Author: Amy Edwards

What does it mean to say that most people in England and Wales identify as having ‘no-religion’? Is Christianity a ‘minority religion’ in Britain? Is religion still mainstream but more diverse? Is ‘Generation Z’ the least religious cohort, to date?

The UK is swiftly becoming less religious: data from the 2021 Census suggested a significant shift during the last two decades towards ‘no religion’, mostly at the expense of Christian identity and practice. While the statistics seem clear cut – 22.2 million claiming they are not religious – this panel explores what is going on behind those numbers and considers how we understand belief, non-belief, and the morals, values and ideas that can, for many, replace religion today.

Join Professor Abby Day, Professor of Race, Faith & Culture at Goldsmiths, University of London and Dr Jasjit Singh Associate Professor in the School of Philosophy, Religion and the History of Science at the University of Leeds in conversation with the University of Chester’s Dr Dawn Llewellyn, Associate Professor in Religion and Gender for a lively and interactive panel discussing what factors contribute to changing beliefs, where religion grows and declines, the difficulties in measuring belief, and what this means for understanding contemporary British society.

This event is aimed at everyone, you don’t need an interest in religion or belief to attend

To commemorate International Women’s Day and the theme for 2023 of #embraceequality, Dr Helen Southall from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chester will talk about some of the female inventors, scientists and mathematicians involved in key technologies used by our mobile phones; Bluetooth, GPS, and the programmable electronic computers that make it all possible.

It’s tempting to take all this for granted, but a huge amount of work and some inspired ideas went into the development of these technologies. Some of the people who did that work are famous, but many aren’t, often because they had to keep their work secret, or because of where or when they lived.

To commemorate International Women’s Day and the theme for 2023 of #embraceequality, Dr Helen Southall from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chester will talk about some of the female inventors, scientists and mathematicians involved in key technologies used by our mobile phones; Bluetooth, GPS, and the programmable electronic computers that make it all possible.

It’s tempting to take all this for granted, but a huge amount of work and some inspired ideas went into the development of these technologies. Some of the people who did that work are famous, but many aren’t, often because they had to keep their work secret, or because of where or when they lived.

Caroline Aldridge is a social worker, educator and author. In this session Caroline will use creative methods to explore using our personal and professional experiences to shape policy and practice.

Caroline will give an overview of her books – He Died Waiting: Learning the Lessons -A Bereaved Mother’s View of Mental Health Services (2020) and They Died Waiting: The Crisis in Mental Health -Stories of Loss and Stories of Hope, that she co-edited with Emma Corlett (2023). She will introduce Wolfensberger’s (2002) concept of ‘deathmaking’ and why practitioners need to be aware of their social position and attitudes before identifying different ways of agitating for change. The session will conclude by looking at the importance of hope and self-care.

An opportunity hear a truly inspiring author and practitioner speak and an opportunity to reflect on creative methods to shape policy and practice.

This session is open to all but will be particularly relevant to students and practitioners with an interest in social work, mental health, or values-based practice.

A workshop aimed at staff and students in the education space with interests in equality, diversity and inclusion in the teaching profession. This is an interactive session delivered by doctoral researcher, Chiedza Ikpeh (in Education and Children’s Services), graduate PGCE student of the University of Chester and founder of the RARA Education Project CIC. Chiedza will be sharing her career journey, from her teacher training experience to her progression in the teaching profession. More so, acknowledging the power of storytelling, Chiedza will be sharing some of her initial research findings having documented stories shared by over 20 Black women in teaching across the UK.

Chiedza will engage attendees in some scenario-based activities based on her findings, in order to encourage a deeper exploration of the social and systemic enablers and barriers facing teachers of colour today. This workshop will give room for attendees to re-think school practices, processes and procedures with a focus on promoting inclusivity within the profession.

A workshop aimed at staff and students in the education space with interests in equality, diversity and inclusion in the teaching profession. This is an interactive session delivered by doctoral researcher, Chiedza Ikpeh (in Education and Children’s Services), graduate PGCE student of the University of Chester and founder of the RARA Education Project CIC. Chiedza will be sharing her career journey, from her teacher training experience to her progression in the teaching profession. More so, acknowledging the power of storytelling, Chiedza will be sharing some of her initial research findings having documented stories shared by over 20 Black women in teaching across the UK.

Chiedza will engage attendees in some scenario-based activities based on her findings, in order to encourage a deeper exploration of the social and systemic enablers and barriers facing teachers of colour today. This workshop will give room for attendees to re-think school practices, processes and procedures with a focus on promoting inclusivity within the profession.

This will be a hands-on session to get to know some of the ingredients that can potentially help alleviate symptoms of menopause and also health risks that increase during this time. Delivered by Dr Tanja Harrison RNutr, a registered nutritionist and lecturer in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition with a special interest in nutrition during the menopausal transition and Jan Kresnyak, a demonstrator and visiting lecturer in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition with lots of experience in recipe writing and meal planning.

Benefits of attending: Following a brief introduction by Tanja and Jan, participants will get the chance to use those ingredients and prepare and taste our creations together. Take action for change in your own nutrition and lifestyle!

This session is a limited to 15 attendees only and is therefore only open to staff and students of the University.

Following a sell-out session in the Diversity Festival 2020 and building on the recent Recovery Ally Training, this workshop explores the lived-experience of students and staff in recovery from addictions. It asks how the University might better support them, and how it might contribute to wider efforts to confront stigma.

The event will be chaired by Dr Wendy Dossett who researches spirituality in addiction recovery and advocates for visible recovery. She recently contributed her expertise to the ground-breaking BBC2 documentary “I’m an Alcoholic Inside Recovery”

Luke Trainor, Director of the University of Birmingham’s pioneering programme, ‘Better than Well’, which celebrates and supports University of Birmingham students in recovery; Dot Smith, CEO of Middlesbrough-based charity, Recovery Connections and North East Charity Leader of the Year and Adam Petson, Recovery Capital Development Lead also at Recovery Connections will join Wendy to consider what Universities need to do in order to support staff and students in recovery more effectively.

Hear from inspirational speakers Wendy, Luke, Dot and Adam as they update on the progress nationally and locally towards making universities more aware and responsive to people in recovery. Contribute your views and experiences to the university discussion.

This is an event for anyone who is interested in retention and progression of students with addiction related mental health issues, widening participation, and the pastoral support of students and staff. It is also for anyone interested in addiction recovery, mental health and stigma.

As part of our Citizen Student Strategy, we want University of Chester students to make a positive impact on society.

The conversation around consent and healthy relationships is growing and we want to help our students understand why. Earlier this year, the results of our campus climate survey highlighted that our students believe education is key in prevention and that there is a desire for this across campus.

This workshop will cover what we mean when discussing consent, what constitutes a healthy relationship, sexual violence and the impacts of trauma.

This event is aimed at all Key Representative Students to enable them to engage in conversations with fellow students on this topic and have the confidence to challenge negative behaviours or beliefs.

This interactive session is designed to explore what defines and constitutes harassment, hate incidents and hate crimes.

This workshop will enable you to develop skills on how to respond to disclosures of harassment/hate incidents/crimes appropriately. You will consider the impact of harassment and hate on the individual concerned, and the wider community, which will allow you to contribute to making your institution safer and to providing support to your community.

Aimed at students but open to all.