Connecting with local partners on a collective mission
Active Wirral, are the Active Partnership in Wirral, which is part of 43 locally-led, non-profit, strategic organisations covering England focused on building initiatives to increase physical activity levels. They’re encouraging collaboration within local system partners to support people living with health conditions to move more for their mental health and wellbeing through their Active Minds Project Move More in partnership with NHS Wirral Talking Therapies and Wirral Borough Council.
Local Wirral learning and networking event
This movement started in February 2024 when Active Wirral co-designed a learning and networking event for local partners with NHS Wirral Talking Therapies, We Are Undefeatable and Liverpool John Moores University. It aimed to encourage attendees to champion physical and mental health for those with long term conditions, supporting them to be active in Wirral.
The event spotlighted the work delivered by the four co-partners in the physical activity space:
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Active Wirral summarised the local context by sharing the Wirral’s prevalence of long term health conditions and the work they do to support people living with health conditions to be active including their We Are Undefeatable subsidised membership.
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We Are Undefeatable shared universal resources, insights, and stories of people living with physical and mental health conditions, focussing on the lived experience barriers and motivators to physical activity.
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Liverpool John Moores University presented their learnings from workshops they delivered in partnership with Active Wirral around a consultation for a Physical Activity on Referral Programme for Wirral.
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NHS Wirral Talking Therapies provided an insightful session on the link between long term health conditions, anxiety, and depression, and shared details about their Active Minds Project, which encourages people to connect, discover, explore, and move more.
This Move More movement started back in February 2024 when Active Wirral co-designed a learning and networking event for local partners alongside NHS Wirral Talking Therapies (a free service for people experiencing a mental health problem in the area), We Are Undefeatable and Liverpool John Moores University.
As part of the event, attendees were encouraged to share how they will embed and champion physical activity for people living with a range of conditions in Wirral by ‘making a pledge.’ You can see some of these examples within this article. We hope these pledges will inspire you to activate the campaign in your own way.
"The We Are Undefeatable learning and networking event reminded me to talk openly about the why – what are the values behind why we keep active to identify the driving force behind sustainable change."
"Since the event, I will work to breakdown language barriers – one day at a time to encourage, motivate and improve health and wellbeing."
"Following the event, I will share the We Are Undefeatable campaign with our staff to encourage them to move more"
Supporting the talking therapies workforce
Following the event, We Are Undefeatable and Active Wirral hosted a session with the NHS Wirral Talking Therapies workforce in May 2024 to continue their collaboration. We Are Undefeatable provided campaign insights, resources, and updates for professionals and HCPs to embed within their practice, while Active Wirral shared local physical activity opportunities and initiatives for people with health conditions that the workforce could signpost to.
62 members of the workforce attended, reporting improved knowledge of the motivators and barriers for people with health conditions, as well as a better understanding of available physical activity resources and opportunities.
Feeling inspired? If you are interested in exploring ways that We Are Undefeatable can support your work, please get in touch with Peter Dutton, Activation Manager at weareundefeatable@ageuk.org.uk.