Working Across Worlds: Localising Practice, Rebalancing Power

In an era of global movement and cross-context practice, how can allied health professionals (AHPs) engage in ways that honour local knowledge, challenge dominant narratives, and resist extractive models of care?

This joint study event invites AHPs worldwide to come together to explore themes of decolonisation, localisation, and ethical practice. Through keynotes, conversations, and creative formats, we’ll spotlight the lived experiences and leadership of Majority World practitioners, question how power and knowledge move through our professions, and imagine new pathways for mutual learning and sustainable impact.

Objectives:

By the end of the series, participants will be able to:

• Reflect on their positionality and the assumptions brought into cross-cultural and international practice.
• Understand more how coloniality shapes AHP education, knowledge, and practice, and identify where standard models fail diverse communities.
• Explore alternative approaches to localising practice that centre community-led solutions, consider cultural and linguistic responsiveness, and plural ways of knowing.
• Learn from Majority World voices and lived experience, understanding the nuance of practice in diverse contexts.
• Build networks for ongoing dialogue and collaboration, grounded in solidarity, humility, and long-term relationship-building.

The weekend timings:

To enhance access for a wider audience across different time zones, and recognising that setting aside a whole day at the weekend can be difficult, we have chosen to have three shorter sessions at different times of the day (displayed in GMT) we hope you can attend all three sessions.

• Saturday 18th October session 1: 8.30am - 11:00am
• Saturday 18th October session 2: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
• Sunday 19th October session 3: 12:00pm - 02:00pm

Speakers (time shown in GMT+1 (BST))

OCTOBER 18, 2025

Session 1: 8:40 AM - 11AM

Dr Vishnu Nair: History of "decolonisation" as a concept, understanding current terminology in use in practice, research and education

Panel discussion with Dr Rebecca Phillips, Lizzie Andare, Dr Anita Atwell and Dr Vishnu Nair - Facilitated by Dr Jennifer Creek

Session 2: 6 PM-8 PM

Dr Anita Atwal: Crossing Boundaries: Broadening our Understanding of Fair and Inclusive Research

Lizzie Andare: A Reflective Piece on Research with Somalian Refugees

OCTOBER 19, 2025

Session 3: 12 PM-2 PM

Ruth Patil: Localising in Action: Tools, Tactics and Lived Experience

Stephanie Molloy: From Fireside to Zoom Calls: The power of storytelling for disability and health