The whole is bigger than the sum of its parts

Yes, it’s that Gestalt concept that the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. Taken separately, each of the online workshops offered at this year’s VoxCon 2021 contained great learning on specific topics for us all to share. But add them together and holistically we can see something much bigger and more powerful.

Self-identity, personal agency, mental health and wellbeing

VoxCon 2021 struck a nerve with everyone who became involved in it – young people, practitioners, service leaders, guest speakers and the Mind Of My Own team. It focused inter-related ideas, beliefs, thoughts and passions into a coalescence of huge importance to young people, around self-identity, personal agency, mental health and wellbeing.

Inspirational quotes

The Mind Of My Own team collected inspirational quotes throughout VoxCon 2021. I think they convey better than anything I could write the significance of what took place. Here is a selection:

You tell me what I am but I want to know who I am.

Language can make peace and it can start wars, or it can gain someone’s trust.

There are more words in the English language than clothes in a standard wardrobe, you don’t always wear the same clothes, why would you always use the same words?

It’s about stress management, not behaviour management.

How we perceive young people is not always how they feel

Language, language, language! What we use with young people is crucial!

Who is given a voice? Who gets to speak? When we speak, what do young people hear?

We recently added a new feature in Express called “Me in my own words”. A final comment at the end of one of the workshops was a suggestion for another new addition and it seemed to sum up the whole event:

Love me in my own words.

Indeed. 

We will be exploring these themes in our upcoming seminar series and very much hope you can join us in our quest to improve practice for positive change in young people’s lives. (Details will be announced soon.)