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LBU students present Covid-19 pandemic national commemoration ideas to MPs
Beatriz Lobato-Castilla and Olivia Preston-Lee were joined for the presentation by Senior Lecturers from the UK Centre for Events Management within the School of Events, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Rev Ruth Dowson, Bernadette Albert and Dr Ian R Lamond.
As part of the Events Management module, Celebration, Ritual and Culture, students were tasked with planning a proposal for a national commemoration event with a budget of £250,000. They were also asked how, as event managers, they would include consideration of cultural issues, what questions they would ask of participants and what things hold meaning.
They were invited to present their proposals after Rev Ruth Dowson delivered a presentation on the event management implications of a national commemoration event at a national roundtable on bereavement on 30 September 2020.
Rev Ruth Dowson, Senior Lecturer in Event Management said: “Our students have demonstrated depth of insight and creativity in developing proposals for a national Covid-19 commemoration event.
“They have created meaningful rituals that could enable us all to reflect on our losses and the changes we have experienced during the pandemic.
“It is exciting to be part of this contribution to an event of national importance and to have direct input to MPs and civil servants who will be responsible for planning such an event.”
The meeting was chaired by Steven Timms MP and attended by members of Faith Action.
Beatriz Lobato-Castilla said: “We had the opportunity to design our assessment around the Covid-19 commemoration event. When designing the event and the ideas I kept going back to the main aim outlined, and that was recognising the loss the UK as a whole has experienced, coming together to express the grief, mourn and support each other in the grieving journey.
“We explored Falassi’s model of rituals and the transcendences concept of events as a contemporary solution to responding to the human need for a sense of a bigger something in life.
“I had the incredible opportunity to present my event idea that had the main purpose of enabling them with the beginning of their journey to accept, talk and mourn what we have lost, to build back together but always remembering and celebrating the lives of those we have lost.”
Olivia Preston-Lee said: “When we got the brief I knew I wanted to do the national commemoration event because it had the most potential, and that I might not ever have the opportunity to think about it again.
“The purpose of the event was to bring communities together. I had real life experience of planning a community carol service in a car park, so that encouraged me to have another opportunity to plan something similar. It was an exciting opportunity to present my ideas to this influential group.
“I am delighted to have this experience as part of my course."
You can find more information on the UK Centre for Events Management on Leeds Beckett University’s website.