Much progress has been made locally, nationally and globally in developing and delivering policies and interventions to prevent obesity. Yet the effectiveness of existing actions remains modest. Importantly, the latest data from Scotland and elsewhere indicates that inequality is rising, with the proportion of children at risk of being affected by overweight or obesity increasing in the most deprived areas while it declines in the least deprived places. This indicates new thinking is needed to tackle the challenge. But how does the thinking - and the doing - really need to change to tackle the problem? Based on 20 years of working in the field, Corinna will outline her thinking on what needs to be done differently to tackle obesity, equitably. She will explore the fundamentals of what this means for acting differently, through engaging with people affected by the problem, taking a more systems-based approach and aligning with economic goals. She will highlight not just what needs to be done, but how it needs to be done differently. Corinna will draw on both her research and practice and provide, as an example of the new thinking, the work of the London Child Obesity Taskforce. Corinna Hawkes is Professor of Food Policy and Director, Centre for Food Policy at City University of London. She is Vice Chair of the London Child Obesity Taskforce and a Distinguished Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health. She is Co-Investigator of the NIHR-funded Obesity Policy Research Unit and was a Commissioner on the Lancet Commission on Obesity. Between 2015-18 she was Co-Chair of the Global Nutrition Report. Her expertise lies in the development and design of public policies and actions throughout the food system to improve diets around the world.

The scale and impact of health inequalities in Scotland is well understood: the gaps in healthy life expectancy between our communities are unjust and avoidable. Much of the work on health inequalities has tended to focus on socioeconomic circumstances as a fundamental cause. However a wide range of social circumstances impact on health, including visible identities and the impact of prejudice and discrimination. In this seminar, Professor Laura Serrant explores the issue of health inequalities though the lens of race and inter-sectional identities. She draws on both her personal and professional experience as a Black practitioner to explore why the experiences of some groups and individuals are missing from health research, professional leadership and service development. She uses her considerable experience to explore the importance of breaking silences to develop our understanding and ask whether we need to reflect more on our own identities as part of our practice, as well as that of our communities. The everyday experiences of racism can impact on the health and wellbeing of those racialised. It is important that policy-makers, researchers, service-planners and employers acknowledge the need for a deeper understanding of what is required by organisations in order to serve diverse perspectives in our systems of healthcare.

In this lecture, Faisel Rahman OBE talked about his experience of building Fair Finance, how his clients have changed over the last 15 years, what he has learnt about financial products in poor communities, and why he thinks financial exclusion is probably the wrong term for this work. Faisel also touched on financial wellbeing and why a holistic approach is needed to be successful in this work. Faisel Rahman has worked in the field of financial exclusion for nearly 20 years. Initially with the Grameen and World Bank in Bangladesh, for the last 17 years he has focused his work in the UK and Europe. In 2000 he set up the first microcredit programme in London’s east end, and in 2005 launched Fair Finance, a social enterprise tackling financial exclusion in the UK. Faisel was the elected President of the European Microfinance Network (2010-2015), was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2007, and was recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009. In 2014 he was awarded an OBE for services to Community Finance. In 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of East London.

Despite the strength of the evidence, and the clear health benefits for taking action; health professionals have been reluctant and inconsistent in framing climate change and unsustainable development as health issues. The science concerning the problems of pollution, loss of biodiversity, and dangerous climate change grows daily. However, this seems not to be matched by the science of how best to implement what actually works best in protecting all living systems at the same time as promoting health, wellbeing and social justice across time and space. David used specific case studies to illustrate both the problems and opportunities associated with the transformational change that is needed at all levels of society. He highlighted the more creative, diverse methods and business models being used – legally, economically, and behaviourally, both within health and care systems, and more broadly. These case studies are largely drawn from the first ten years’ experience of the NHS / Public Health England Sustainable Development Unit, and some from more global initiatives.

Glasgow is one of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities (100RC). Through membership of the 100RC Network, Glasgow has developed a resilience strategy, Our Resilient Glasgow (hyperlink), that acts as a roadmap to greater resilience looking further into the 21st century. The strategy was developed with reference to the four essential dimensions of urban resilience: health and wellbeing, economy and society, infrastructure and environment, and leadership and strategy. This short animation tells the story of the City’s resilience journey to date.

The Community Empowerment Act is an important new piece of Scottish legislation with opportunities to reduce health inequalities through the redistribution of power – but that depends on us really understanding what power is, where power lies and how this relates to health. In addition to the film we have created four short excerpt videos, each outlining a different concept within the main animation, as well as a transcript for accessibility

Drawing on recent research on learning-through-doing, and on projects that bridge craft and health, this lecture explores what craft contributes to wellbeing and flourishing lives.