The Bristol Centre for Grief Research and Engagement launches at the House of Commons
Last week marked a special moment for the Good Grief Festival team as we launched the Bristol Centre of Grief Research and Engagement at the House of Commons in London.
The event was generously hosted by Christine Jardine MP, Sponsor of the Bereavement Support (Children and Young People) Bill and Officer for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Grief Support and the Impact of Death on Society. It brought together an inspiring mix of people, including grief experts from the UK and beyond, MPs, charity leaders, doctors, academics, artists and campaigners. All are working, in different ways, to change how grief is understood, supported and talked about in the UK. Being in the room together was a powerful reminder that this work really is stronger when we do it collectively.
We were lucky to hear from a brilliant line-up of speakers. Prof. Guy Poppy CB FMedSci, Pro-Vice Chancellor at the University of Bristol, spoke about the value of interdisciplinary research and civic engagement, and the University’s support for the Centre. Leading psychotherapist Julia Samuel MBE reflected on why society needs to rethink its response to grief, while Dr Alison Penny MBE, Director of the Childhood Bereavement Network and Coordinator of the National Bereavement Alliance, highlighted the vital role of policy and policymakers in improving bereavement support.
The launch was framed by two moving poetry readings. Hannah Jardine Youell opened the event with Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Wintering’, and Prof. Patrick Vernon OBE closed with Birago Diop’s ‘Breaths’, giving us space to pause and reflect.
Across the afternoon, a clear message emerged. Grief lives in our bodies, minds and imaginations, but it is also shaped by policy, economics and culture. Around three million people are bereaved each year in the UK, and far too many do not get the support they need. While the launch celebrated what has already been achieved, it also underlined why this work matters so much, and why we need to keep pushing for a more compassionate, connected and grief-aware society.
Based at the University of Bristol, the Grief Centre is led by Good Grief Festival Co-Directors Prof. Lucy Selman, Professor of Palliative and End of Life Care, and Dr Lesel Dawson, Associate Professor in Literature and Culture. The Centre brings together people from across disciplines and sectors to spark new ideas, carry out rigorous interdisciplinary research, develop social and creative interventions, engage the public and policymakers, and share knowledge in ways that genuinely improve support for bereaved people. The Centre has been generously seed-funded by the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, and builds on the University of Bristol’s wider programmes of research and civic engagement, including the ground-breaking Good Grief Festival.
For more about the Grief Centre, please visit the website. You can also sign up for our free online seminar series, which features leading voices in grief research. Our next seminar is on 15 January, when our very own Dr Lesel Dawson will be speaking on The Art of Grief: Creativity, Loss and the Imagination.
