Thousands of attendees come each year to the Leeds Black Music Festival for brilliant live performances, food stalls and family fun at Europe’s biggest free open-air reggae concert. It’s an important part of local history, dating back to 1985 as the Leeds Reggae Concert.
The festival is a major annual community event - and colleagues from D-CYPHR and the Improving Black Health Outcomes (IBHO) BioResource were joined by community partners Black Health Initiative (BHI) and Caribbean & African Health Network (CAHN) to engage with families and raise awareness of health research.
This was one of the first public events showcasing the IBHO BioResource, a newly launched programme in collaboration with King’s College London and Genomics England addressing specific health challenges faced in UK Black communities. The IBHO BioResource is focused on improving our understanding of a range of health conditions and their unique impacts on UK Black communities. It will help shape healthcare strategies and interventions to meet the needs of Black individuals.
The festival stall encouraged children and young people to think about DNA and genetics through hands on activities. Staff spoke with many families about health research, and heard their views about how it can make a difference to the future lives of children.
Elizabeth Mordey Senior Study Coordinator for D-CYPHR said:
“The Leeds Black Music Festival was a wonderful weekend full of fun for families. We are so excited to be working with Black Health Initiative, who organised the weekend, and the Caribbean & African Health Network who joined us at our stand.
“It was lovely to see how many children enjoyed our DNA and health based craft activities and a great opportunity to speak with families about the importance of childhood health research.”
Community partnerships
Over the last few months, D-CYPHR have partnered with Black Health Initiative (BHI) and Caribbean & Health Network (CAHN) as a part of a wider project that includes South Asian Health Action (SAHA) to address the health problems that Black, Caribbean, African and South Asian communities are faced with. It has been inspiring to work alongside the partners to understand what needs to be done to improve representation in health research.
D-CYPHR have attended a range of events so far with BHI, CAHN and SAHA and look forward to continuing our partnership with them into the autumn and next year.
Tashi Brown, Black Health Initiative CEO and Black music festival coordinator commented:
"We are excited to collaborate with the D-CYPHR Project at the Black Music Festival to engage our community in an important conversation about health and research. Our initiative focuses on encouraging families from ethnic minority backgrounds to participate in medical research, ensuring their voices and experiences are represented in health studies. By fostering these connections here at the festival, we aim to build trust and empower families to take an active role in shaping the future of healthcare. Together, we can transform the landscape of medical research for generations to come. The D-CYPHR team did a fantastic job, engaging with the crowd and audience at the Black music festival and was well received. Great work everyone."
Unlock the power in your DNA
D-CYPHR (The DNA, Children + Young People’s Health Resource), together with the NHS and NIHR BioResource is supporting health research for children and young people aged 0-15 in UK by pioneering new treatments and creating better care for children and the adults they will become.
Any child can join D-CYPHR with or without a health condition and can join from home. All you have to do is fill out a health and lifestyle questionnaire and spit in a tube.
If you’re interested in playing a part and want to make a difference to health research, take a look at our website to find out more information.