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‘An elephant in the room’ is an English-language metaphorical idiom for an obvious problem no one wants to discuss, or a condition no one wants to challenge. This phrase has coined the main objective of the Silent Elephant Project (SEP) – Giving marginalised life limiting and long-term health conditions a platform, through creative and interactive projects.

The

There is a simple but complex positive connection between being creative and living with a health condition that brings about recovery not only from a physical health perspective but also from a mental health view point. This is what SEP continuously investigates. By using creative digital media, we are building cases for this connection whilst raising the awareness of health conditions that impact our communities.

Both the Founder/CEO (Babz) and Director (Kondwani) of Freshrb have first-hand lived experiences of this positive connection between being creative and living with/recovering from life limiting health conditions. With these experience, the SEP approach to using creative digital media was founded in 2017 in conjunction with the Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1984).

From this point, a number of case studies have proven that there is a connection, however research is ongoing to concretely articulate this fact.

we do it

SEP is a very unique project because at the heart of every media production is our mission which is - bridging research with engagement, teaching media skills and reducing loneliness in the lives of selected community groups.

Every project delivery includes the training of young creatives in using media to build engagement with a health condition. It also includes people with lived experiences to take part in influencing the projects ensuring that all of our end productions reflect real case studies from a health perspective. This delivery approach can be seen in our SEP workshops.

At the end, showcasing of the project acts as a stimulant for further conversation and community dialogue.

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Below, we've broken down SEP into three easy to understand elements; Learning Programmes & Content, which come together to build the core foundation's of the project. After reading this page you should have a deeper understanding of the SEP. You'll also see previously created content which has been made in collaboration with schools, universities and people across Manchester.

Learning Programmes

Content

Learning Programmes

The Silent Elephant Project workshops are purposefully designed to bridge health research with engagement, teach media & creative skills and reduce loneliness in the lives of selected community groups.

These are fully funded workshops which means they are free for the participants who enrol with limited spaces per cohort.

The Specifics

These workshops are accredited set of media and creative workshops for students/young people, to investigate and raise the awareness of marginalised health issues that affect our communities. These are health issues that rarely get a platform or get discussed in public.

By creating media projects to raise awareness for factual subject health matters, we build engagement with the participants and the general public creating an environment for further conversations/dialogue and research. They learn a whole range of skill sets including project management skills, whilst giving participants an insight into social entrepreneurism and what it means to use digital media productions for social good.

Accessible Workshops

Online
Offline
Mobile

5 Pillars of SEP

Relationship
Connection
Recognition
Purpose
Community Cohesion

Accredited Learning Programmes

Participants get recognised for completion of our expressive arts and digital learning programmes & Workshops.

SEP Objectives

Raise Awareness
Build Engagement
Teach Media Skills
Teach Creative Skills
Reduce Loneliness

Content

Short Films

Content is the output from the workshops. Whether thats a Podcast, Short Film, Documentary or Social Media Assets, depends upon the students chosen workshop. They have creative freedom of their individual pieces of work and have the option to work collaboratively with other students and the Freshrb Team. Below are some examples of the collaborative Short Films SEP has worked on with students at Coop Academy North, Manchester Metropolitan University & University of Manchester.

Short Films & Documentaries

Taylors Shadow

"Taylor is a family counsellor who seems to have the perfect life. However behind closed doors, she has struggles of her own. How long will she be able to hide it from those closest to her?"

Watch Online

Podcast

You can listen to our podcast series "Everyday People Talking Health" where hosts, Babz & Kondwani speak to people with who share their lived experience of different health conditions with us. The conversations are rich and inspiring. To see the full series click on the image below.