Living Life to the Fullest, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, focuses on the lives of disabled young people who have what are termed ‘life limiting or life threatening’ impairments.  They are a group of young people who have traditionally been ignored or marginalised in research and who have had little chance to take control of what is said about their lives.  The university project team includes: Dr Kirsty Liddiard, Professor Dan Goodley and Professor Katherine Runswick-Cole (The School of Education).

The research is being carried out with disabled young people who are leading and driving the project forward.  The Co-Researcher Collective has been actively involved in carrying out the research with lead Co-Researcher Lucy Watts, MBE, guiding the team.

Professor Katherine Runswick-Cole, iHuman and The School of Education, was delighted to present work from the project as part of a research trip to Australia which also included a keynote at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) focused on inclusive education.

In her presentation delivered at the University of New South Wales and at QUT, Exploring ‘in-between’ spaces: drawing on arts-informed methods in critical disability studies‘, Katherine spoke about the opportunities and challenges of working through the arts in collaboration with young people to talk about what it means to live life to the fullest.

She was also able to give the audience a sneak preview of the forthcoming Living Life to the Fullest film, made by the Co-Research Collective that will be shown at the Economic and Social Festival of Social Science in Sheffield in November – details here.

Katherine said: “It was a pleasure to be able to share the work we are doing in Sheffield with our young co-researchers.  Colleagues in Australia were challenged and moved by what our Co-Researchers are demanding, of them as researchers and of society as a whole, to ensure that all young people can live life to the fullest.”