University of Bristol Launches Centre for Grief Research and Community Engagement

Study in UK: The Grief Centre at the University of Bristol will focus on the support for bereaved children and young people, the therapeutic role of creativity in grief, and more.

Study Abroad: The University of Bristol has launched a first-of-its-kind Centre for Grief Research and Community Engagement. Grief is a taboo subject in the UK. The new center is trying to shift public attitudes toward it and create a more connected and compassionate community toward grief.

The center aims to focus on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research into death, loss, and grief to increase understanding of these fundamental aspects of life and offer space for new ideas, thinking, and approaches.

The Grief Centre will bring researchers from various communities, health and social care services, voluntary and community sector organizations, artists and creatives, funders, and policymakers to develop creative and social interventions and take knowledge exchange initiatives to change people's attitudes towards death and grief.

Dr Dawson and Professor Selman are co-founders of the Good Grief Festival, an award-winning grief literacy initiative and public engagement. They are also collaborators on a £2.4 million Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded national partnership to work towards the coastal health inequalities.

Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol, said, “The new Grief Centre will strengthen the University of Bristol’s commitment to civic involvement through collaborations with local charities, communities, faith groups and artists. It will be further enriched by the wealth of University of Bristol academics who work on topics related to grief, loss, death and the end of life.”

University Of Bristol's Grief Centre: More Details

The Grief Centre is all set to deliver its first in-person public engagement event from May 5 to May 11, 2025, during the Dying Matters Awareness Week.

While commenting on this new center, Professor Selman said, “Our vision is to develop a pioneering Grief Centre, which brings together research, education, policy, advocacy, enterprise and innovation. The Centre will establish the University of Bristol as a center for excellence in grief research.”

Dr Dawson added, “Equity and inclusion will run through all our work. While loss and grief affect us all, bereaved people in the UK face substantial inequities, with people from minoritized ethnic communities, sexual minority groups and more deprived backgrounds known to experience barriers to accessing bereavement support.”

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