At a packed conference of charity sector workers and academic researchers, CLAPA’s Policy and Campaigns Manager, Lachlan Bruce, presented the findings of our first campaign as Cleft Lip and Palate Action.
Lachlan spoke at the Appearance Matters 11 Conference in Bristol’s City Hall. He explained how CLAPA has moved beyond responding to the challenges of cleft to start challenging the systems that create them, beginning with our End the Cleft Dental Crisis Campaign – which resulted in a petition of more than 4,000 signatures being handed into 10 Downing Street in April.
Lachlan said: “The Appearance Matters conference was a great opportunity to share our findings with peers in the sector, from across the UK and internationally.
Such conferences are a vital forum to share ideas and keep up to date with the latest research.
In the Council Chambers, Lachlan discussed key findings from the dental campaign, including how visible difference and oral health cannot be separated, and access to dental care affects appearance, well-being, and social confidence. He then spoke of how charities can be catalysts for system change, and how campaigning can solve them.
The audience warmly supported these findings, and questioned Lachlan further on issues around the dental campaign and CLAPA’s next steps.
Appearance Matters is a biennial conference that brings together hundreds of researchers and charity sector colleagues in the sphere of appearance, visual difference, and body image, from across the United Kingdom and beyond. This year is the eleventh conference – hosted by the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR), the world’s largest research group focusing on the role of appearance and body image in people’s lives.
Talks centred around the latest research into body image, and progress in research into visual differences. Two keynote speakers spoke passionately about their own journeys – Dr Zali Yager, of the Embrace Collective and Victoria University, Australia; and Phyllida Swift from the UK – who became an appearance activist and CEO of Face Equality International after her life-changing facial injuries following a vehicle crash in Ghana.
Claire Cunniffe, CLAPA’s Chief Executive, also attended the conference. She added: “Many thanks to our friends at the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) for hosting another brilliant conference, where peers from across the sector of visible differences can meet and exchange good practice – practice which benefits all our communities.”