Can Medway make you happy?

Our first Local Democracy Café takes place on Thursday 23 October at MidKent College, and we’re starting with a deceptively simple question:

Can Medway make you happy?

The event begins with a 45-minute panel discussion, followed by a second session where the conversation turns to the audience. You’ll be able to respond to what’s been said in real time, as we explore what happiness means in Medway today.

At the end, we’ll gather the thoughts, ideas and priorities raised during the event and share them publicly, with the aim of turning discussion into tangible local action.

Our panel for the first café includes:

• Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of Medway Council, who says she’s “pleased to be coming to talk about what makes people happy, because that is important to me.” For Teresa, happiness comes from “walking in the park, hearing about new jobs and investment, and seeing events like the recent dance festival bringing people together.”
• David Stokes, CEO of The Halpern Charitable Foundation, who points out that “around the world, the happiest countries aren’t necessarily the richest, they’re the ones with the strongest communities.” He hopes the café will deepen understanding of the ties that hold Medway’s communities together.
• Natasha Boardman-Steer, creative practitioner in health and wellbeing, who reminds us that “there are so many factors that can affect somebody’s happiness: health, mobility, housing, past trauma, food and finances.” For her, it’s about having the resources, educational, spiritual or economic, to handle what life throws at you, and recognising how “your perception of where you live can impact who you socialise with and whether you access the care you need.”

So, can Medway make you happy? And if it doesn’t, what would it take?

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