Monday 24th November

After the success of last year’s event, the Curiosity Conference is back this November in Burnley!

The Curiosity Conference is designed to be a dynamic event where evidence from research and practice will be shared for those eager to learn and do more with whole systems, place-based approaches to tackling physical activity inequality. This Col/Laboratory event will inspire, celebrate success, showcase impact and connect those passionate about making a difference in their communities.

What to expect: At the heart of all presentations will be interactive and engaging conversations exploring evidence of change, success and impact. You can also expect:

• Keynote speakers that activate curiosity and inspire action
• Workshops to experience, engage, connect and apply
• Roundtable discussions to debate, sense check and challenge thinking
• Opportunities to be active and interact with some of our place-based work initiatives, whilst having the chance to connect with others across different systems and places

Speakers, Facilitators and Themes:

• Dr. Hussain Al Zubhaddi – TV doctor, Royal College of GPs Lifestyle and Physical Activity Clinical Champion
• Professor Stuart Fairclough – Professor of Physical Activity, Health & Wellbeing
• Prof. Chris Gidlow & Dr. Kate Garrott, Public Health Intervention Responsive Studies Team (NIHR)
• Rich Holmes- Go Together and the ABCD Institute.
• Jamie MacDonald- world record breaker and systems thinker.
• Ken Masser, Jamie Waugh, Helen Tyson, Sumaiyah Solkar, Alison Whittaker-Stewart, Paul Fosterm, Rachael McHugh and many more systems thinkers and doers.
• School Leaders from across Pennine Lancashire sharing how they have used child movement data to increase physical activity levels in their schools
• Burnley Outdoor Town
• Local Madrassahs involved with the Active Madrassah programs
• Localising national campaigns with We Are Undefeatable
• Farming Stronger for Longer
• Active Villages
• Many more representing leisure, local government, health, faith, voluntary and education sectors

This list will continue to evolve and we will send out updates of facilitators up to the event.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone passionate about making a difference in their communities with a focus on place-based ways of working.This could include other Sport England Place Partners, researchers, programme leaders, relationship managers and colleagues from across healthcare, education, local government, leisure or VCFSE systems.

Event Details:

• Fully accessible
• Free to attend
• Refreshments will be provided throughout the day
• Lunch will be available to purchase at reasonable prices
• What to bring – we recommend you come prepared for being outdoors – active footwear and outside layers may be needed.

Location and Directions:

• Address: Burnley, BB11 1BH
• Main Venue: Burnley Mechanics. Workshop and Seminars will be on-site or within 5 minute walk/wheel, giving time for some informal connections between sessions AND an opportunity to be part of #BurnleyOutdoorTown Movement.

Our last Curiosity Conference, held in October 2024, invited our teams and partners to share evidence from research and practice. The conference was centred around whole systems place-based approaches to tackling physical activity inequality. We celebrated successes, showcased impact and connected those passionate about making a difference in their communities.

Take a look below to find out more about how the day went in 2024 and access some of the resources, including pictures from the day, posters and presentations, videos of full seminars, insights from our speakers and the attendee list.