learning disabilities and about resilience. They were energised by opportunities to do so. Anne’s background is in youth and community development and she has worked in services for children and young people all through her career, always seeking to maximise participation in decision making and creating positive systems change.
Who might be most interested
Parents, academics, practitioners, researchers, students, carers, community workers and managers.
Access Information The forum will be held online on Microsoft Teams. Please arrive in the online platform 5 minutes prior. An email with instructions will be sent out the day before the event. We have chosen this platform as it appears to be more secure and transparent in its data practices than many others. Please see our privacy statement for more information about Microsoft Teams terms and conditions.
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