Professor Latchez Hristov from Audencia Business School - Nantes was awarded by his institution a grant to research the ethos and practices of the Community Animation and Social Innovation Centre-CASIC.

The project lasting 12 months involves Professor Mihaela Kelemen as co-investigator and includes a series of visits and CASIC events at Keele and in Nantes. Professor Hristov’s first visit to Keele was marked by a CASIC workshop on social innovation on March 14 which attracted over 50 participants. Yiwen Lin, PhD student in KMS, and recipient of a Sasakawa foundation grant shared with the audience her first hand experiences of how communities in Minami-sanriku, Japan, socially innovated in their efforts of reconstruction after the 2011 Tsunami.

The talk was followed by a cultural animation workshop led by Sue Moffat and her team from the New Vic Borderlines.

The students, academics and community members present at the workshop demonstrated their own practices of social innovation by identifying root causes and constructing collective solutions to crisis situations in the shape of poems, installations and performances.

Professor Hristov also interviewed CASIC academics and community members about their involvement in CASIC. Here is one what Jayne Fair, the Treasurer for North Staffs Food Network and volunteer for a local group called FoodFest had to say about CASIC:

“Over my time attending CASIC events I have seen how the idea of Cultural Animation has helped enlighten and enliven the local communities and how the work has gone on to have a lasting in pact on the life of North Staffordshire. I’d like to tell you how important and beneficial I have found the input from Liz Riley and Emma Surman. Without their tireless support and hard work the Food Network would not have progressed as far as it has”.