Sustainability Synergy: Exploring the Intersection of Creativity, Health, and Management

The event will endeavour to highlight sustainable practices in various fields, such as creative industries, healthcare, and management.

Speakers will share their experiences and insights on how sustainable approaches can positively impact these areas.

The event will serve as a platform to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among professionals, researchers, and students interested in creativity, health, and management.

By bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds, the event encourages interdisciplinary discussions that can lead to innovative solutions addressing sustainability challenges.

Schedule

12pm: Registration (tea/coffee)

12:15pm: Opening and Welcome – Dr Saleema Kauser – AMBS Sustainability Research Lead University of Manchester

12:30pm: Introduction and Interactive Drumming Workshop – Sens Sagna inspirational dancer, singer and teacher from the Casamance region of Senegal.

1:00pm: Dr Ryan Humphrey - Research and practice (as a community musician) to consider how community music activity can promote health benefits and creativity opportunities for communities facing marginalisation.

1:30pm: Dr Jenna Ashton - "The Creative Industries, the potential of Permaculture ... and the problem with Christopher Nolan."

2:00pm: Coffee/ refreshment

2:30pm: Creative activity

3:15pm: Dr Anita Greenhill and Sens Sagna – ‘Creative resilience and Sustainability’ - positive action, positive future’

3:45pm: Interactive Drumming Workshop – Sens Sagna

4:15-5pm: Drinks, refreshments, Networking

Speakers

Dr Ryan Humphrey is an Arts and Cultural Management Lecturer at the University of Manchester, specialising in community arts and cultural policy. He holds a PhD and MA in community music from York St John University. As a practitioner, Ryan has experience managing and delivering community music programmes across various contexts and demographics. His research interests concern funding, cultural policy and the working conditions of socially engaged and community artists.

In his talk, Ryan will draw from his research and practice as a community musician to consider how community music activity may promote health benefits and creativity opportunities for communities facing marginalisation. Along the way, he will consider the 'balancing-act' that needs to be accounted for when delivering this work to ensure that the practice can be sustainable and meaningful.

Dr Jenna Ashton, is a Lecturer in Heritage Studies and an arts-practice researcher working on cultural analysis and theory at the nexus between community heritage, ecologies, place, and social and environmental justice. She has a background in artmaking, exhibition curation, creative producing, and arts-education. Jenna is the Research Lead for Creative and Civic Futures for UoM research platform “Creative Manchester”, an Associate Member of the UoM Sustainable Consumption Institute, and Member of the UoM Manchester Urban Institute. Externally, she is a member of the RGS Animal Geographies Working Group.

Jenna’s talk will present "The Creative Industries, the potential of Permaculture... and the problem with Christopher Nolan." Jenna offers a serious and slightly tongue-in-cheek critique of how we move the creative industries away from a "Christopher Nolan" informed framework, towards a permaculture design infused ideology and practice.

Mr Sens Sagna is an inspirational dancer, singer and teacher from the Casamance region of Senegal, West Africa.

An inspirational and experienced dancer, singer and teacher from the Casamance region of Senegal, West Africa. He performs and teaches both choreographed and freestyle dance, drawing on the heritage of his tribe, the Jolla. He is also artistic director of the performance group Kajamor Family. 

Join him for this interactive performance and you too can drum to the synergy of rhythm and sustainability.

Dr Anita Greenhill’s key areas of research interest are in the areas of Digital Creativity within Community, Organisational and Business settings. Under this broad theme she has specialised interests and is actively conducting research into technologically enable work, spatiality, and Internet/ World Wide Web Usage in Organisations. Anita is University of Manchester Research Lead, Digital Futures ‘CREATECH’ encompassing the creative and heritage. Anita has made significant contribution to Creative policy and the implications of digital technology, digital technology and community engagement, education, and qualitative methods.

Sens and Anita together will share their message of ‘creative synergy- through positive action, positive future’. Drawing on their work both in Senegal and the UK, their talk will discuss the powerful mix of creative arts, management and synergy and ask can we strive for all?

Please note: The event organisers will prioritize sustainability in the choice of venue and event logistics. Selecting a sustainable venue that follows environmentally friendly practices, such as waste reduction, energy efficiency, and promoting public transportation, contributes to the university's sustainability goals. Additionally, implementing sustainable measures like minimizing paper usage through electronic communication, recycling bins, and providing sustainable catering options can further enhance the event's sustainability.

This event is being run in collaboration with Digital Futures.