‘Let Silence Speak’ saw lived experience ambassadors gather at Science Gallery London alongside researchers, charity representatives, artists, clinicians and other healthcare professionals for a symposium aimed at understanding and advocating for the role of creative ambassadors in improving healthcare pathways.

The afternoon began with a welcome from Dr Tony Woods, SHAPER Programme Manager at King’s, who outlined the work that SHAPER (the large-scale study funded by the Wellcome Trust that aims to explore the impact and scalability of arts-based interventions for physical and mental health in South-East London) has delivered in the four years since the founding of the multidisciplinary team. SHAPER works with three key partners; Breathe Arts Health Research, English National Ballet and Rosetta Life. 

The first session saw a panel discussion showcasing examples of where creative voices of people living with long-term conditions have led to the development of meaningful performances as part of their path to rehabilitation, including the effective work through Rosetta Life’s Brain Odysseys programme, and the Dance for Parkinson’s programme run by English National Ballet. Advocates from both programmes spoke about the importance of learning from their lived experience as experts, and working to embed their work into clinical pathways.

A representation of ambassadors from Brain Odysseys - Pauline Boye, Jawad Mohammed, Gareth Jones and Lil Sullivan, who were responsible for co-founding and co-designing the programme at Rosetta Life - spoke about their work encouraging other people to engage, spreading joy and enthusiasm for the programme. The initiative forms part of Rosetta Life’s decade-long work, which has been at the forefront of developing scientifically and clinically- validated arts programmes for people with long-term conditions.

English National Ballet presented first-hand testimony and findings from their 12-week programme, Dance for Parkinson’s. Ambassador Ian Temple shared his experience of the programme.

The rest of the day explored how ambassadors can be supported to hold the role of leading and advocating for change in healthcare, and best practice for true co-creation – meaning it is led, designed and conducted by ambassadors trained via the arts programmes. Speakers including Heather Campbell, Dr Kiruba Nagaratnam, Catriona O’Neil, Joan Darell, Laurie Allen, Professor Helen Chatterjee and Kiz Manley spoke about their experiences of research, commissioning and working as ambassadors in clinical settings. The symposium concluded with a panel discussion chaired by Professor Dame Anne Marie Rafferty CBE explored making the case for the added value of lived experience ambassadors in health and social care settings.

What’s Next

‘Let Silence Speak’ was the first in a series of dissemination events aimed at taking the outcomes of the SHAPER programme to wider audiences. Future events addressing  specific topics such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke and post-natal depression are being programmed for the upcoming nine months, in addition to the planning a large conference that will cover all aspects of SHAPER later in 2023.