Thrive Edinburgh is a city where every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to contribute to her or his community. Our ability to thrive as human beings and as a city is closely tied to our mental health.
Since our inaugural conference in November 2019, Thrive has been working to implement our aspirations for Edinburgh alongside people who have committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of the citizens of Edinburgh.
In 2021 we held our second Thrive conference, Get Your Thrive On! It was chaired by the former Lord Provost, Frank Ross. The day provided opportunity to come together to hear about, discuss and connect on work aligned with our 4 guiding principles – Change the Conversation, Change the Culture; Act Early; Partnering with Communities and using Data and Evidence to drive and create Change - and share future aspirations.
We were delighted to welcome over 140 people, to the third Thrive Conference where a range of committed and enthusiastic presenters and participants explored culture change, how it is being enacted and what is needed
The Lord Provost Robert Aldridge, who has now assumed the Chair role within the Thrive Assembly, led the morning session of the Conference. He spoke of how privileged he was to be known as Edinburgh’s first citizen and the responsibility of ensuring equity for all. He noted the fantastic opportunity that events such as the Thrive conference offer in creating environments that bolster creativity and collaboration.
"…And this is why I welcome events like today which draw us all together to share our learning and experiences, to nurture and strengthen our mutual efforts to realise our Thrive vision of creating a mentally healthy Edinburgh."
The Forget Me Notes, a dementia friendly choir who use the power of music to bring people, supporting their wellbeing and building connections and friendships brought energy to the start of the day with 3 songs.
Dr Linda Irvine Fitzpatrick then led a session to update on progress against the strategy, as well as give a flavour of upcoming key focuses for the year ahead. Touching on the new narrative change programme which will us the power of storytelling to drive systemic change across the city
An engaging and thought-provoking performance by Spit It Out, as well as a participatory drama from Active Inquiry covered many of the issues and emotions which were touched on throughout the day. Listen Think Draw encapsulated the day through their wonderful illustrative skills.
Thankyou to all who presented and attended, performed and participated – we are so looking forward to working with you to continue to change the conversation; change the culture.
