Research project

Creativity, Community and Resilience

Project overview

Creativity, Community & Resilience investigates how community belonging can improve liveability, build collective resilience, and support trans and gender diverse (TGD) young people’s wellbeing.

A collaborative project between the Universities of Southampton, Brighton, and Glasgow and community partners in the LGBTQ+ youth sector, it is the first UK research project to adopt a youth and community-led co-creative approach to better understand the issues around community belonging. It breaks new ground, methodologically and epistemologically, and foregrounds aspects of TGD young people’s lives that are drastically underrepresented in research.

Led from the University of Southampton by Professor Olu Jenzen, it proposes an ambitious programme to address the challenge presented by the 'spiral of exclusion and marginalisation' (United Nations, 2023) faced by TGD young people in the UK.

It will centre qualitative research methods via Participatory Action Research and creative methods and will co-produce knowledge on the community assets that sustain TGD wellbeing and efforts to secure human rights.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Olu Jenzen

Professor of Media and Digital Culture

Research interests

  • LGBTQ+ youth digital cultures
  • Visual activism
  • Digital culture and social justice 
Connect with Olu

Other researchers

Dr Lizzie Reed BA (hons), MA, FHEA, PhD

Associate Professor

Research interests

  • Queer theory and methodologies
  • Queer lives and intimate relationships
  • LGBTQ community, identity and culture
Connect with Lizzie

Research outputs