News and events

With funding from Arts Council England, the University of Essex’s gallery Art Exchange devised ‘Glimmer’, a community-led project which takes inspiration from ‘glimmers’ - the complete opposite of triggers – which are moments that spark joy.

Jess Twyman (Curator (Exhibitions & Public Programme), Library and Cultural Services, University of Essex), will talk to us about the project and the impact it made in Clacton and other coastal communities in Tendring, Essex. She will expand on how the arts can enrich the lives of young people from isolated coastal communities.

Dr Paul Mee from the Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health at the University of Lincoln will be speaking on ‘Commonalities and differences between the Lincolnshire coast and Essex coasts and how our two institutions can work together to address challenges in our coastal communities.’

Professor Avril Keating and Dr Sam Whewall, from University College London, will present, 'The push and pull of place: the role of local employment opportunities in youth mobility aspirations in coastal towns in England.'

Professor Ewen Speed from the School of Health and Social Care will be speaking on 'Researching with marginalised communities from an inclusive involvement perspective', and Professor Gina Reinhardt from the Department of Government will discuss the ARISE Initiative.

Coastal communities have some of the worst health and wellbeing outcomes in England, with a higher burden of disease, across a wide range of physical and mental health conditions (CMO Annual Report 2021). In these communities there are also higher levels of unemployment, lower levels of educational attainment and an ageing population. There is a complex link between health, the environment and the economy and an urgent need to improve the life chances within these coastal communities.

The aim of the Centre is to deliver research, innovation, and impact to address the challenges coastal communities face and take advantage of the opportunities they offer.

The Centre’s officials launch event explores the Centre’s vision and research, and provides an opportunity to help us develop and tackle key coastal challenges.

This workshop explores how local authorities, NHS trusts, ICBs and others can tackle the issues around the collection, analysis and use of data relating to coastal communities.

In 2021 the Chief Medical Officer looked at health in coastal communities (.pdf), and highlighted that the available data on health and wellbeing were poor and lacked granularity. He recommended that this should be addressed to support the development of policies aimed at improving the health of coastal communities.

This one-day workshop takes a step towards this. Led by the Eastern Arc Coastal Data (‘Coda’) Network, it is an opportunity to work together to address key issues identified through the EARC workshops on coastal health data held in July 2022.