What a morning at the Active Birmingham Learning Exchange!
Held on 14th September at the Midlands Arts Centre, the latest Active Birmingham event brought together community organisations, partners, champions and local leaders from across Birmingham. It was an opportunity to celebrate the progress made through place-based working and a chance look ahead to the next chapter.
The event once again demonstrated the strength of Birmingham’s network of community anchors, champions and connectors, providing a valuable opportunity to share successes, discuss challenges and explore what is needed to strengthen the delivery of sport and physical activity in local communities.
Celebrating the Active Birmingham journey
Active Birmingham began with Commonwealth Active Communities (CAC) investment from Sport England, created to harness the energy and opportunity of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and create a lasting legacy for communities across the city.
That initial investment developed into a Memorandum of Understanding between Sport England and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), supporting continued work to build on the Games’ legacy. Today, that work continues through the Active Birmingham Strategic Partnership, established in 2023 and supported by ongoing WMCA investment.
Active Birmingham is delivered through a partnership of organisations including Sport Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, The Active Wellbeing Society, Public Health and StreetGames.
Together, the partnership is working towards a shared vision of making physical activity a normal part of everyday life for everyone in Birmingham. This includes connecting the system, building capacity and working collaboratively to reduce inequalities in health and physical activity.
Sharing learning from across the city
The Learning Exchange brought together organisations committed to creating a more active Birmingham, where communities are better connected, inequalities are reduced and local systems work more effectively for the people who need them most.
Building on insight gathered by Active Birmingham Champions, Anchors and Connectors across 17 wards, the event created space to share learning, celebrate what is working locally and consider how organisations can work together to go further.
Across three engaging panels, discussions explored community foundations, ways of working and settings, showcasing the expertise, innovation and passion that exists within Birmingham’s community sector.
While Active Birmingham hosted the event, it was the speakers, panel hosts and panellists who truly brought it to life. A huge thank you to everyone who shared their experiences so openly and contributed their insight, ideas and passion for creating positive change across the city.
Putting Young People at the Heart of the Conversation
A particular highlight was a powerful spoken-word performance from local artist T-Roadz, offering a moving perspective on how the system can come together to create opportunities for young people to thrive.
The performance celebrated the vital role played by grassroots organisations and youth support services, while highlighting the importance of listening to and learning from young people themselves.
[Watch T-Roadz’s performance here]
Taking the conversation onto the courts
The learning and networking continued after the main event, with attendees heading onto the Cannon Hill Park tennis courts for a brilliant session facilitated by Microsports, with support from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
The session provided another opportunity to explore how sport can become more accessible at a community level. Through its Tennis Opened Up programme, the LTA is working to challenge traditional perceptions of tennis as an exclusive sport and encourage people from all backgrounds to discover and enjoy the game.
Looking ahead: the Place Deepening Programme
The Learning Exchange also came at an exciting time for Active Birmingham, as we look towards the next phase of place-based investment through Sport England’s Place Deepening Programme.
Over the past decade, the focus of investment in sport and physical activity has evolved beyond simply increasing participation. There is growing recognition of the wider role being active can play in improving health and wellbeing, building confidence and skills, bringing communities together and contributing to thriving local economies.
The Place Deepening Programme represents the next stage in this approach, with a greater focus on community-led solutions and locally driven approaches that address the barriers preventing people from being active.
The programme will focus on:
· Supporting strong local leadership
· Helping grassroots clubs and organisations grow and develop
· Supporting communities to develop local solutions to the barriers that prevent people from being active
· Creating long-term positive change in how local organisations and services work together
For Birmingham, this represents an exciting opportunity to build on the strong foundations already established and continue developing a more connected, collaborative and community-led approach to sport and physical activity, particularly in the places and communities where the need is greatest.
Building on strong foundations
The Active Birmingham Learning Exchange marked an important moment in our journey as we move into the next phase of Sport England and WMCA investment. As Place Deepening work approaches, we can reflect on what has been achieved while looking confidently towards what comes next.
We have built strong foundations, forged genuine partnerships and strengthened our evidence and understanding of local communities.
Now, we take the next step, with the same collaborative spirit, a shared ambition and an even bolder vision for a more active Birmingham.