Catherine Dawkins, Head of Programmes at Connect: North Korea, an Abundance Project Community Research Hub, reflects on her recent visit to Birmingham for the Prevention Research Conference 2026.
This March I had the opportunity to attend the Prevention Research 2026 conference, held at the Vox in Birmingham. The conference overall was set to explore the latest research and collaborative strategies for preventing non-communicable diseases and reducing health inequalities across the UK.
Connect: North Korea has really been enjoying taking part in the Abundance Project so far; our Community Voice Champions have grown with the project and as a small team we have learned a lot about collaborative research, all the work involved and how we can achieve results together. It has supported some of our CVCs to find their voice, to notice their surroundings and talk to friends and family members about what matters to them locally. So, it was great to be asked to attend the conference alongside Co-Principal Investigator Prof Tushna Vandrevala (Kingston University), and witness how others received the project and help answer any questions.
The day was unseasonably warm, with bright sunshine and a light mist over the brummie skies. As a graduate of the University of Birmingham, it’s always nice to return to my old stomping ground and always amazing to see how quickly the city has transformed even in the last 10 years. A new tram network buzzes around the city and New Street station now hosts a large mechanical bull named Ozzy. The conference was held just on the outskirts of the city, by Birmingham Airport and as part of a large complex which also hosts numerous other events, concerts and showcases.
Walking from the train station to the conference centre, I started to notice a number of dog-related advertisements on the wall. Curious, I thought, maybe they are doing a campaign? Maybe the company advertising their dog food has found out that brummies who take international flights from the city are more likely to own dogs than the rest of the UK? At that particular point I hadn’t seen any dogs, just lots of people walking through the passageway towards the huddle of conference buildings centred around a lake outside. I mulled it over a while longer and promptly forgot about it when I entered the conference.
Upon arrival I, of course, made my way to tea and biscuits. I went straight for the choc-chip cookies – success there were still some left! Then after storing my coat and bag away I went to check the agenda for the day and wrote down the Abundance Project slot, as well as some other interesting talks and workshops. The first set of talks I attended covered ways in which research projects have engaged with members of the public and underserved communities. It was great to hear about new ways researchers have approached gathering data, understanding that trust building and time is vitally important to gather quality data and to really create meaningful research outputs. At Connect: North Korea, our CVCs have really appreciated getting to know the Abundance Project researchers, and everybody sharing stories together has helped deepen mutual understanding of one another and the purpose of the project.
Before lunch I had the opportunity to join a systems change workshop. Connect: North Korea as an organisation has been growing our skills and knowledge of systems change, so it was really fantastic to be able to learn from some experts in the field. The workshop facilitators ran us through some activities they would usually run as part of a long-term systems change project. My particular favourite was called ‘Crazy-Eights’. We were given a local community problem, this example was inclusion and mental health for young people in rural Devon. We were then asked to choose three systems to change ‘lenses’ to apply to the problem e.g. changing roles, changing behaviours, and changing structures. Then, we folded a piece of A4 paper thrice to create a 2×4 grid of eight sections. Finally, we were tasked with coming up with ways to address the problem, using the different lenses, and given 30 seconds per section of the grid. So, in total we had to come up with eight different activities or ways to address the problem.
At first, it felt relatively easy to come up with ideas to address the problem at hand. For example, with the lens of changing roles, one could run a lesson with young people in charge, teaching older members about mental health. However, towards the sixth, seventh and eighth time, creating ideas became much harder! Now, here is where I found it particularly engaging. I noticed in myself that I started writing down ideas that were a bit more creative, ideas that weren’t limited by knowledge of funding or my experience of running feasible activities and instead going a bit bigger than I usually would. For example, creating an inter-generational art exhibition, showcased in towns, villages AND on the roadside to capture the more rural audience. Or getting London-based exhibitions on different identities and cultures to travel to rural locations to help people feel included in a space and to change mindsets. The facilitators at the end explained that was the purpose of ‘Crazy Eights’, to push you to think beyond the usual!
After a very tasty lunch and some pudding (lemon posset with rosemary, thyme and crumbled meringue on top), Tushna was up to present on the Abundance Project. It was really enjoyable to hear our project presented to others, to hear the essence of the project condensed, the results so far and to spot the photos of our CVCs being part of the project. When you are so deeply involved, you sometimes forget how it might sound to somebody else and, in particular for the Abundance Project, how exciting and ambitious it all is. We answered a few questions about how to negotiate different languages in a project and how Connect: North Korea has used interpreting and translation in the various work packages. It was great to see interest in the work!
After I watched the closing speech and picked up my belongings, I headed outside. The sun was still just about shining and I was due on the train back to London about 5.30pm. I first noticed a rather jazzy pair of poodles, with their hair tied in little neon bands. Cute, I thought. Next I noticed a very fluffy Husky-looking dog. Wow, that dog is well groomed! I carried on down the path.
Okay, hold on a second… There are a lot of dogs here…..
That’s like five greyhounds all together.
Oh my goodness! Those dogs are HUGE!
Aaah, very cute little Corgies.
Why are some of the dogs in pushchairs?!
I continued walking towards the station and then came across streams of dogs and their owners, crates, pushchairs, suitcases – the whole lot!
Turns out, just around the corner from Prevention Research 2026, was Crufts 2026! Ah, that explained the advertisements earlier.
Congratulations again to Best in Show, a Clumber spaniel named Bruin.
Connect: North Korea is a UK-based organisation with a global aim: to enable every person who has escaped North Korea, to heal, grow, and live the life they choose.