The First Ever Social Innovation Café!

On Wednesday 18 March 2015 I went along to support the first ever Social Innovation Café in the Nuffield Kitchen on Highfield Campus. The event was led by Josie Francis from the University’s Social Innovation Lab, and asked students, staff and social care partners to discuss the issue of mental health and young people. The idea behind the café was to:

• Meet third sector practitioners and hear about their experiences;
• Learn more about social issues in the local community;
• Get practical, hands on experience of solving social problems.

The focus of this initial meeting was to debate the fundamental reasons why young people do not wish to talk about their mental health, and then to propose a solution.

Fuelled by tea, coffee, and cake, we discussed these issues in three groups and, when it came to sharing the outcomes of our discussions, it turned out that we had all identified the same root causes: lack of education on mental health, and lack of funding to support mental health care. Moreover, we all agreed in principle on the solution: to set up schemes that put mental health in the primary and secondary education curriculums, whether this be through taught lessons, workshops or former patient speakers. The best way to establish this was agreed as a pilot scheme in the local area that could then be used to petition the government for more funding as a case study. At the end of the session the Social Innovation Lab explained that they had resources and advice if any student felt strongly that they wanted to pursue this outlet, and everyone left feeling very passionate about what they had just discussed – two members of my group (a Psychology student and a Mental Health Nurse trainee) even expressed an interest in pursuing the suggestions put forward.

Why am I telling you about this? Because one of the best things about it was that I got to interact with people from the University and outside that I otherwise would never have met, and we all shared a common enthusiasm for social change. In contrast to Social Enterprise, which often requires a certain level of business and finance knowledge, Social Innovation is just about creating social change by collaborating and using your own skills to help others. Working with such a diverse group helped me to recognise my own unique strengths as well as learning from others, and I came away better prepared for whatever life throws at me next. All of this was done in an informal, friendly setting with people who just wanted to help.

If this sounds like your kind of thing, then the next Social Innovation Café will take place on Wednesday 6 May 2015 in the Nuffield Kitchen from 1.30-3pm, looking at ‘Women’s Safety in Southampton.’ You can also follow the Social Innovation Lab on Twitter @SocInnSoton, sign up to their newsletter here  http://t.co/2bqMS5PtS1 and check out their blog www.socinnsoton.wordpress.com. Alternatively, you can email Josie Francis directly for further information j.e.francis@soton.ac.uk.

See you all again soon!

Charlotte