3 October, 9.30am - 4.30pm, The Eden Project + livestream of morning via CHAOS TV
This event is developed and delivered by Digital Futures. Digital Futures is part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and led by Truro and Penwith College.
Watch livestream replay on You Tube - event coverage starts at 24 minutes in
Below are some photos from the day with thanks to Stephen Pennells.
Further support
Please know that whatever you are facing, you do not have do it alone. If any of the content today is triggering for you, and you are with us at the Eden Project, Dolly (one of the team from Truro and Penwith College) is on hand to listen. We also have some local support agencies amongst our exhibitors. If you are watching the livestream, or need to talk to someone another time, please see the contact info at the bottom of this page.
Livestream coverage
Thanks to the fabulous team at CHAOS Digital we are able to livestream the main event programme from 9.30am to 1.10pm. Please note that, due to logistics and the wish to ensure that workshops feel like a safe space, we won't be livestreaming these. Link to replay of coverage (event coverage starts at 24 minutes in).
You can add comments and questions via most of the links above – we’d really love to hear what you think. You should be able to view the replay on the Digital Futures Facebook page straight after the livestream coverage finishes. And we'll also add a link to view the replay to this website soon.
Feedback
We'd really love to know what you think of the event and livestream coverage. We'll give those attending in person a paper feedback form at the end of the last workshop. If you need to leave earlier, or are watching on the livestream, please complete our short online feedback form. Both forms include the option to request a certificate of attendance (if you would like one).
MORNING PROGRAMME
8.45am ARRIVAL + REFRESHMENTS
9.30am Moments of Choice (+ start of livestream coverage)
The piece, which was specially commissioned and produced for this event, was written and performed by the cast: Kate Barden, Clare Cooney, Graham Eccles, Ben Hamley, Jo Mason and Fi Read. The soundscape was composed and performed by musician, Matthew Thomason. And the performance was directed by project creator, Dicky Souray (pictured).
Moments of Choice explores those small acts of agency that feel like crucial opportunities for those who often feel powerless within their experiences of adverse mental health. Those small decisions where we have the chance to 'put ourselves in the way of a good’ in a small way. It’s not that doing these things suddenly ‘makes it all better’ or means mental health challenges disappear. Rather, the cumulative effect of making those choices can be impactful, even if each time they can feel both pointless and difficult. Along the way, we also learn to feel less passive and build up that muscle of choosing to do what we can to help ourselves in the moment we have.
Dicky Souray is a freelance creative working across various performance modes as a director, facilitator, programmer, and producer. He is delighted to have been commissioned by Digital Futures to facilitate the development of today’s performance. It is the culmination of the hard work of seven fantastic artists who have provided the heart and soul of the piece, and Dicky is delighted to have had the privilege to coordinate and assemble it.
9.55am Introduction to our compere for the morning - Ross Lannon
Ross is a regular host on CHAOS TV and Radio, producing his very own live show every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am. Ross is also a lifestyle and disability blogger. He created “A Life on Wheels” back in 2017 to document his journey through adulthood, as a young man with a physical disability. As a full-time wheelchair user, Ross is passionate about the positive representation of disabilities within the media.
10.05am Talk by Dr Monty Lyman
Monty is a medical doctor, bestselling author, research fellow at the University of Oxford, and named Royal College of Psychiatrists 2024 Innovator of the Year.
His third book, The Immune Mind: The New Science of Health, released earlier this year, unlocks the fascinating relationship between the immune system and our mental health.
Monty's fascinating talk will outline the mind-body-microbiome connection, illuminating just how deeply mental and physical wellbeing are intertwined.
10.35am Panel Discussion
Exploring why minority communities, those living in poverty or who have experienced trauma are disproportionally impacted by ill health. Led by Ross Lannon. The panel includes Dr Monty Lyman, Elliot Kenton and Viki Carpenter.
Viki Carpenter is a founding Director of Access Cornwall. Viki grew up in Cornwall and from her teenage years she was a carer for her mum, who was a wheelchair user. Viki is neurodivergent herself, and has a neurodivergent family, she is passionate about supporting those living with disabilities, neurodivergence and mental health conditions in Cornwall.
"It's wonderful to be invited to contribute to this event and discussion. Cornwall has a higher than average population who identify as disabled and plenty of studies demonstrate that being disabled or neurodivergent means a greater likelihood of living in poverty and having poorer health outcomes, particularly poor mental health outcomes that are not connected to the disability. I'm looking forward to a discussion that can really shed light on these issues."
Elliot Kenton (he/they) is a transmasculine person who started out their professional life as a foreign language teacher in 2010. Elliot now offers private tuition to young people with learning needs, specialising in neurodiversity. As a freelance visual artist, he believes in the power of creativity and flexible approaches to learning to get the best outcomes from people.
Elliot works part time as the People Lead for Cornwall Pride and is the Project Lead for the mental health and wellbeing project, Penguin Soup. He holds mental health and counselling qualifications, and their job role is characterised by looking after the wellbeing of staff, trustees, and volunteers.
Elliot is the founder and director of Transparent Presence CIC which has the aim of supporting gender diverse people and their families in the South West. Transparent Presence CIC holds a monthly adult support group, a youth group (TYP) and an LGBTQ+ choir called Vocal Presence who regularly perform across Cornwall.
10.55am Break
11.25am Talk by Kellie Gilmour
Kellie Gilmour is an Integrative Health Practitioner, Meditation Tutor and Sleep Mentor, on a mission to to encourage, empower and support our communities into gaining and maintaining good physical and mental health.
By finding solutions to her own health challenges, including hearing loss, chronic pain, autoimmune disorder and neurodiversity, she feels a duty to share the experience and knowledge gained to support others on their journeys to great health and wellbeing.
Kellie's talk will reveal more about the vital importance of sleep for every aspect of wellbeing.
Some resources from Kellie....
11.45am Panel Discussion
Led by Chloe Rickard, this discussion will cover how technology generates challenges for wellbeing but also creates ways to support it.
Chloe is the Academy Lead in Cornwall Council’s Digital Future team. Alongside partners in education and industry, the Council’s ambition is to build an inclusive and sustainable Academy that provides skills for our digital future. Previous to this role she managed the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Digital Skills Partnership, and her career has spanned the digital, charity and creative sectors including many years with Kneehigh theatre and as a trustee for Cornwall Museums Partnership. Chloe’s values include collaboration, inclusion, ambition and bravery and she has been described as “an awesome advocate”. Fanatical about innovation and creative problem solving, Chloe is always looking for new ways to engage diverse communities and create opportunities.
Panellists include: Deborah O’Nyons (Clinical Lead for Health Coaching and Personalised Care for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board), Justin Wiggan (Internal Garden), Matthew (Cornwall Pride), and Chris Weavill (Hertzian).
12.15pm Talk by Sir Tim Smit
Sir Tim Smit read Archaeology and Anthropology at Durham University. This began a lifelong passion for regeneration and working to put things into good heart.
Following occupations embracing his many interests from Archaeology through music to wreck diving, Rare Breed animal husbandry and building restoration, in 1990 He ‘discovered’ and then restored ‘The Lost Gardens of Heligan’ with John Nelson. Of which he remains a Director. This is now one of the UK’s best loved gardens having been named ‘Garden of the Year’ by BBC Countryfile Awards (Mar 2018). Tim’s book ‘The Lost Gardens of Heligan’ won Book of the Year in 1997.
Tim is today Executive Chair and Co-founder of the multi award-winning Eden Project in
Cornwall. Since its opening in 2001, over 23 million people have come to see a once sterile
pit, turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture
symbolic of human endeavour and our dependence and unbreakable part in the systems of
the natural world.
Tim will be drawing on all his diverse experience to discuss how spending time in nature and feeling part of a community benefits our sense of wellbeing.
12.35pm Ways to Wellbeing
Deborah O'Nyons (Clinical Lead for Health Coaching and Personalised Care for NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board) will discuss how non-medicalised interventions such as social prescribing support wellbeing.
12.45pm Performance by Our Atlantic Roots
Cornwall based married duo, Our Atlantic Roots (Mac and Laura Johnston) bring an uplifting blend of American & British alt-folk, with harmonies that are rich, dynamic and unite beautifully. The couple started songwriting together 10 years ago after meeting in North Carolina. Mac’s guitar playing is full of character and accompanies lyrics that are both poetic and direct, hopeful, and authentic. The duo has been praised by Nashville hit songwriter Mark Cawley (Tina Turner, Paul Carrack, Kathy Mattea) for their skillful writing and by British folk patriarch Geoff Lakeman for their live performance. Mac and Laura present a blend of the cultures they are individually from, by merging various genres characterized by their country and folk roots. With over 4 million streams and hundreds of live shows under their belts, as well as national BBC TV and countless BBC Introducing features, they are an emerging act that are well worth keeping an eye on.
Mac and Laura talk openly about how things like community and spending time in nature have supported their mental health, particularly as Mac has suffered with an anxiety and panic disorder. As a result they've written many songs on these themes and have continually been praised for the way they connect with their audience in this way. Their passion is to be a voice of encouragement and hope for anyone who may be struggling with their mental health.
Website | Sound Cloud | Facebook | Insta | Spotify
1.10pm LUNCH (+ end of livestream coverage)
AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS (2 - 4.30pm) three of the following five 45-minute workshops
Remote Working - Dr Alison Flanagan, Health and Personal Coach
Alison was an NHS GP for more than 25 years and since leaving General Practice in 2018 has focussed on her passion for supporting people to make lifestyle changes that can help them to feel physically, mentally and emotionally better now as well as reducing the chances of developing serious illness in the future.
Alison has high level qualifications in Lifestyle Medicine and Coaching and Mentoring and loves to work with anyone experiencing challenges in their lives. She runs a small private practice and works pro bono with clients who have recently experienced homelessness. She is a trustee of Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum and a gleaner with Gleaning Cornwall.
More information about Alison can be found on her website www.alisonflanagancoaching.co.uk
Alison is also co-organiser of the 6th Kernow Lifestyle Medicine conference which will be held on November 8th at the Headland Hotel, Newquay. More information about this conference can be found on the conference website https://www.kernowlifestylemedicine.co.uk/
In this workshop Alison will explore the unique advantages and disadvantages of remote working in relation to healthy living and generate personalised strategies for an improved lifestyle balance.
Immersive Sound Art - Justin Wiggan, Internal Garden, Sound Artist
Internal Garden is an immersive sound art project exploring of the themes of plant energy and human connection and consciousness.
Justin uses wearable technology to translate plant vibrations into a highly immersive sensory experience supportive of wellbeing as well as changing our perceptions of plants.
The Comparison Detox: how to stop comparing yourself to others online - Lucy Cox, Academe, Confidence Coach
Lucy Cox is Co-Founder of multi award-winning Cornish business, The Academe; a company on a mission to propel human confidence, productivity, creativity, communication and (importantly) contentment.
However, this isn't your average training and development company (as you will experience!)
The team won 'Business Training Provider of the Year 2023' and 'Best Employee Development Program 2023' in the Business Awards UK, as well as being finalists in both the Nat West Evie Awards and the National Hustle Awards.
Their innovative, accessible, high-energy support has reached thousands of people across the world since their launch in mid 2021, with their growth based almost entirely on referrals and recommendations.
Lucy's session promises to be a practical, interactive, (and for most of us) much needed exploration on why we seem compelled to compare ourselves to others online, often to our own detriment. Importantly, this session will uncover the top strategies for turning down the dial on toxic comparison.
Immerse Yourself in Nature - Real Ideas Organisation
This workshop run by the Real Immersive strand of Real Ideas, part of the Digital Futures partnership offers permission to play and unleash your creativity.
Learn the basics of 360-degree filmmaking using InstaX2 cameras! Film, edit and view your content in the wonderful world of VR. Be instantly transported into peaceful, natural environments from anywhere, easily providing a tranquil escape from the busyness of day-to-day life.
And if this brief taster leaves you wanting more, check out these opportunities at Liskeard Library this autumn.
Supporting Men's Wellbeing - Ross Jackson-Hicks, Man Down Cornwall
Ross is the founder and also one of the directors of Man Down Cornwall. They are a men’s mental health support group who provide a safe, confidential and non judgmental environment to talk and connect with others.
They provide informal peer-support talking groups all over Cornwall for men with mental health concerns. They aim to collectively end the stigma and reduce the number of male suicides in Cornwall.
Through this workshop, Ross will lead a discussion on the unique challenges which face men in relation to wellbeing.
More about Digital Futures
We hope you enjoy this event and find the content valuable and beneficial. If so, why not check out other part- and fully-funded training opportunities and events offered across the Digital Futures partnership. Digital Futures is part-funded through the Shared Prosperity Fund and led by Truro and Penwith College. Partners include Cornwall Marine Network, Digital Peninsula Network, Falmouth University, Headforwards, Real Ideas, Step into Learning, TECwomen, Tech Cornwall and the University of Exeter.
And you can also sign up to receive our monthly newsletter for regular updates about training opportunities and tech news locally.
Exhibitors
We are hoping to be joined by the following exhibitors. Please say hello - they'll be around before we start, and during the morning, and lunch, breaks.
Virtual Hippo
Please know that you are not alone, whatever you are facing. As well as those attending Wellbeing in a Digital Age, there are other support agencies, both local and national who are ready to listen. Here's contact info for some, if you ever need them.
The Samaritans 116 123 call free, day or night, 365 days a year
NHS - 24 hour mental health support 0800 038 5300
Intercom Trust - LGBTQ+ support intercomtrust.org.uk 0800 612 3010
Penhaligons Friends - bereavement support penhaligonsfriends.org.uk 01209 210 624
First Light - domestic abuse and sexual violence recovery service firstlight.org.uk 0300 777 4 777
With You - alcohol, drug use and mental health support wearewithyou.org.uk 01872 300 816
Non-emergency police enquiries police.uk 101
Papyrus - prevention of young suicide papyrus-uk.org 0800 068 4141
Young Minds - mental health support youngminds.org.uk Text YM to 85258
Beat Eating Disorders - eating disorder support beateatingdisorders.org.uk 0808 801 0677
Brook Clinic - sexual health and wellbeing brook.org.uk
Self harm - supporting anyone affected by self harm battle-scars-self-harm.org.uk
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