140 partners. One shared ambition. A day exploring not just what we want to change, but how we work together to make change possible.
We welcomed 140 partners from across health, local government, education, community organisations, sport and physical activity to our annual Somerset Moves Partner Engagement Event on Wednesday at The Canalside in Bridgwater.
This year's theme was: The Way We Work: Creating the Conditions for Change and that theme ran through the whole day.
We were joined by James Watmough, Strategic Lead for Place Relationships at Sport England, who helped us think about the conditions that enable change across places and systems.
Our keynote, Alison Kervin OBE, challenged us to think differently about what creates extraordinary outcomes. Drawing on insights from more than 250 Olympic champions and world-class performers, Alison explored the cultures, behaviours and environments that enable people to achieve extraordinary things – and what this means for leadership, collaboration and communities.
From there, the day moved from inspiration into practical exploration. Our Learning Labs explored:
→ The everyday behaviours that shape culture
→ Relational working and changing conversations
→ Designing positive experiences for children and young people
→ Creating more welcoming and inclusive experiences
Our Conversation Spaces then opened up discussion around some of the issues shaping physical activity across Somerset – from Best Start in Life, neighbourhoods and place-based working, to prevention, education, data, health and care, and the language we use to talk about movement. A big thankyou to our session facilitators Annabel Litchfield, Hayley Bullock, Ashley Harris, Russ Turner, Laura Dyke, Nancy Muroch, Rachel Parker, Natasha Rand, Kerry Westcott, Charlie Crane, Lou Woolway, Lou Curry, Jack Brazier, Rachel Handley, Megan Sheldrake & Eleanor Lyons
We also took time, led by our deputy CEO Jake Hannis to shape the next chapter of Somerset Moves, with partners contributing their views as we refresh the strategy and build on what we've learned since its launch in 2022. Watch this space for more news on this in early 2027.
And we tried a few things differently ourselves. For the first time, we introduced digital technology and headsets into the event, and our movement break became a silent disco. If we're talking about creating the conditions for people to move more, we should experience that ourselves too. A few minutes of music, movement and choice was a good reminder that movement doesn't have to look the same for everyone – and that the environment we create can make all the difference.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the day was a simple one from our CEO Jane Knowles: Lasting change isn't created by one organisation working alone. It's created through relationships, shared learning, different perspectives, curiosity and the willingness to work differently. We ask everyone to start anywhere and follow it everywhere!
Thank you to all partners who brought their energy, experience and questions to the day.
View the full photo album from the day: Click here