A speaker stood at the front of a room, with a presentation behind them. People are sat at round tables watching.

Momentum Over Perfection

Date: 8 June 2023 Author: Energise Me

We celebrated two years of the We Can Be Active Strategy with three inspirational stories from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Over 70 people joined an event in Winchester to mark two years of the We Can Be Active strategy on 7th June.

Energise Me hosted the latest session on the strategy designed to both celebrate achievements far, as well as propel work across the key area’s forwards.

Over 800 people contributed to the We Can Be Active strategy. Launched in 2021 it gives organisations a framework to make Hampshire and the Isle of Wight a happier and healthier place to live.

Energise Me Chief Executive Julie Amies opened the session saying “When we set out our collective mission to inspire and support active lifestyles the call to action was for us all to join forces to make it easier for everyone to be active. Individuals and organisations can all play a part. If you take just one thing away from today, it’s that we can all help someone or many people to be active.“

Community voice stands out

Projects from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were celebrated, with inspirational stories on Culture in Common in the New Forest, Youth Voice in The Bay Isle of Wight and social prescribing in Southampton.

Listening to our communities emerged as a key theme running throughout each of the projects.

Community Navigator Peter Hull and Sam Goold from SO: Linked showcased how personalised service was central to their success in supporting people to get started, from face-to-face meetings to attending first sessions with their users.

Culture in Common’s ethos of meet them where they are was also crucial to getting the project off the ground. Attending local events and recruiting a team of community anchors has allowed them to target their programme to those that will benefit most.

Capturing and embedding youth voice through forums has had the most impact for Community Action Isle of Wight. Engaging young people with free, open access activities and ownership of their own projects has transformed them into young leaders, saying “no decision about us without us”.

I pledge to take the time to build what matters for the community, in the community.

Time for reflection

As well as inspiration, the event gave attendees time to pause and reflect on what would help their communities to be active. Lucy Gower, from Lucidity gave attendees some top productivity tips on turning a to-do list into a ta-da list adding that it’s momentum not perfection that really matters.

Attendees finished the morning unleashing their creative sides, Sketchnoting reflections on the session. They committed to taking action, from prioritising more time for learning, to collaborating with communities and setting up events and forums.