And so to more cheerful matters

Anyway, enough politics -it’s my birthday today so I want to talk about more cheerful matters.

I mentioned earlier in the week how, at a conference organised by Homeless Link, I had interviewed some people recovering from terrible problems. One of the things that struck me about what they said was the role of creativity in helping their recovery. So for one woman in particular enrolling in a creative writing workshop had transformed her capacity for self-expression and increased her self-confidence.

I was reminded of this again by a fantastic article by Anne Karpf in The Guardian on Wednesday, in which she described the work of John Zeisel, a visiting professor at Salford University. He has been exploring ways in which design can help people suffering from Alzheimers and has designed a number of innovative care homes which have resulted in material improvements in the well-being and safety of patients with dementia.

Examples like this underline the importance of links between creativity and design and individual and collective well-being. It is an area the RSA has looked at before and is doing so again. As we align our activities around the core idea of ‘citizens for the future’, this is a rich seam for us to mine.

• Sue Hewer - 08 Dec 2008 4:31pm

  Another way in which design is working to improve the lives of people with Alzheimers, their carers and the practitioners supporting them is through a newly co-created service designed in the innovative project Dott07 Alzheimer 100) held in the North East. The outcomes of this project are now being rolled out nationally by the Alzheimer's Society and design agency thinkpublic. One result will be a service which provides support and advice from the point of diagnosis, something which does not currently exist. Working in a design-led participatory way, a 'bottom-up' approach to solving problems is key in this important area - one which has suffered from the same stigmatism that cancer did 20/30 years ago. And a belated Happy Birthday Matthew. 21 again?

• Michaela Crimmin - 05 Dec 2008 5:04pm

  I had a meeting this morning with a colleague at Transport for London who is working of course to bring improvements to the city. On the subject of aging generally, related to design, she was telling me about residential care for the elderly in Switzerland, describing buildings open to the public so that cafes are shared, with everyone more visible and part of the community, and with far more visible activity generally. It seems we've chosen a different model - but I don't want to be shuffled off to a building far from home and isolated from hustle and bustle and at the same time hidden from younger generations. I want to remain part of everything. I'd like to find out whether we have anything at all similar to the Swiss model and if not, whether there's a will to create one. And, on the subject of aging - ho ho - Happy Birthday!

• Jemima Gibbons - 05 Dec 2008 2:07pm

  Indeed, Happy Birthday! Very nice to meet you yesterday after Michael Thompson's talk. Hope to speak again, re leadership or otherwise, in the not too distant future.

• Anthony Z - 05 Dec 2008 12:41pm

  Happy birthday!

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