We’re thrilled to announce the official launch of the “We Are Undefeatable” in Blackburn with Darwen Campaign. The campaign is based on the national initiative, a behaviour change campaign to inspire people living with long-term health conditions to be more active.
Together an Active Future and the We Are Undefeatable national team joined forces to invite local community groups and partners for a day of celebration and connection. Ewood Park, the home of Blackburn Rovers FC, provided the perfect backdrop to share inspirational stories of local people who have embraced physical activity to improve their health and wellbeing.
We have embraced the opportunity to work together with partners across the borough to localise the campaign by featuring Blackburn with Darwen residents and signposting to local services. From boxing and wild swimming to cycling and walking, these inspiring individuals showcase the diverse ways to be active, regardless of your condition.
The day showed the power of community connections and created a space where attendees could see and feel the tangible difference their work makes. Storytellers from the campaign shared their lived experiences, highlighting the positive impact that physical activity has on the management of their health conditions.
Alison Whittaker-Stewart, TaAF Physical Activity Campaigns Lead, said:
It was fabulous to see so many people from different sectors in the room, enthused and committed to support the campaign and help make it a success. The storytellers were truly inspiring and reminded everyone of the collective strength that resides within our communities. It’s also showed the transformative power of collaboration and how together, we can create a culture of health and well-being in Blackburn with Darwen. Let’s make physical activity accessible for all and show that indeed, we are undefeatable!
Doing things differently:
- Local Storytellers: We’re putting the spotlight on everyday people in the Blackburn with Darwen community, such as Chris who lives with Parkinson’s disease and moves more through walking football and support from Mind2Muscle. Their relatable experiences will resonate with others facing similar challenges, making the message more impactful locally.
- Targeted Approach: Data is king! We’ve used public health data to identify the most relevant stories for different areas, ensuring the campaign speaks directly to each community within the borough, and targeting different long term health conditions, based on their prevalence at ward-level.
- Empowering Professionals: We know healthcare professionals play a vital role in encouraging physical activity. We’ve shared resources including We Are Undefeatable’s recently published ‘Bridging the Gap’ report and the Moving Medicine Packs to equip them with the tools to effectively communicate the benefits of staying active to their patients, and we want them to utilise the campaign as a central resource to support their patients to move more
- Collaboration is Key: We can’t do this alone! We’re calling on all community partners to join forces and spread the word. Share our social media posts, utilise the campaign assets in your communications, and let’s create a movement together.
Peter Dutton, Activation Manager at We Are Undefeatable, said:
Our aim is to influence change and collaborating with local partners during the planning of this campaign has been crucial to its development and to support our aims of tackling inequalities in Blackburn with Darwen through physical activity. This campaign has been shaped using population health data at ward-level, and stories will be shared within the most relevant community groups. We Are Undefeatable are excited by the impact that this innovative place-based campaign activation can have, and we hope to share our learnings from this collaborative system-led approach with others.
It’s now important for us to keep momentum after this launch event to have the greatest impact on the lives of people living with health conditions in Blackburn with Darwen.
Looking to get involved? Keep an eye out for the inspiring stories of our local storytellers, launching soon on the BeWell website and follow TaAFTalks and Blackburn with Darwen Council’s social media pages and share the campaign message across your own communication channels and websites!
