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On 18 June, The Florrie in Liverpool hosted the concluding event of the ReCITE Festival of Learning, bringing together a diverse group of community organisations, health providers, researchers, and strategic leaders. This gathering served as a platform for reflection, shared learning, and celebration, emphasizing the transformative potential that emerges when communities are recognized as equal partners in driving change.
This event represented the finale of a series of Learning Events that encouraged the exchange of ideas, shared experiences, and recognized achievements across Liverpool and the broader city region. The Festival of Learning clearly demonstrated the impact of collaborative efforts among communities, health services, creatives, and researchers who worked together to transcend conventional methods. Their goal was to co-create solutions based on the strengths, lived experiences, and priorities of local people, proving what is possible through such partnerships.
Liverpool City Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Ruth Bennett, opened the event by stressing the crucial role of partnership and community-led strategies in addressing health inequalities. She stated, “The most persistent and unfair differences in health outcomes cannot be solved by services alone. They require approaches that build trust, strengthen relationships, increase community power, and create genuine opportunities for people to shape solutions themselves.” Following this, Dr Dawn Holford, ReCITE Co-Principal Investigator from the University of Bristol, highlighted the necessity of creative, community-driven initiatives to combat health inequity. She reflected, “Learning from our collective stories is how we seed the change we need.”
Throughout the day, Community Innovation Teams (CITs) brought the ReCITE model to life by showcasing how a variety of local stakeholders—including health professionals, community groups, volunteers, creatives, and individuals with lived experience—collaborate to understand challenges and co-design responsive solutions. One particularly impactful project focused on diabetes awareness and demonstrated why young people’s participation is vital for fostering healthier communities. Six Liverpool-based CIT initiatives presented their work, ranging from improving awareness of whooping cough vaccinations and lung cancer symptoms to supporting high-frequency users of emergency care, addressing social isolation among men in North Liverpool, enhancing access to trustworthy health information for migrant and refugee communities, and empowering people living with epilepsy.
The event also featured storytelling, presentations, and the CIT Storyboard Walkabout, which collectively emphasized the importance of listening to communities, dismantling organisational barriers, and consistently nurturing trust and relationships as the foundation for innovation. Amina Ismail, Senior Community Mobiliser at LSTM, echoed this sentiment, saying, “Because the people who live, work and care within communities are often the people who understand those communities best. They hold the stories, the relationships, the knowledge and the insight that can sometimes be missed when decisions are made from a distance.” Creativity was celebrated not just in discussion but through live performances by The Comedy Trust and Collective Encounters, alongside the Creative Assets Showcase, illustrating how arts and culture can foster connection and open dialogue, strengthening the role of creative approaches in reducing health inequalities.
Looking toward the future, the afternoon panel concentrated on the integration of the Community Innovation Team model with the NHS Neighbourhood Health approach and the broader adoption of these collaborative methods. Representatives from public health, local government, the voluntary sector, and the creative sector all emphasized a shared belief that enduring change is achieved when communities are treated as equal partners rather than mere recipients of services. Melisa Campbell, Associate Director of Public Health at Liverpool Council, summed this up, stating, “Communities are not recipients, but they’re partners.” Already active across Liverpool, Knowsley, and Sefton, ReCITE’s CITs merge routine health data with community insights to develop and assess hyperlocal solutions geared toward prevention and boosting service engagement. This approach fosters stronger partnerships, eliminates silos, and promotes innovative strategies that build trust and address health inequalities.
Far from just a celebration, the Liverpool Learning Event generated momentum for future work. The knowledge, connections, and shared experiences from throughout the Festival of Learning will carry forward into the upcoming Knowledge Uptake Event, which will bring together regional and national stakeholders to explore how community-led, creative initiatives can shape the future of neighbourhood health. The event underscored that hope, creativity, partnership, and collaboration are fundamental to building healthier, more connected, and more equitable communities
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