Bold belief in change
Shifting culture towards positive experiences requires us to act and think in new, creative ways. That's why we're doing this.
Charlie Crane
Senior Manager - Children and Young People at Sport England
Our story
The Positive Experiences Collective was born from the energy surrounding the launch of the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement for England in September 2023.
At this event, more than 100 people from across the academic, sport and physical activity sectors gathered at The RSA in London (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) to discuss how positive experiences for children and young people can transform lives. The event represented a culmination of 18 months’ work spearheaded by Sport England and supported by an interdisciplinary expert working group. Together, the group explored the importance of physical literacy in providing positive experiences of movement and physical activity for all – a key priority in Sport England's Uniting the Movement strategy.
The Positive Experiences Collective represents the continuation of these efforts. This includes the recognition that no single organisation or sector group "owns" the physical literacy agenda – instead, we need collective effort. The Positive Experiences Collective is open to all.
The team from thinkpublic are the facilitators of our coming together, using their expertise in co-design and engagement to ensure new solutions are centred around people's needs, motivations and behaviours.
The Positive Experiences Collective is funded by The National Lottery and Sport England.
>100
Advocates
In our network following the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement for England launch
36
Cross-sector orgs deeply involved
In our flagship offering, the Patchwork Programme
Diverse groups of CYP involved
Under-active and under-represented children and young people (CYP) are a core focus of our work
Our mission
Our mission is to reach a wide audience with resources, peer support, virtual conferences, and creative stories to build confidence and skills, support connection, and inspire advocacy for physical literacy.
At the launch of the Physical Literacy Consensus Statement for England in 2023, there was a clear call for using physical literacy as a framework to guide choices and approaches across the sector. This call connected with sector changemakers because the definition of physical literacy represents, for many, the very reason they got involved in the sector in the first place. Zooming out, we can see how the widespread adoption of physical literacy and positive experiences of movement can chip away at the inequalities that urgently need addressing.
This is what guides the Collective and why we believe you should get involved.
Our team
The team from thinkpublic are expert in designing and facilitating creative spaces for interdisciplinary colleagues to come together and create meaningful change.
The team work closely with and are supported by the wonderful Children and Young People's team at Sport England.
Deborah Szebeko
Deborah is the founding director of thinkpublic. She was an early pioneer of co-design, service design and user engagement. She has led many complex projects across the global healthcare system, bringing creativity, joy and rigour to co-creating innovative ideas.
Deborah has experience designing and launching social ventures and services for global health tech, pharma businesses, charities and the public sector. She was Head of Service Design at the global health technology company Philips and Director of Service Design and Innovation for DigitasLBi and AstraZeneca’s digital innovation group.
She is an accredited holistic health practitioner, trained in sound healing, forest bathing, shamanic practices and holding space for groups. She founded the Sound Asleep Club, a social enterprise focused on helping people’s mental wellbeing and sleep. Deborah is the founding director of Design with Gaia CIC, a lab for designing and developing social ideas, events, products and ventures.
Lenny Naar
Formally trained as a communication designer, Lenny has devoted his career to genuinely understanding people and using design to make their lives better. Lenny is a Director at Design with Gaia CIC and a consulting Creative Director with thinkpublic. For over seven years Lenny was the User Centred Design lead for the NHS Digital Academy and he now works with partners in myriad industries to create a positive social impact with design. Lenny led Design Strategy for the Helix Centre at Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation, an interdisciplinary team who leverage human centred design methods to support health system transformation.
From working with Paula Scher at Pentagram on multinational branding projects to developing change management strategies with award-winning consultancy SYPartners, Lenny has deep experience helping organisations large and small tell their stories. Lenny is passionate about developing high-impact gatherings and experiences, such as working with Dell CEO Michael Dell to engage 450 VPs in a new global strategy.