ProfessionaLE Launch!
Image presents partnership between CriticLE and From Me To You Consulting for a discussion on lived experience at conferences.
I am so excited to announce the launch of a new series of discussions that aim to boost the capacity of those with a lived experience of suicide in their work in the suicide prevention sector.
These informal sessions will see CriticLE partner with people with lived experience that are active in the space and good at what they do. These are people who have done deep work in understanding their lived experience journey and how they can draw on their lived experience to change the way we do suicide prevention in Australia. They have put themselves out there and taken risks in getting the change they want to see. They are leaders who we can all learn a lot from through sharing our experiences.
The first of our sessions is in partnership with Peta Dampney of From Me To You Consulting. In her work, Peta is a Mental Health First Aid Trainer and active advocate for people with a lived experience of suicide, domestic violence and mental health challenges. What I love about Peta is that she tells it like it is and thinks deeply about how we can do better. Peta embodies our values and I am so excited to be working with her on this project. You can read more about Peta here.
What Peta and I will be talking about is how to put together a talk about your lived experience and present it at a conference. Conferences are an important place to share ideas and learn from researchers, organisations and others with a lived experience. It is a great place to start to influence the dialogue in the suicide prevention sector. Peta is very active on the speaking circuit and I will be asking her questions like:
How do you work out what you want to say?
What on earth is an “abstract”?
Where do I find conferences that align with my messages?
What do I expect if my presentation is accepted?
Conferences are expensive, how do I fund this?
By the end of this session, I hope that you will be ready to start submitting abstracts to conference organising committees. I want you to join me with a conference “lived experience take over” as we put our voices in front of the people who need to hear it.
You can sign up to the session here.
More sessions will be announced soon including one with Lindy Zillman on doing peer work in suicide prevention and Graeme Holdsworth on joining a board to influence strategic direction. Visit our calendar for more information and to keep up to date!
