Think Tank chairman Robert Ashton welcomed delegates to the launch of the afternoon and of the Norwich Stuff Stigma campaign, which is part of a three-year, lottery-funded national "Moving People" campaign to combat the prejudice suffered by people who have experienced mental health problems.

"The aim is to raise the awareness of at least 6,500 people in Norwich"

Social Marketing Consultant Melanie Ducret, described how behaviour change campaigns focus on target groups in the community.  

Her background research to produce an initial strategy for the Stuff Stigma campaign had identified three groups, who could potentially make a difference.

The campaign's first year, she said, is about building partnerships with the key groups, a book talking about the lives of ordinary people (currently being written by Robert Ashton) and a mass-participation event, such as a walk or marathon, later in the autumn.

"It's about being able to put yourself in someone else's shoes"

This was the theme of Roman Krznaric's presentation, drawing on a wide range of examples, such as a clip from the  Hollywood movie "All Quiet on the Western Front" set in World War I.

It showed a German soldier first stabbing a French "enemy" soldier, who invaded his trench, then gradually coming to realise that his "enemy" is actually a person, like himself and that actually their relationship has been created by forces outside themselves.

Roman Krznaric said: "It is now acknowledged that developing empathy and creating projects to develop empathy are major and significant ways of overcoming social stigma and creating cohesion."

He cited the example of a programme used in Canadian primary schools, where each class "adopted" a baby, regularly brought into school by its parent.

It showed that in the space of a year as the children learned more about the baby it had had a major impact on their emotional intelligence and empathy.

But he didn't do all the talking, his audience was made to work too.  He asked them to think about what benefits developing empathy with people with mental illness could have in work, in their community and in their own lives.

Then he set them the task during the coffee break of coming up with suggestions for an "empathy event" for Stuff Stigma to run in Norwich, which must involve at least 50 people...

 And they did!

click here to see some of them

 Sue Baker, director of the national Moving People project, started the final event of the afternoon, a Q & A session, by describing what Moving People was all about before Simon Delf, regional director of Common Purpose, invited questions from the audience.

There will be more information about events coming out of the conference as they develop, so please check back to this website.

Meanwhile, click here for a picture gallery from the conference