Author: Amy Edwards

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.

In this event, delivered by staff from the University Proctor’s office, you will learn how to define and recognise situations which constitute harassment, hate incidents and hate crime.

Benefits of attending: This session will enable you to understand the impact of harassment and hate on the individual concerned, and the wider community. You will also leave feeling more confident and with tools to know how to be an effective bystander when you witness these incidents.

Aimed at students but open to all.

It isn’t often we get the same speaker back the following year but with G we made an exception! Following on from their fantastic session delivered by The Queer Box in 2022, we have G back for a more in-depth look at gender identity, gender expression, biological essentialism and the gender-critical movement.

This session is designed to give participants a thorough understanding of the fundamentals of gender, gender diversity and trans awareness.

The session will include:

• What we mean by gender identity, gender expression and the

• words ‘cis’ and ‘trans’

• The differences between sex assigned at birth and biological sex

• Understanding pronouns

• Use of appropriate language

• The transitioning experience

• Microaggressions

• Biological essentialism and the gender-critical movement

• Trans allyship

• Group discussion of potentially challenging scenarios

This content will be delivered using a combination of taught presentation, breakout workshop sessions and group discussion.

G Sabini-Roberts (they/them) is nonbinary, queer and neurodivergent and has been an LGBTQ+ activist, organiser, facilitator, trainer & speaker since 1996. Having also spent several years teaching in HE settings, developing community outreach programmes and training and mentoring in the entrepreneurial sector, they bring a diverse professional skill set to the table alongside their grass-roots queer heritage.

In 2020 they co-founded The Queer Box and have since worked with many organisations, including the NHS, Hollyoaks, and HS2 as well as numerous small business owners, coaches and consultants

Hannah Jepson is the founder of Engaging for Success, an organisation providing LGBTQ+ Inclusion training, Diversity and inclusion expertise and consultancy, Inclusive competency framework design, Organisational culture change, LGBTQ+ aligned mentoring and more.

Hannah will share her own inspiring story of how she began working in LGBTQ+ Advocacy.

In this session, Hannah will also explain the legacy of section 28 and discuss how the education landscape changed since the repeal of Section 28 and the challenges young people and educators still face, before looking to the future – what’s set to change in the coming years for the LGBTQ+ community. The session will be interactive with time for Q&A.

In this interactive session, you will understand how you can help; how you can be an intentional ally, in your role, to the LGBTQ+ community, and how can you be safely authentic if you are LGBTQ+.

Relevant to all staff, students and visitors.

We are delighted to welcome Allegra Foxile, author of the book Hormone Tension Release (HTR) to the Festival 2023. Allegra’s book offers a powerful solution to hormonal tension.

Having previously struggled significantly with debilitating hormonal symptoms, Allegra has delved deep and devised a powerful natural system to help you to release stress, pain and tension from your body. HTR offers freedom and relief from premenstrual tension, perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause symptoms.

In this session, Allegra will discuss the menopause symptoms and most importantly how to minimise these through self-regulation. This session will involve practical exercises so wear comfy clothes that you can stretch in.

The session is therefore open to everyone who is already or will directly be affected by the menopause.

The menopausal transition is a time of great changes in women and a considerable number will experience so-called menopause symptoms, such as night sweats, hot flushes, and brain fog to name a few. It is lesser known that the physiological changes can also lead to increased health risks, such as cardiometabolic diseases and osteoporosis. Whilst a time of great challenges, this is also a time of great opportunity to make healthy lifestyle changes that will support women (and their families and workplace) during this time and beyond.

Dr Tanja Harrison RNutr is a registered nutritionist and lecturer in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Nutrition with a special interest in nutrition during the menopausal transition.

The talk will focus on foods, nutrients and nutritional strategies that can help mitigate symptoms and health risks.

Whilst women have the physical experience of menopause, ultimately, all family members and the wider environment are also part of this transition and it is therefore helpful for them to also gain an understanding of lifestyle changes, including nutrition, that are beneficial. And chances are that we can all eat more healthily anyway!

The session is therefore open to everyone who is already or will directly or indirectly be affected by the menopause.