Belonging
· Tristi Brownett
I recently attended the ARC KSS Research Symposium about Advancing Inclusive Research, Equity, Partnership and Participation in Applied Research at the University of Kent. Throughout the day, the myriad conversations with passionate people made me realise how important it is to feel included and have a sense of belonging.
Someone who I admire was there. She mentioned that an earlier presentation that I had given her cause for deep reflection. She reminded me that about 18 months ago I had presented to a Public Patient Involvement and Engagement network about the huge challenges of getting engagement right. At the time, I had sought advice about group facilitation to ensure everyone had equity of opportunity against a backdrop of varying abilities, social inequalities, different cultural understandings etc. The group said that the fact that I worried about these things and kept on trying was important. They had suggested that my own values and authenticity mattered in those situations.
To be reminded of that event, and to be told that I had stimulated personal reflection, matters. And I have found that I am now reflecting on it again.
At the conference I mentioned to a couple of people that I realised I am where I am meant to be. Perhaps, in some small way, this is the art of working with others. Knowing how to make everybody feel included, that is probably impossible, but caring enough to notice the barriers, being humble enough to recognise that you won’t notice them all, and persistent enough to keep trying to reduce them.
Perhaps it is also about helping people to find their own sense of belonging. We don’t always get to see the impact of the things we do or, know whether our attempts to create space for others have made a difference. Sometimes, someone comes along and reminds us.
And perhaps that is what happened to me. Someone reminded me of something I had said 18 months ago, something I had almost forgotten, and in doing so reminded me that the things we care about and keep trying to do can matter to someone else. Maybe that is belonging too; knowing that what you bring to a space has mattered to another person.