The Share Connect Collaborate learning festival is built around five ‘arenas’, each offering an experience designed to spark curiosity, connection and creativity. Each arena has been curated to offer something different because we know everyone learns differently. Whether you’re looking to be inspired, challenged or simply to connect with others, there will be a space for everyone.
We are very aware that the event was designed and delivered very differently to what we have done before. Therefore your thoughts and feedback is really important to us. If you have any comments, feedback for our workshops and/or the topics discussed, please complete the short 2 minute feedback form below.
Scroll down the page to find resources and more information about all of the fantastic workshops!
Make impact stick: funding organisational strength
Good organisations do great work. But great organisations also invest in the development of their people, processes, leaders, and learning so they can remain sustainable and provide secure volunteering, employment, and activity opportunities. This practical session helps small-organisation leaders, their partners, and their funders understand what “good” organisational development looks like, why it’s essential for resilience and long-term impact, and how to fund it effectively alongside delivery—especially in sport and physical activity systems where relationships, people practices, and planning capacity are critical.
Designing streets for people, not just cars
This session will cover the challenges of walking and cycling infrastructure and how we can break the ‘car culture’. Based on the idea between cars vs communities, and wins in Greater Essex’s future, this session with Nav will cover policy changes and challenges/successes from across the county, looking at how you can take learnings to implement in your own work.
Pride of Place – Canvey youth voice story
Prioritising youth voice in our decision making is becoming even more paramount. Canvey partners have lots to share around their community work and using youth voice to understand what people are most proud of within their neighbourhoods. Get to grips with pride in place and how priorities were established across the district. Amanda Parrott, Alex Hawkins and Steve Bish will share an honest account of how young people are at the heart of the designed opportunities in Castle Point and what activities have unearthed future work in the district.
How to create the conditions
With lots of learnings from the Essex Local Delivery Pilot, Kerry McDonald and Jason Fergus will explain the 4 pillars and help you be vulnerable and curious around the word ‘leadership’. Ever heard of the balcony vs dancefloor theory and seen it in action? Or want to understand the Stacey Matrix more? This 90 minute session will help you unlock a deeper understanding of place-based working and provide you with tools on how to work with greater awareness of partnership working and your neighbourhood needs.
Listen in to a podcast all about health creation
The health landscape is fracturious, but sport and physical activity remains a steadfirst condition to creating a space for residents to belong, feel safe and thrive. Dr William Bird, GP, CEO of Intelligent Health and Chair of Active Essex will unpick the ideas around health creation and how it is, perhaps more than ever, an important foundation for neighbourhoods.
How collaboration shows up through change
This is a personal development session, where we will work with SPACES as a framework for reflection and discussion to help us understand how times of change impact our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and performance. Double Yolk Consulting works with individuals, teams and leaders to create environments built on trust, psychological safety and meaningful connection. Founder Tracy Arnold, has decades of experience in facilitation and coaching, helping people to think differently and work better together. Our work creates space in busy organisations, for honest dialogue, practical application and lasting behaviour and culture change. Tracy’s workshop materials will be available after the session.
Reimagining leisure, Active Wellbeing at Place
Leave it up to the kids!
Challenges can feel overwhelming, but a young person’s outlook to approaching these challenges can help us. Join Woodville Primary School pupils as they answer some of our biggest challenges around how we can encourage more young people to work in sports jobs, use the power of sport and physical activity to reduce anti social behaviour or how we can all utilise youth voice a little more.
A school’s contribution to your community
School’s play a unique and important role in the community. Active Essex’s Children and Young Person Lead, Dawn Emberson will be joined by ATF and Sarah Finn, Deputy Headteacher at Alderton Junior School to discuss how together, we can reduce silo working around PE and school sport, using the ‘Creating Active Schools’ as an example. ATF and Sarah will showcase how they have unlocked potential and utilised Alderton Junior School to transform its role into a powerful community hub.
Movement can be the greatest medicine
Led by Sport for Confidence, this session explores the transformative power of sport and physical activity in improving health and wellbeing. Discover how movement can reduce reliance on medication and prevent the need for clinical intervention. Through personal stories and innovative approaches, we’ll showcase real-life examples of lives changed by sport—highlighting its role as a powerful, preventative tool for both physical and mental health.
It was great to hear some amazing talks from our headliners. Please find their accompanying slides to download below.
Discover what physical activity and sport opportunities are available near you.
Find Your Active here© Active Essex 2026 | Website by Revive.Digital
