2024-07-31-accounts

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Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Period start date Period end date 01 08 2023 31 07 2024

From

Section A Reference and administration details

Charity name Intercultural Roots for Public Health

Other names charity is known by Intercultural Roots (IR / IRPH)

Registered charity number (if any) 1179885

Charity's principal address Flat 133, Thanet House

Thanet Street London Postcode WC1H 9QE

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity

Trustee name	Office (if any)	Dates acted if not for whole year	Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany)
Lynette Hunter	Chair		Membershipat AGM
Ian Kenvyn	Treasurer	1 Aug’23 – 6 Jan ‘24
Regina Gutiérrez	Secretary
Alex Boyd	Executive Director
Maryam Seif Saeidi	Treasurer	22 Jan ’24 – 31 Jul ‘24
Savita Rani		22 Jan ’24 – 31 Jul ‘24
Deepa Mahadevan		23 Jan ’24 – 31 Jul ‘24
Peter Atsu Adaletey		23 Jan ’24 – 31 Jul ‘24
Peter-Rockford Ututau Espiritu		25 Jan ’24 – 31 Jul ‘24

Names of the trustees for the charity, if any, (for example, any custodian trustees)

Name Dates acted if not for whole year

March 2012

TAR

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Type of adviser Name Address

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Type of governing document

Constitution adopted 14 September 2017

(eg. trust deed, constitution)

Charitable Incorporated Organisation How the charity is constituted

(eg. trust, association, company)

Trustee selection methods

Elected by members at AGM

(eg. appointed by, elected by)

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant, about:

SEE ANNUAL REPORT

policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees;
the charity’s organisational structure and any wider network with which the charity works;
relationship with any related parties;
trustees’ consideration of major risks and the system and procedures to manage them.

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Section C Objectives and activities

FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN HEALTHY RECREATION BY: * PROMOTING PARTICIPATION IN TAI CHI, YOGA, PILATES AND DANCE * ADVANCING EDUCATION IN THE BENEFITS OF HEALTHY RECREATION Summary of the objects of the * PROMOTING BEST PRACTICE IN THE DELIVERY OF TAI CHI, YOGA, charity set out in its PILATES AND DANCE. governing document * TO PROMOTE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, THE CONSERVATION, PROTECTION, AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PHYSICAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, THROUGH THE PROVISION OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, RESIDENCIES, AND RESEARCH, AND TO PUBLISH THE RESULTS Through the year, especially during planning meetings, the trustees have taken into account the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit (ref. ‘public benefit requirement’, The Charities Act, 2011)

SEE ANNUAL REPORT

Summary of the main activities undertaken for the public benefit in relation to these objects (include within this section the statutory declaration that trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit)

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Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

SEE ANNUAL REPORT

You may choose to include further statements, where relevant, about:

policy on grantmaking;
policy programme related investment;
contribution made by volunteers.

March 2012

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Section D Achievements and performance

Summary of the main SEE ANNUAL REPORT achievements of the charity during the year

Section E Financial review

At the end of the financial year there was £46,988 in the bank. £13,735 Brief statement of the are non-restricted funds and £33,253 are restricted funds and being held charity’s policy on reserves in reserve.

In line with our Reserves Policy, during 2023/24 further reserves are being accumulated to ensure the running costs of the organisation can be met up to one year in advance. This allows us to offer events on a ‘donation only’ basis which removes financial barriers to participation and opens access to all.

Details of any funds materially No deficits in deficit

Further financial review details (Optional information)

You may choose to include additional information, where relevant about:

SEE APPENDIX BELOW

the charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising);
how expenditure has supported the key objectives of the charity;
investment policy and objectives including any ethical investment policy adopted.

Section F Other optional information

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Section G Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees

Signature(s) Full name(s) Dr Alexander Boyd Position (eg Secretary, Chair, Founder & Executive Director etc) Date 29th January 2025

March 2012

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Intercultural Roots Annual Report: 1st August 2023 - 31st July 2024 By Dr Jo Scott

Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 4 The Intercultural Roots Ecosystem ................................................................................................................. 4 Threads and Themes ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Links to Charitable Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 6 Participant Numbers ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Regenerative Feedback .................................................................................................................................. 7 Branching and Fruiting: Key Successes in 23-24 ............................................................................................ 8 Seeding and Germinating: Strategic Planning for 24-25 and beyond ............................................................ 9 Written Report ........................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 10 EcoGPX® ................................................................................................................................... 11 EcoGPX Creative Catalyst, 2023, Ilkley, UK ................................................................................................... 11 EcoGPX® Coventry and Warwickshire Launchpad: May-October 2024 ....................................................... 11 EcoGPX® Summary and Prospects for Growth ............................................................................................ 12 Arts Disability Network (ADN) ..................................................................................................... 13 Human-Nature Connect .............................................................................................................. 14 Human-Nature Connect, ‘Arts and Health in Nature’, Hubberholme, Yorkshire, 1-4 September 2023 ...... 14 Human-Nature Connect, ‘Environmental Arts & Eco Somatic Residency‘, Isle Martin, Scotland, 6-10 September 2023 ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Human-Nature Connect: Proposing An Eco Somatic Embodied Research by Alex Boyd – 2nd Oct 2023 ... 16 Human-Nature Connect, ‘“La Selva”: International Ecological Arts and Eco-Somatic Residency’, Rome, Italy, 5 - 8 October 2023 ............................................................................................................................... 16 Boal Forum Theatre Workshops ...................................................................................................18 Workshops in Pimlico, London, facilitated by Andrea Maciel & Almiro Andrade – 9th-30th Nov 2023 ..... 18 Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities (GIRIC) .....................................................................19 Practitioner Partnerships ............................................................................................................ 20 Once Upon a Cube by Irene Fiordilino/Scirocco Dance Company – September 2023 ................................ 21 Embracing Paradox: Embodied Transformation by Myra Stuart – 5th Oct-9th Nov 2023 ........................... 21 Inside-Out Humanhood in devised performance by Andrea Maciel & Helen Tennison – 21st Oct 2023 ... 21 Discovering the Benefits of Alexander Technique: A 6-week Basic Course by Adam Rolleston & Jo Roantree – 1st Nov-6th Dec 2023 ................................................................................................................ 22 Tracing The Self: from Drawing to Creative Movement by Rebecca Marta D'Andrea – 7th Dec 2023 - 25th Jan 2024 ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 Experiencing Bharatanatyam - History, Movement and Story Telling by Deepa Mahadevan – 7th Jan-2nd Mar 2024 ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 Nurture your solo performance practice by Eleni Kollipoulou – 6th Feb-12th Mar 2024 ........................... 23

Soma Scapes: Eco-Somatic Wellbeing Sessions by Anna Dako and Martina Polleros – 7th-28th Mar 2024 ...................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Threads: Uniting Art, Science, and Self in the Tapestry of Existence by Maria Linares Freire – 19th Jun10th Jul 2024 ................................................................................................................................................ 25 Gifting within the IR ecosystem ................................................................................................... 25 Nourishment and Support to Grow: Feedback and Testimonials ................................................................ 25 Connections and Entanglements: Inclusivity and Equity ............................................................................. 26 Fruiting and Seeding: Celebrating successes, planning future work ................................................26 Key Successes in 23-24: ................................................................................................................................ 26 Strategic Planning for 24-25 and beyond:.................................................................................................... 27 23-24 in numbers and names ....................................................................................................... 27 Participant Numbers .................................................................................................................................... 27 Finances ....................................................................................................................................................... 27 Marketing and Promotion, compiled and written by Basma Darouich ....................................................... 28 Partnerships and Connections ..................................................................................................................... 30 Funders......................................................................................................................................................... 30 Donors .......................................................................................................................................................... 30 Supporting Organisations ............................................................................................................................. 30 Practitioners and Consultants ...................................................................................................................... 30 CIO Board of Directors (Trustees) ................................................................................................................ 31 Leadership Team .......................................................................................................................................... 31 References ................................................................................................................................. 32 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 33 Appendix 1: Project Reports and Evaluations .............................................................................................. 33 Appendix 2: Marketing Data, compiled and written by Basma Darouich .................................................... 33

Executive Summary

Introduction

23-24 has been a year when all elements of the Intercultural Roots (IR) ecosystem have flourished. The roots of the organisation have pushed deeper, forming new connections in the soil of IR’s care and co-creation. Shoots are breaking through the ground and generating new parts of our community, while other more established elements are branching out and bearing fruit, providing shade and sustenance for the new shoots. The executive summary visually represents the regenerative growth of the Intercultural Roots ecosystem this year and is followed by a full written report, offering further detail on what is summarised here.

The Intercultural Roots Ecosystem

The Intercultural Roots Ecosystem includes a range of elements, projects and activities. The primary areas which have been active in 23-24 are represented in the diagram below:

Threads and Themes

Within and through these activities, networks, events and projects, Intercultural Roots explores, addresses and furthers a range of important areas:

Links to Charitable Objectives

These underpinning themes inform the activities, which activate and grow the organisation’s charitable objectives, as represented below and as evident throughout this report on the 23-24 activity:

Participant Numbers

Many people have participated in and benefited from IR’s activities, networks, collaborations and projects this year, as shown here:

Regenerative Feedback

Those who participate consistently feedback to us on the value and impact of these experiences, just some of which is represented here:

Branching and Fruiting: Key Successes in 23-24

Among the many elements which have come to fruition this year, the image below represents key successes, where the nurturing of ideas, collaborations and projects has borne fruit:

Seeding and Germinating: Strategic Planning for 24-25 and beyond

In building on the successes from this year, Intercultural Roots’ strategic aims – what we want to seed, nurture and grow – are shown below:

Written Report Introduction

This has been a year when all elements of the Intercultural Roots (IR) ecosystem have flourished. The roots of the organisation have pushed deeper, forming new connections in the soil of IR’s care and co-creation. Shoots are breaking through the ground and generating new parts of our community, while other more established elements are branching out and bearing fruit, providing shade and sustenance for the new shoots. Like the connected forest communities, this is an organisation which is built on the mutual sharing of benefits, so that, as in the ‘wood wide web’, nutrients can pass from one tree to another, with the support of the rooted network IR has created. As Suzanne Simard (2021) remarks about forest ecosystems, trees are ‘connected, cooperating’ and ‘the sharing of energy and resources’ means they are ‘working together like a system’ (p.161). Like these natural systems, ‘interconnected by mycorrhizal fungi’, which join the trees’ root systems together, the elements of the IR community create, communicate with and actively nourish each other in ways that fuel the regeneration of the entire organisation. This report reflects the regenerative growth of the Intercultural Roots ecosystem through the year 2023-2024. It marks where rooting elements are exploring new modes of practice and new connections with diverse communities. It also notes where what has been seeded in previous years is now resulting in newly flourishing parts of the ecosystem. Finally, we celebrate the branching and fruiting of already-established entities within the IR network, whose benefits are shared across the network.

As with all ecologies, the IR network is dependent on a range of conditions to keep its systems balanced and thriving. In our case, we acknowledge and thank our funders and donors (detailed at the end of the report), for the essential nutrients they have provided for growth and the many advisors, mentors and consultants, some of whom were funded, and others who contributed their time pro-bono, to support us this year. Our Board of Directors (Trustees) work voluntarily to support the governance of the organisation; they are our soil and, like Mother Earth, give tirelessly, helping direct and nourish our Core Team of staff. Equally, we celebrate the innovation, creativity, and dedication of the artists and practitioners who make up the IR community and who constantly feed back into this living system, through their creative practices, collaborations, challenges and ideas to further develop and sustainably grow this ecology. We see our artist co-creators as those working the magic of photosynthesis, through alchemically transforming the sunlight that all plants and trees need to grow and the nutrients gathered through IR’s root system into new shoots, new branches, new flowers and fruit. For us, this is always a magical transformation, and we thank them for everything they are and do within our community (see ‘Practitioner Partnerships’ for more detail). Finally, IR’s Core Team act as cultivators, supporting the growth of the ecosystem. Like all cultivators - like all humans - they are part of the ecological system, part of nature and a fundamental element in the balanced and sustainable growth of the community.

It is also important to emphasise that growth for Intercultural Roots does not mean unfettered growth for growth’s sake, as is common in capitalist resource-hungry and extractive business models. Rather, we are interested in sustainable developments in key areas of the ecosystem that in turn can enrich others and do not demand excessive resourcing. As Indigenous scholar and scientist, Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013) remarks, on the importance of sustainable and regenerative relationships between humans and more than humans, ‘ Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever ’ (p.183).

EcoGPX®

The EcoGPX® project, which has flourished across two phases in Ilkley and Coventry this year, represents an exciting new area of cultivation and growth for Intercultural Roots. The project integrates new and innovative uses of technology – specifically mobile application development – with sited creative practices; a fundamental part of IR’s practices across its programmes. This in turn is connected to working closely with communities in their local places, to offer new connections between people and place, humans and nature, and to open up creative possibilities that offer new ways of seeing and being in familiar places.

EcoGPX Creative Catalyst, 2023, Ilkley, UK The EcoGPX® project arose from an idea proposed by a member of the GIRIC community, Stuart Mellor, who wanted to use sensors in rivers and riverbeds to engage more closely with these natural landscapes. Dr Alex Boyd developed this into a more embodied and collaborative proposal, which won a creative catalyst award of £49,970 from Innovate UK. With this funding, Intercultural Roots developed a prototype mobile application that was tested out by members of the community in Ilkley, near Bradford, in the UK. The prototype offered a mix of media and ‘scores’,

Figure 1: Creative Practices in Ilkley as part of EcoGPX® Creative Catalyst. Image Credit: Wendy Van der Haagen Boyd

prompting embodied ways of travelling through, interacting with and being in the moorland landscapes around Ilkley. In turn, the media captured artists performing in and responding to key sites in these landscapes. Also included were videos documenting local community members, opening the history of the place, and clean water activists, raising issues to do with the cleanliness of the river Wharfe which runs through Ilkley. As the external evaluation states (see link in Appendix 1), the prototype ‘shows potential for fostering strong connections between local community groups, artists, and other app users through shared embodied experiences’ and ‘demonstrates an innovative use of technology in sustaining connection between humans, nature and heritage, and the positive impact of this connection with wellbeing and physical and mental health’ (Mugica and Rocha 2024). It is these elements of connection, community, embodied experience, nature and heritage which remained significant in this project - alongside the innovative use of technology and the focus on positively impacting wellbeing, physical and mental health - in the second phase of the project in Coventry, funded by a further £100,000 from Innovate UK through their immersive and creative launchpad scheme.

EcoGPX® Coventry and Warwickshire Launchpad: May-October 2024

In the second phase of the project, the team built on the app prototype created in Ilkley, alongside growing roots and developing creative practices in and in response to places in Coventry with local artists. The launchpad began in May 2024 with a period of deep listening and close engagement with communities in

Figure 2: Screenshot from video uploaded to Places, EcoGPX® Launchpad Residency 3, Coventry. Video credit: Maryam Safe

Coventry and Nuneaton. This allowed the EcoGPX® team to understand the dynamics, energies, needs and challenges of the places and people with whom they were working. This phase was followed by an open call to artists, practitioners, community leaders and place-makers in and around Coventry. A diverse set of Coventry based artists responded to the call and were invited to participate in the first residency of this phase of the project, which took place in Coventry in July 2024 across 5 days and invited artists to a wide range of venues, organisations and natural environments across the city. They were each offered an opportunity to co-lead creative activities in and in response to these places, resulting in a vibrant and diverse set of activities which were co-created across the 5 days. A full report of this first residency is available in Appendix 1, alongside reporting on the whole project, which was completed in October 2024 (see Scott 2024).

EcoGPX® Summary and Prospects for Growth

The EcoGPX® 6-month launchpad project extends into 24-25 for Intercultural Roots and remains an exciting area for growth and diversification, particularly through the development of a brand-new mobile application, ‘Places by EcoGPX®’ towards the end of the project. The Places application is built for communities of placebased creative practitioners, allowing contributors to upload short videos and scores (consisting of an image with text overlay) to the places where they were recorded. Viewers opening the app in those places will see the media recorded there which is nearest to

them in place and time. In this way, the media is seeded in the places where it is made, and remains there, offering the present viewer glimpses into creative activities, encounters and perspectives which happened in that place, creating a form of socially augmented reality and connecting contributors and viewers in particular places across time.

Places and the EcoGPX® projects have opened a range of new areas of growth for Intercultural Roots that actively intertwine

Figure 3: Participants in Residency 2, EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire. Image Credit: Intercultural Roots

with the benefits of the embodied, collective approaches to being with people and places that have characterised IR’s practices and pedagogies across multiple projects. As the section of this report outlining strategic planning attests, seeding the ecosystem with new technological possibilities opens funding streams, new areas of research and creative practice. In the next year and beyond, IR plans to nurture these new digital elements of the ecology, through applying for funding to continue its development and shaping as part of a new set of approaches to creative digital place-making.

Arts Disability Network (ADN)

The Arts Disability Network (ADN) is a new community for disabled adult artists and artists with chronic health conditions, offering free support with ‘growing an arts career, accessing funding, and navigating an often inaccessible sector’ (Intercultural Roots 2021a).

ADN grew out of an idea proposed by Krisztina Ferencz, with other members of IR’s Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities (GIRIC) network (see section on GIRIC below). Krisztina proposed that IR offer a space to address the needs of disabled artists and artists with chronic health conditions. A comprehensive consultation followed, alongside applications for funding support. 126 detailed responses were offered to a consultation questionnaire, which was shared through IR’s networks and social channels, alongside a consultation meeting. Both revealed the significance and need for such a network to be established and provide support for the many disabled artists and those with chronic health conditions. Survey respondents identified needs such as support with planning, mentoring, career building, accessing funding and a supportive community.

The Arts Disability Network was established in March 2024 with the support of £20,000 of funding from the National Lottery Awards for All. A further £40,000 of funding from the Adobe Community Fund, supported by the London Community Foundation, was awarded to support the delivery of creative health workshops, emotional and physical wellbeing support groups, professional development and networking events and the development of platforms for showcasing the work of disabled artists. The network launched officially in June 2024 and is lived experience-led by disabled artists Myra Stuart and Nu McAdam. It is designed to be directly responsive to the needs and challenges identified through the initial consultation and by the ongoing needs of the community of disabled artists and artists with chronic health conditions who have joined ADN. Membership has grown to 110 throughout this year.

Following its launch ADN has offered a range of different events and opportunities to members, including online workshops and training in ‘entering work with confidence’ and ‘breaking down barriers to Arts Council England funding’, alongside making spaces for members to join online and work on creative pieces or tasks together. This is complemented with regular invitations to a ‘coffee and a chat’ with Myra, Nu and other ADN members, a resource library, community building and peer support, making room to meet, share experiences, and build creative collaborations, all housed in a bespoke Basecamp (asynchronous digital platform) area, which holds the network’s engagements and opportunities.

The Arts Disability Network is another new and significant part of the IR ecosystem, seeded in previous years and becoming established and active in 23-24. ADN offers a much-needed area of growth for Intercultural Roots, in developing the ways in which the organisation not only offers support to its disabled members but also establishes a space of advocacy and resistance to the consistent marginalisation of disabled people within the arts and creative industries. Over time, ADN will also offer valuable learning for Intercultural Roots, in models for accessible ways of working, communication and creative collaboration that are inclusive and equitable for disabled artists and artists with chronic illnesses.

Human-Nature Connect

Human-Nature Connect (H-NC) residencies have been prominent in IR’s programme of events this year, following their seeding into the ecosystem in 2022. The focus of the residencies is on gently facilitating and opening time and space for participants to immerse themselves in natural landscapes, which in turn prompts ‘connections with our inner space, allowing nature healing and providing artistic kinship’ (Intercultural Roots 2021b). A variety of spaces, landscapes and communities have generously held and hosted residencies this year. Participating practitioners have, in turn, benefited from the ways in which IR’s practices of light facilitation can open ‘non-empty spaces’ - as IR’s founder and executive director, Dr Alex Boyd calls them - to artistic connections and different modes of kinship; ‘being with’ each other and the many lives, presences, histories and futures which make up such landscapes and communities.

Thanks to the Aviva Community Fund and partnership with the Third Sector Renewables charity, these residencies were part funded for participants in 23-24, increasing their accessibility. As outlined below, each residency is unique and emerges differently depending on the nature of the landscapes, co-facilitators and participants. However, all are united in offering space and time for deep modes of entanglement and connection with the more than human world, enabling what Donna Haraway (2016) calls ‘intertwined worldings’ (p.13) to emerge.

Figure 4: Screenshot from film of ‘Arts and Health in Nature’ Film credit: John Zibell and Dylan Bolles

Figure 5: Screenshot from film of ‘Arts and Health in Nature’ Film credit: John Zibell and Dylan Bolles

Human-Nature Connect, ‘Arts and Health in Nature’, Hubberholme, Yorkshire, 1-4

September 2023

The Human-Nature Connect residency in Hubberholme, Yorkshire, offered 23 participants a variety of ‘portal opening’ experiences through therapeutic body work approaches, allowing deep connection with nature, healing and wellbeing’ (Intercultural Roots 2021c). It was facilitated by Drs. Andrea Maciel & Alex Boyd with special guest Flavia Rohen, a biodynamic physiotherapist from Brazil. The Yorkshire Dales National Park is an ancient, varied and abundant landscape, offering a range of different types of landscape for therapeutic engagement and entanglement. These were fully incorporated into the experience, with deep and sustained movement and vocal work, both reflecting and entangling with natural energies and processes. Rocky, river landscapes featured strongly in the residency, offering connections with deep, geological time and prompting varied creative responses and connections between human and more than human. A beautiful film, made by Drs. John Zibell and Dylan Bolles, documents and creatively mixes the sights, sounds, movements and textures of this residency.

Figure 5: View from Isle Martin Figure 7: Creative practices at the Isle Martin residency Image Credit: Intercultural Roots Image Credit: Intercultural Roots

Human-Nature Connect, ‘Environmental Arts & Eco Somatic Residency‘, Isle Martin, Scotland, 6-10 September 2023

Following on from Hubberholme, the Human-Nature Connect ‘Environmental Arts and Eco Somatic Residency’, in Isle Martin, north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland, took place. In this residency, 8 local co-facilitators with a range of different eco-art practices, led by Drs. Thomas Kampe and Alex Boyd with Anthony O’Flaherty, guided 20 artists through a rich and ‘nourishing’ experience, exploring the sea, shoreline landscapes and interior of the island, with an emphasis on connections to and creative and climate action activities within these environments.

Vocal work, performance, movement practices, and eco-somatics were combined with work with the land, helping to regenerate and restore the island’s ecosystems through clearing and tree planting. In addition, across the 5 days, participants cooked, ate, sang and socialised together, forming a creative community.

The unique partnership with the Isle Martin Trust brought the creative activities into close relationships with the multispecies communities who live on the island, including the seaweed, trees, plants and people. As Anthony O’Flaherty, one of the Isle Martin trustees, reflects, ‘I know this island in so many other ways and this project

Figure 8: Engaging in traditional crafts at the Isle Martin residency Image Credit: Intercultural Roots

just suited it perfectly’. Facilitator, Thomas Kampe, commented that the residency was a ‘process of immersion’, as well as an opportunity for ‘re-education of our imagination’, opening ‘what it might mean to

be in dialogue with nature, beyond dominating, excavating, extracting …coming to a more kind, observant, aware and caring approach’ (in Kroeger 2023). This sums up much of what these residencies can do – they re-set perspectives, opening up time and space for deeper connections with our more than human kin and with each other, and as Thomas and others reflect, this is deeply ‘nourishing’. It is also a reciprocal and regenerative activity, benefiting all living beings entangled in these opportunities for extended, attentive ‘being-with’. Overall, 145 individuals took part in the residency and Angelica Kroeger’s film of the residency offers beautiful and careful insights into its practices and processes.

Human-Nature Connect: Proposing An Eco Somatic Embodied Research by Alex Boyd – 2nd Oct 2023

In October, Intercultural Roots founder and executive director, Dr Alex Boyd, ran a Human-Nature Connect practice as research workshop at the Taoist Center in Oakland, California, USA, which was also available to online participants. The event was part of the programme for the '23RD WORLD CONGRESS ON INTEGRATIVE HEALTH: Healing with Peace' Conference. Organised by Drs Alex Feng and Charlene Ossler, it explored Taoist practices, enabling artists and practitioners to establish kinship with the environment for enhanced wellbeing, with a focus on enabling immersive artistic and eco-somatic kinship. Again, within this workshop, a central thread was to realise the interconnectedness of humans and nature, through ‘eco-entangled and creative health lifeways’.

As with other Human-Nature Connect events, here an opportunity was created to bring a community of artists and practitioners together to learn, connect and move their practices. In line with the programme as a whole, these events actively advance the nascent discipline of eco-arts and eco-somatics. Through HumanNature Connect meetings, the languages, forms and practices of this discipline are made active and furthered through conversation. In addition, felt senses of connection, mutual nourishment and regenerative benefits between humans and more than human nature are offered space and time to grow, with benefits for all living beings.

Human-Nature Connect, ‘“La Selva”:

International Ecological Arts and Eco-Somatic

Residency’, Rome, Italy, 5 - 8 October 2023

This is also reflected in the ‘La Selva: International Ecological Arts and Eco-Somatic Residency’, coordinated by Dr Raffaele Rufo and Dr Thomas Kampe, in partnership with local arts, culture and education organisations and funded through the ‘Human-Nature Connect’ Programme.

Figure 9: Exploring landscapes, screenshot from ‘La Selva’ film. Film credit: Stefania Milazzo

The ‘La Selva’ residency took place between 5[th] and 8[th] October 2023 and gathered ‘a group of 40 eco-oriented artists, scholars and educators from all over the world’ in the Natural Reserve of the Roman Coast (Rome, Central Italy). The residency offered ‘4 days of guided somatic movement, sensory and perception practice, immersive and collaborative arts exchanges, reflection and discussion, as well as guided

visits to archaeological sites, and excursions with specialist nature-conservation guides’.

Again, as with other residencies, knowledges and practices from across the world and from a range of disciplines were brought together, through a strong sense of connection to the local cultures, histories, topographies and ecologies within the park. This included connections to a landscape scarred by wildfires in a nature reserve, as well as engagements with human-made sites, in the form of the ruins of a city.

As with many Intercultural Roots events, ecosomatic practices were prominently explored in relation with and connection to local histories and arts practices. As co-ordinator, Thomas Kampe, reflects, eco-somatics and arts practices are an emerging field, so it is important to create communities from a range of disciplines to help build the strength of the field, alongside ways of articulating its key features. Intercultural Roots as an organisation is instrumental in the building, strengthening and developing of this important field, which has so many benefits

Figure 10: Exploring ruins, screenshot from ‘La Selva’ film. Film credit: Stefania Milazzo

for human and environmental health, and sustainable co-existence. Within IR’s ecosystem, the field of ecosomatics is also nourished and supported by the eco-embodied network of artists, as discussed below.

This year, all the H-NC events have built interdisciplinary communities from around the globe with deep respect and care for the particularities of local spaces and people and practices. This respect for and celebration of what is present in a place is fundamental to IR’s work and can be seen also in the EcoGPX® projects, where the power, strength, practices and gifts of the communities of Ilkley and Coventry, UK, were revealed, supported and creatively celebrated.

Figure 11: Exploring landscapes, screenshot from ‘La Selva’ film. Film credit: Stefania Milazzo

International Eco-embodied Network (IE-EN)

The International Eco-embodied Network, connected to the HumanNature connect programme, was established early in 2023 as an online Basecamp space for those practising and researching in the areas of eco-arts, ecosomatics and environment. Since then and throughout this year, it has grown to 191 members. This interactive online

space practises IR’s approaches in its ‘collaborative and horizontal’ framework, built on nourishing, regenerative and collective peer to peer support, specifically to address nature connectedness across practices and projects in the group from an ‘ecological, sustainable, and decolonising perspective’ (Boyd 24[th] Feb 2023). This year, the network has connected through monthly online meetings and through the various

conversational and collaborative spaces offered through Basecamp. The network functions as a space to propose collaborations, share opportunities and exchange valuable experience and knowledges between practitioners, artists and researchers. In addition to this, there is a symbiotic relationship between HumanNature Connects and the International Eco-embodied Network, in that practitioners joining residencies are invited to join the network and practitioners already in the network are invited and supported to propose ideas for H-NC residencies.

Boal Forum Theatre Workshops

Workshops in Pimlico, London, facilitated by Andrea Maciel & Almiro Andrade – 9th30th Nov 2023

23-24 is the first year of a two-year project, addressing domestic violence through forum theatre, delivered by Intercultural Roots and funded by the Peabody Community Fund. Co-ordinated by IR’s artistic director, Dr Andrea Maciel and facilitated by Dr Maciel and actor/director/playwright Dr Almiro Andrade, the project engages Augusto Boal’s (1992) forum theatre practices as tools to address the question, ‘how do we live with violence?’ It brings together Peabody Housing tenants and local residents ‘to discuss, express and explore issues of

Figure 62: Pimlico forum theatre workshops Image credit: Intercultural Roots

violence and conflict in their lives and local communities’ (Burrell 2024, p.1). As the evaluation of the first year of this project (available through a link in Appendix 1) concludes, ‘the Forum Theatre workshops are creating safe spaces and holding secure boundaries for people to recall, enact and consider their collective and subjective concerns’, while ‘promoting deeper understanding of how conflict manifests in each other’s lives and deepening a sense of belonging to community’ (Burrell 2024, p.1).

As such, this project, alongside EcoGPX®, is part of the flourishing of the branches of Intercultural Roots’ work which focus on working with local communities where they are and addressing the issues that such communities face through creative practices. In this case, attention was offered to questions of violence as experienced by Peabody housing tenants and local residents. The forum theatre workshops served as a creative tool to ask challenging questions around the forms of violence we experience and may even enact, how it feels to be subjected to violence and, crucially, what collectively sourced ways of addressing such encounters might support individuals and communities to prevent and respond to violence. As with all IR’s practices, the act of embodying and enacting is a crucial catalyst and way of releasing possibilities, moving beyond verbal discussion to creative explorations that open real, practical possibilities for changemaking. In relation to forum theatre, this means involving participants as ‘‘spect-actors’, enabling community issues to be explored and democratic

Figure 13: Forum theatre workshops Image credit: Intercultural Roots ‘‘spect-actors’, enabling community issues to be explored and democratic solutions rehearsed, enacted and proposed to the community and wider authorities’ (Burrell 2024, p.6).

Claire Burrell’s Year 1 report was used to build a case study by the National Centre for Creative Health (see NCCH n.d.) and the project continues, with further workshops planned in the coming year. Already, participants are seeing the benefits of these approaches in relation to themselves and their communities. Within the report, one participant commented on how ‘expressing struggle through the body can be very useful’, while another found ‘playing out and enacting scenes … really helpful’ in addressing ‘recollections, experiences and thoughts on conflicts in my life’ (p.9-10).

Figure 14: Pimlico forum theatre workshops Image credit: Intercultural Roots

Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities (GIRIC)

The Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities (GIRIC) network has grown and developed this year, following its establishment in January 2023, with support from the Social Enterprise Support Fund. Throughout the year, this free of charge artists’ network has offered fortnightly peer-led Zoom meetings, on a range of topics developed in response to consultation with the growing community. Inspired by Dr Alex Boyd’s PhD research in the ‘sustainability of traditional knowledge systems’ and ‘embodied learning through practice, teaching and application’ (Boyd 2014), the sessions are grouped under the themes of practice, pedagogy and projects. Within sessions, peer-led discussions and activities explore areas such as embodied research, workshop facilitation and building community, as well as practical concerns such as writing funding applications, budgeting, project management and evaluation.

The GIRIC meetings are, as with all Intercultural Roots events and engagements, characterised by a warm, welcoming inclusivity. Those attending are encouraged to share their experiences, but also their questions and the issues they face as artists working closely with a range of different communities. These discussions have an open framework, with light facilitation and an emphasis on peer-to-peer discussion and support. In this way, they draw forth the rich and extensive expertise, experience and skills of the Intercultural Roots community. As with the Human-Nature Connect and EcoGPX® residencies, a space for reciprocal ‘gifting’ (Hunter 2019) between artists and practitioners from diverse backgrounds is held, allowing mutual benefits to be shared widely with the GIRIC community.

The mixture of synchronous meetings through Zoom and asynchronous online engagements has worked well for this busy, geographically diverse set of practitioners, offering connections, resources and critical discussions on key topics. In addition to these meetings, GIRIC functions through Basecamp as an online community and place to share opportunities, celebrate successes and build collaborations. Through message boards, prompts to share updates and an editable Google Form, artists can easily find and connect with collaborators to share ideas and begin building sustainable relationships. As such, the network is a growing and living repository, with shoots of new practice and collaboration constantly emerging from the entanglements that form there. This is represented particularly in IR’s Practitioner Partnerships programme (see below), which is focused on providing income and generating potential for practitioners who are often members of the GIRIC community. Equally, the EcoGPX® project, Arts Disability Network and Rhythms of Resistance projects (see above and below) all emerged from ideas seeded by GIRIC members. This burgeoning potential for cross-fertilisation across IR networks and projects is an area that the organisation

will be feeding and growing in future years through further project partnerships and through IR’s new professional services ‘Germination’ programme (see ‘Strategic Developments’ below).

GIRIC now has over 250 members who have benefitted from this programme of events and through sharing expertise, resources and experience across a community of international practitioners and the network continues to grow in numbers, with around 350 members across more than 50 countries expected by the beginning of 2025.

Figure 7: Land art creations, EcoGPX® Coventry and Warwickshire. Image credit: Fatima Reszczynski

Figure 16: Clearing invasive species, EcoGPX® Coventry and Warwickshire Image Credit: Intercultural Roots

Practitioner Partnerships

As referenced in the introduction, practitioners sit at the heart of Intercultural Roots, in that it is the artists, researchers, facilitators and makers who activate the ‘ecological, sustainable and decolonised’ principles of the organisation and bring them to life.

This year, through the Practitioner Partnerships programme, IR has partnered with a range of practitioners and artists to open up their work to a wider audience. The programme, launched in 2021, offers ‘a costeffective platform for co-producing and delivering activities’ and has thrived this year, supporting 75 practitioners to deliver in person, online and hybrid events, training and workshops.

Figure 17: Once Upon a Cube Image Credit: Marco Pagani

Figure 18: Once Upon a Cube Image Credit: Marco Pagani

Once Upon a Cube by Irene Fiordilino/Scirocco Dance Company – September 2023

This site-specific, playful and participatory work was presented as part of the Totally Thames Festival in September 2023 at Syon House in Hounslow, London, with support from an IR crowdfunding campaign. Here, 190 audience members engaged with the piece, which involves fluid and dynamic movement practices and interactions with giant grass covered cubes. In so doing, it ‘places an emphasis on the importance of reclaiming our public spaces, promoting urban parks as a place for communities to thrive and reconnect with each other and with nature’. As such, it aligns perfectly with IR’s aims related to nature-connectedness for all communities and claiming this right through playful and creative interactions.

Embracing Paradox: Embodied Transformation by Myra Stuart – 5th Oct-9th Nov 2023

In October and November 2023, across 6 weeks, somatic practitioner and Arts Disability Network project lead, Myra Stuart, led 25 participants in online workshops designed to support participants to explore ‘new ways of being with each other whilst acknowledging our values, differences and disagreements’. The programme centred on tuning and listening to the body, using these embodied knowings to cultivate ‘new enjoyment of life’s unfolding’, leading to ‘new tools for navigating life’s terrain towards greater individual and social liberation’. This important work, made accessible to a range of participants through its dissemination online, supports individuals to work collectively to find embodied, generative, and healing paths through life’s challenges, conflicts and paradoxes, while also building and feeding back into IR’s supportive creative community.

Inside-Out Humanhood in devised performance by Andrea Maciel & Helen Tennison – 21st Oct 2023

In an offer to ‘performers and multidisciplinary artists’, Dr Andrea Maciel, Intercultural Roots’ Artistic Director, and Helen Tennison, award winning theatre director and Viewpoints practitioner, facilitated a oneday workshop exploring new devising frameworks. The workshop was specifically themed around ‘humanhood’ and what it means ‘to be a creative human at this point in history’. It challenged traditional performance approaches, incorporating an ‘ecopolitical performance exploration’, through questioning binaries and embracing holistic approaches. This mode of engagement nourishes and enriches Intercultural

Roots’ creative community, through offering fresh perspectives and new pathways for practice. Like the Human-Nature Connects residencies, these types of offerings are a vital part of the regenerative cycles of energy, ideas, creative approaches and practices which flow between Intercultural Roots and its community of practitioners. This co-nourishing and connecting practice builds new exchanges and supports the eco-arts and eco-somatic community to continue in their important and healing work, repairing and revealing vital connections between humans and more than humans, people and places, communities and landscapes.

Discovering the Benefits of Alexander Technique: A 6-week Basic Course by Adam Rolleston & Jo Roantree – 1st Nov-6th Dec 2023

Continuing in the offers arising from the eco-somatic expertise within the Intercultural Roots community, Adam Rolleston and Jo Roantree delivered a 6-week course in the Alexander Technique in November to December 2023. Engaging with what this body-mind technique can offer to anyone, whatever their level of experience as a movement practitioner, the focus was on addressing ‘harmful habitual patterns of both mind and body that do not promote wellbeing’, leading to ‘beneficial change, liberating us to explore the amazing mechanisms and possibilities we have as human beings'. Again, this links to a strong theme present in activities across the IR ecosystem this year, including Human-Nature connect residencies, EcoGPX® projects and other workshops and courses. This is a focus on the tools, practices and entanglements that can support wellbeing and flourishing, whether that is through deeper connections with the more than human world or embodied practices that help us to address settled and damaging habits in our daily lives. Nearly 40 participants benefitted from this accessible online course.

Figure 19: Drawing practices with Rebecca Marta D’Andrea Image Credit: Marlena Yogev @Emerging Hearts C.I. Camp 2023

Tracing The Self: from Drawing to Creative Movement by Rebecca Marta D'Andrea – 7th

Dec 2023 - 25th Jan 2024

With a focus on moving and markmaking, movement artist Rebecca Marta D’Andrea offered an extended online laboratory across five sessions in December 2023 and January 2024, which aimed to ‘deepen our bodily awareness, opening our creativity and ability to imagine’. Drawing on a range of embodied techniques, Rebecca helped participants to perceive their bodies

‘from different perspectives as suggested by a drawing: as an outline, as a density, as a colour, as a texture’. Through such creative and playful engagements, the laboratory offered ‘deeper self-awareness’ and ‘a focused attention towards the body, which, in turn can help unlock ‘emotional and physical points of stagnation to bring back a new sense of fluidity and flow’. Such sessions offer valuable creative pathways, techniques and ways of unlocking artistic practices. They actively feed and nurture Intercultural Roots’ creative community and feed back into the creative rooting and seeding of diverse practitioners. This is evident in strong numbers attending across the sessions, with nearly 40 attending by the end of the laboratory.

Experiencing Bharatanatyam - History, Movement and Story Telling by Deepa Mahadevan – 7th Jan-2nd Mar 2024

A key aspect of the Intercultural Roots community, through its various networks and events, is that it draws from and benefits from embodied and performance practices across the world and emerging from a variety of diverse cultures. This is evident in the opportunity for participants to learn the Indian dance, Bharatanatyam, across 8 weeks from January to March 2024 with Indian performer, teacher and choreographer, Deepa Mahadevan.

Figure 20: Deepa Mahadevan performing Image Credit: Deepa Mahadevan

This detailed and in-depth online engagement did not just teach the techniques of this dance form, such as its mudras (or hand gestures), but also engaged participants in actively learning about its sociopolitical history. Through this creative and critical engagement, Deepa promoted an ethical practising of the form, opening up ‘the inequities in its history, practice and transmission’ and encouraging, in light of this, a ‘nuanced understanding’ of its aesthetics.

As with many of the events, programmes, workshops and courses that IR creates or supports, creative practice is actively entangled with socio-political issues, opening important discussions, as these sessions did. Equally, the ways that our creative practices can address oppressions, inequities and work towards social justice is significant across IR’s work. This is evident in the EcoGPX® projects, where in Coventry and Warwickshire, the project team actively worked to challenge the labels of deprivation that are attached to particular communities in the city, through revealing and highlighting the cultural richness and gifts that such communities offer. It is also evident in the Forum Theatre workshops, specifically designed to address the pervasive societal issue of violence within homes and communities.

Figure 21: Eleni Kollipoulou performing Image Credit: John Hutchings

Nurture your solo performance practice by Eleni Kollipoulou – 6th Feb12th Mar 2024

Across February and March in 2024, Eleni Kollipoulou led online creative workshops for early practitioners of performance arts who were interested in developing a solo performance practice. These workshops combined physical training, ‘food for thought’ and

lectures on performing artists with exercises to enhance presence and help participants develop ideas for solo performance, in order to create a nurturing environment for the development of creative practice.

Again, a critical engagement with the history and philosophy of performance art sat alongside the practical and creative activities, to create a multidimensional, rich offer for participants, combining the critical and creative elements of shaping a personal solo practice in performance. Eleni’s workshops offered 28 participants the time, space and support to seed and nurture ideas as creative practitioners in performancemaking, as well as the critical framework to decide how they wanted those seeds to grow. Again, this is an example of the regenerative cycles of creative practice and research that are developed by artists, supported by IR and in turn feed back into the artistic community, within the IR network and beyond.

Soma Scapes: Eco-Somatic Wellbeing Sessions by Anna Dako and Martina Polleros – 7th-28th Mar 2024

Another valuable and nurturing online event was supported by IR in the shape of the eco-somatic wellbeing sessions, ‘Soma Scapes’, offered by Anna Dako and Martina Polleros. These sessions highlighted the ‘seasonality of wellbeing’ and how we can better connect to ‘the healing support of the natural world’. Characterised by ‘gentle movement explorations and learning about the body systems through self-inquiry’, the sessions also helped participants to boost ‘resilience, recuperation, self-development, inner growth, and overall wellbeing improvement’. With a combined focus on embodied movement exploration and close connection to the natural world, the Soma Scapes workshops perfectly align with IR’s aims to support artists, practitioners and those from a wider interested community to benefit from the gifts of artistic practices that emphasise, reveal and shape closer relationships with the natural processes that are happening all around us. The type of inner and outer listening that such practices help to nurture can support individuals and communities in terms of their own self-care, but also in opening that type of caring to the wider more than human world, which we all depend on.

Figure 22: Anna Dako’s sited embodied practices Image Credit: Dr Anna Dako

Threads: Uniting Art, Science, and Self in the Tapestry of Existence by Maria Linares Freire – 19th Jun-10th Jul 2024

The final event of 23-24, in partnership with an IR practitioner, was one which brought together many themes and practices that sit at the heart of IR’s ecosystem. Maria Linares Freire’s workshops, ‘Threads: Uniting Art,

Figure 23: Geometric Images Image Credit: Maria Linares Freire

Science, and Self in the Tapestry of Existence’ ran online from June-July 2024, and supported participants to ‘explore the fusion of art, science, and self-growth with geometry’, while ‘cultivat[ing] self-love, environmental appreciation, and the essence of entanglement’. Using the language of geometry as a catalyst, Maria used drawing activities to open conversations about personal and environmental wellbeing, while also exploring the scientific fields of biology, astronomy and physics. In this way, participants could discover both the ‘threads that weave existence’ and ‘the geometric patterns within and around’, prompting awareness of the ‘unity of the world and ‘heightened environmental consciousness’. Again, this type of engagement and offer, which IR’s support makes possible, is a perfect example as to how a creative engagement can open a wider awareness of and attunement to our positioning as humans in the world, the patterns which bond and entangle us in that world and the huge benefits, personally and for the planet, that arise from cultivating these connections.

Gifting within the IR ecosystem

Nourishment and Support to Grow: Feedback and Testimonials

As the outline of practices in this report reveals, Intercultural Roots has rooted and grown across a range of communities this year and in doing so, has positively impacted on individuals’ lives, and the health and wellbeing of communities and environments. Many of those who take part in Intercultural Roots’ activities, as artists, facilitators, venues, organisations and communities, report back on the significance of these activities. They describe the building of new connections between people and places, raising awareness of the importance of diverse environments to human thriving, connecting communities and creatively opening the possibilities and gifts embedded in people and places, which may otherwise remain hidden or overlooked. Intercultural Roots works co-creatively and respectfully with places, practitioners and communities to build towards a more sustainable, just and equitable future for all the inhabitants of our

planet. The value of this work is represented in the feedback we have received across our projects this year, just some of which is reflected in the image shared in the executive summary above.

Connections and Entanglements: Inclusivity and Equity

Intercultural Roots ‘is dedicated to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of its work. Emphasising openness, recognition, and empowerment, the organisation fosters mutual trust and respect. This commitment is evident in the diversity of its trustees, volunteers, staff, and partnerships, which include people from minority ethnic, LGBTQI+, and disabled communities’ (Intercultural Roots 2021).

As the organisation continues to grow and diversify, the new roots and shoots of practice which have been part of this year’s work emphasise not just a present commitment to inclusion, but active efforts towards a more just and equitable future. This is evident in the EcoGPX® Launchpad in Coventry, where the project team focused their energies on communities in the city made disadvantaged and labelled as deprived. In these spaces, the EcoGPX® project sought to engage closely with local communities, honouring the diverse energies, cultures and creative practices present and using the new Places mobile application to reveal these gifts to a wider community.

The newly established Arts Disability Network also works to actively engage with a community of disabled artists and artists with chronic health conditions, who have been strategically undervalued and excluded from many areas of the creative industry due to ableist and discriminatory practices that are still prevalent. This network, led by disabled artists, offers a new space of support, solidarity and action, which can be used to empower disabled artists themselves but also function as a platform for activism and advocacy.

Members of IR’s communities, including more than 600 practitioner-scholars within its Basecamp platform, come from more than 50 countries in the world and the organisation is committed to international collaborations which prompt intercultural bridge building and solidarity across national borders. This is evident in £75,000 of new funding from the British Council, which has been awarded to Intercultural Roots as an International Collaborating Grant to support ‘Rhythms of Resistance’ - an international collaboration with Puma Camille Produções from Brazil to explore ‘the multiplicity of ways in which the performance aesthetics of resistance offered by Capoeira and Vogue functions as rhythmic strategies of liberation for Black, LGBTQIAPN+ and other historically oppressed bodies’ (IR 2021d)

Fruiting and Seeding: Celebrating successes, planning future work

As Intercultural Roots moves forward as an organisation, the annual report offers a productive space to celebrate the branching and fruiting of projects, alongside the pathways for regenerative growth that are part of the organisation’s strategic planning.

Key Successes in 23-24:

Approximately £200,000 of funding awarded across the year
Establishment of the Arts Disability Network with £60,000 of funding from National Lottery Awards for All and Adobe Community Fund
Successful and impactful phases of the EcoGPX® project in Ilkley and Coventry (continuing into 2425), supported by £149,970 of funding from Innovate UK
New partnerships and collaborations i.e. Practitioner Partnerships, Coventry based artists and local organisations, with Puma Camille Produções through the British Council funded ‘Rhythms of Resistance’ project (Oct 2024)
Capacity building through successful inclusion within organisational development programmes including: Innovate UK High Growth Business Growth programme, Design for Growth, Create

Growth West Yorkshire (Creative UK) Stage 2 Investment Readiness Programme, The Turing Way Practitioners Hub 2024

Recognition as an IRO – Independent Research Organisation - by the British Academy

Strategic Planning for 24-25 and beyond:

Growing EcoGPX® through funding, partnerships and projects, supported by the development of the Places by EcoGPX® mobile application
Developing the profile and functioning of EcoGPX Ltd as a profit-making RTO spin out company to feed back into the wider IR eco-system
Developing Intercultural Roots as an Independent Research Organisation (British Academy recognised) with expertise in community-led embodied, emplaced and eco-somatic practice-asresearch
Continuation and development of IR’s network membership: ADN - Arts Disability Network, E-EN - Eco-Embodied Network (Human-Nature Connect) and GIRIC – Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities
From GIRIC – diversifying IR’s trading income potential from Practitioner Partnerships and Project Partnerships and developing IR’s embodied practice and research educational curricula
Development of ‘Germination Services’ – IR’s new professional consultancy services for practitioners and fledgling arts organisations
International collaborations, including the new British Council funded ‘Rhythms of Resistance’ project and exploring opportunities afforded from the UK’s participation in the EU’s Horizon Europe

23-24 in numbers and names

Partici ant Numbers p

Year	Practtoners	Sessions	Partcipants
18-19	1	1	80
19-20	40	150	2130
20-21	67	238	2500
21-22	55	147	1777
22-23	55	135	2281
23-24	75	100	1997

Finances

In 2023-2024, IR achieved a turnover of £194,511. Expenditure was £169,599.

At the end of the financial year there was £46,988 in the bank. £13,735 are non-restricted funds for contingencies as per our reserves policy and £33,253 are restricted funds.

Though the turnover for 23-24 is lower than the previous year, this is because the funding which we received from Innovate UK is paid in arrears, so will be represented in next year’s finances.

For full financial and further information including our previous Annual Reports please refer to the Charity Commission for England and Wales registration information for Intercultural Roots for Public Health CIO (Registered Charity number: 1179885)

Marketing and Promotion, compiled and written by Basma Darouich

Marketing Strategy Overview

The marketing strategy aimed to engage diverse audiences, including academics, artists, grassroots organisations, and local communities. The approach integrated email marketing, public relations, social media, paid advertisements, and strategic partnerships. Key email platforms included Mailchimp, JISCMail (targeting UK-based academic and artistic networks), and Riseup (focusing on global activism). Public relations efforts generated over 70,000 headline impressions through platforms such as PR Log, Issue Wire, and Market Press Release, with highlights including coverage of Coventry City Council’s community initiatives. Social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, and WhatsApp groups, played a pivotal role in driving engagement, supported by Google and Microsoft Ads leveraging grants for optimisation.

Digital Promotion Metrics

Email marketing saw notable growth, with subscribers increasing by 9.8% to 2,809 and an average open rate of 48.55%, exceeding the industry standard of 36.75%. Campaign highlights included the EcoGPX Open Call Newsletter with 2,199 opens and an 8.02% click rate, as well as the Residency Highlights newsletter, sent to over 2,800 recipients with a 4.5% click rate. The largest subscriber segment was Arts for Health (2,000 subscribers), with smaller, niche segments such as EcoGPX and IR Practitioners showing potential for personalised engagement.

Social media performance revealed strong audience engagement. On Instagram, the primary audience was women aged 35 - 44, with peak engagement on Thursdays at 3 PM. Facebook similarly had a 66.1% female audience, peaking at 9 AM on Thursdays. LinkedIn demographics included professionals in business development, education, and project management, with the highest engagement in London, Edinburgh, and Coventry.

Website analytics showed 80,967 total views, 55% of which came from new visitors. Key landing pages included “What’s On” and Dr Feng’s video series. Video content also performed well, with the YouTube channel receiving 3,859 views, 33 new subscribers, and a click-through rate (CTR) of 3.7%. Vimeo views grew by 12.5% year-on-year, with Dr Feng’s Qi Gong Introduction video achieving 14,500 views. Top-performing ad campaigns, such as Dr Feng’s Qi Gong videos and Arts for Health classes, boasted conversion rates of 230% and 251.32%, respectively. However, donation campaigns underperformed, showing high costs per click and low impressions.

Trends and Growth

The past year saw significant growth in subscriber numbers (+9.8%) and email open rates (+11.8% above industry average). Health and arts campaigns achieved a remarkable ROI increase of 111.68%. The organisation also successfully expanded its audience into emerging markets contributing to 44,250 new website visits. Social media engagement was particularly strong among middle-aged women on Instagram, while workshops and events attracted increased participation from academic and artistic demographics. Year-on-year metrics highlighted consistent growth across key channels. Newsletter subscribers rose from 2,400 to 2,809, while Instagram followers increased from 3,008 to 3,500. Website views reached 120,000, with first-time visitors accounting for 75,500 of the total. Despite fluctuations in YouTube and Vimeo views, overall digital engagement remained robust, reflecting successful outreach and content strategies.


Digital Promoton	31/07/2020	31/07/2021	31/07/2022	31/07/2023	31/07/2024
Newsleter Subscribers	-	-	2,000	2,400	2,809
Facebook Page 'Likes'	1,296	1,841	2,195	2,400	2,700
Instagram Followers	878	1,150	1,535	3,008	3,500
YouTube Views	5,800	4,922	3,135	2,298	4,200
Vimeo Views	-	2,200	8,500	4,400	6,000
Website Views	17,256	37,628	58,000	111,000	120,000
Website First Views	10,397	18,500	37,000	69,000	75,500

Future Strategy

Looking ahead, the focus will be on expanding the organisation’s reach into underrepresented regions and optimising underperforming campaigns, such as donation ads. Targeted campaigns will leverage analytics to refine messaging for high-interest segments. Localised campaigns in emerging markets will further diversify the audience base.

Community engagement will remain a priority, with plans to expand partnerships with grassroots organisations and host events such as Friends of EcoGPX® gatherings to strengthen local ties. Digital optimisation efforts will include A/B testing for ad content, exploring alternative formats such as video and carousel ads, and improving keyword targeting. Content development will prioritise interactive formats such as webinars, live Q&A sessions, and tutorials, building on the success of short-form videos.

To measure success, metrics such as CTR, conversion rates, and audience feedback will guide strategy adjustments. Enhanced efforts in email personalisation, social media campaigns, and community partnerships will aim to foster deeper connections and drive sustained growth.

Conclusion

This year’s marketing initiatives successfully expanded Intercultural Roots’ reach and deepened audience engagement, particularly in health and arts programmes. Moving forward, the organisation will focus on exploring new markets, optimising campaign performance, and fostering innovative, inclusive outreach strategies to build stronger community connections and deliver impactful results[1] .

1 The data on which Basma’s reporting is based is available in Appendix 2 below

Partnerships and Connections

The Turning Way Practitioners Hub 2024
Create Growth West Yorkshire - Stage 2 Investment Readiness (IR and EcoGPX Ltd)
Innovate UK ‘Design for Growth’ programme
Innovate UK Business Growth (High Growth) - delivered by Newable Ltd
LawWorks (Legal) Not-for-Profits Programme delivered by Harriet Beattie (Visa)
Google Nonprofits
Microsoft Nonprofits
Basecamp (educational license)

Funders

Adobe Community Fund
Aviva Community Fund
The Big Give ‘Green Match Fund’
British Council
National Lottery Awards for All
Innovate UK: Creative Catalyst
Innovate UK: Launchpad – Coventry and Warwickshire
Peabody Community Fund
Save our Wild Isles Community Fund
Social Enterprise Fund

Donors

A big thank you to all of our generous donors this year. If you would like to support the continuation of the important work you see represented in this report, you can do this at: htps://www.interculturalroots.org/make-a-donaton

Supporting Organisations

With thanks to:

Ars Secta Ltd
Ascentis Accountants LLP
Cross Pollination Research Platform
EcoGPX Ltd
Intercultural Roots for Traditional Embodied Arts
Move2Change CIC
Evexia Foundation
Primary Films
Third Sector Renewables
Youth Media Group

Practitioners and Consultants

Design Consultation: Al Kennedy Regenerative Design: Issias Johanes

Honorary Legal Council: Harriet Beattie (and Geneva Hoffman)

Newable Ltd Business Consultants: David Zerny, Liam Hickey, Daniel Abdelmassih

Create Growth WY Mentor: Marc de Launey

Accountant (Independent Examination): Pat Davey

Advisors (to CEO): Prof Anita Gonzalez, Bruno Rocha, Dr Ian Kenvyn, Clare Kenvyn

Trustees (Intercultural Roots for Traditional Embodied Arts): Dr Alex Boyd, Dr Andrea Maciel, Dr Alvaro Hernandez, Martin Sax, Prof (Te Ahukaramū) Charles Royal

CIO Board of Directors (Trustees)

Dr Deepa Mahadevan Dr Dylan Bolles Professor Lynette Hunter Dr Kevin O’Connor Maryam Seif Saeidi Peter Atsu Adaletey Peter-Rockford Ututau Espiritu Regina Maria Gutierrez Bermudez Dr Savita Rani Dr Alex Boyd (until 11 Dec 2024)

Leadership Team

Founder and Chief Executive Officer: Dr Alex Boyd Chief Operation Officer: Wendy van der Haagen-Boyd

Artistic Director: Dr Andrea Maciel

Quality Monitoring and Evaluation Director: Dr Jo Scott Creative Director EcoGPX® (from May 2024): Dr Ben Spatz Community Liaison Manager EcoGPX®: Maryam Safe PR, Digital Marketing, Promotion and Social Engagement Specialist: Basma Darouich Full Stack Software Developer EcoGPX®: Peter Awosiyan Arts Disability Network Programmes Manager: Myra Stuart Arts Disability Network Project Outreach and Disability Support Coordinator: Nu McAdam Arts Disabilities Network Project Community Comms Coordinator: Megan Fozzard Boal Forum Theatre Co-Facilitators: Dr Almiro Andrade, Manuela Benini Communication Officer: Corrie Hardaker Digital Ecologies Consultant: Rose Kim Creative Director EcoGPX® (August 2023 – January 2024): Dr John Zibell

References

Boal, A. (1992). Games for Actors and Non-Actors . London: Routledge.

Boyd, A. (24[th] February 2023) Eco-embodied Network basecamp post.

Boyd, A. (2014). The Sustainability of Traditional Knowledge Systems: Embodied Learning Through Practice, Teaching and Application. PhD Thesis. University of California, Davis. Available at htps://www.proquest.com/openview/17b24b23cae773bc2e49cb649c55e58c/1?pqorigsite=gscholar&cbl=18750

Burrell, C. (2024). Addressing Domestic Violence Through Forum Theatre: External Evaluation & Impact Report Year One . Available at htps://www.dropbox.com/scl/f/76ol81q17jr189iqjgek9/Evaluaton-andImpacts-Report-CB-Boal-Forum-Theratre-IR-Final-1.pdf?rlkey=e07k75tld6q9f7lm2zwo3xemg&e=1&dl=0

Haraway, D. (2016). Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Durham/London: Duke University Press.

Hunter, L. (2019). Politics of Practice: a rhetoric of performativity. Palgrave Macmillan.

Intercultural Roots (2021a). Arts Disability Network. Available at: htps://www.interculturalroots.org/project/arts-disability-network

Intercultural Roots (2021b). Human-Nature Connect. Available at: htps://www.interculturalroots.org/project/human-nature-connect

Intercultural Roots (2021c). Arts and Health in Nature. Available at: htps://www.interculturalroots.org/project/arts-and-health-in-nature

Intercultural Roots (2021d). ‘Rhythms of Resistance: Embodiment and Liberation’. Accessed at htps://www.interculturalroots.org/project/rhythms-of-resistance

Kroeger, A. (Director). (2023). Human-Nature Connect, Isle Martin, Scotland [film]. Intercultural Roots. Available at: htps://vimeo.com/893817379

Milazzo, S. (Director). (2024 ). 'LA SELVA' Residency Documentary - Eco-Somatic and Regenerative Arts [film]. Available at: htps://vimeo.com/1007614579

Mugica, A. and Rocha, B. (2024). EcoGPX: Waypoints, routes, practices and collaboration. External Evaluation . Available at htps://www.interculturalroots.org/project/ecogpx

NCCH. (n.d.). National Centre for Creative Health Case Study: Intercultural Roots – Addressing Domestic Violence Through Forum Theatre. Available at: htps://ncch.org.uk/case-studies/intercultural-roots

Scott, J. (2024). EcoGPX Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire: Project Evaluation . Available at htps://www.interculturalroots.org/project/ecogpx

Simard, S. (2021). Finding the Mother Tree: Uncovering the wisdom and intelligence of the forest. Penguin Random House.

Wall Kimmerer, R. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants . Penguin Random House.

Zibell, J. and Bolles, D. (Directors). (2023). Human-Nature Connect: Arts and Health in Nature. Hubberholme, UK [film]. Available at htps://vimeo.com/1047907073

Appendices

Appendix 1: Project Reports and Evaluations

EcoGPX® Creative Catalyst Award Evaluaton Report

EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire: Residency 1 report

EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire Visual Report

EcoGPX® Launchpad Coventry and Warwickshire Evaluaton Report

Boal Forum Theatre: Year 1 Evaluaton

National Centre for Creative Health Case Study: Intercultural Roots – Addressing Domestc Violence Through Forum Theatre

Appendix 2: Marketing Data, compiled and written by Basma Darouich

Overall Marketing Strategy and Main Tools Used Strategy Overview

The marketing strategy centred on expanding reach and engagement across diverse audiences, including academics, artists, grassroots organisations, and local communities. This was achieved through an integrated approach combining email marketing, public relations, social media campaigns, paid advertisements, and collaborations with local and international partners.

Main Tools Used

● Email Marketing Platforms:

Mailchimp
JISCMail: Targeting academic, artistic, and environmental communities across the UK.
Riseup: Engaging global activism and social justice networks.
Public Relations:
Press releases distributed via PR Log, Issue Wire, and Market Press Release, achieving over 70,000 headline impressions.
Notable coverage included Coventry City Council’s community stories.
Insights: PR Log has proven particularly effective for amplifying high-impact collaborations and funding milestones. To enhance future campaigns, focusing on engaging headlines, multimedia content, and cross-platform promotion could significantly boost visibility.

● Social Media Platforms:

Active engagement on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, TikTok, and WhatsApp groups.

Advertising Tools:

Utilised Google Ads and Microsoft Ads , leveraging grants and employing optimisation strategies.

Digital Promoton and Engagement Metrics

Email Marketing Performance:

Subscriber Growth: Increased by 9.8%, reaching 2,809 subscribers.
Newsletter Open Rates: Averaged 48.55%, surpassing the industry standard of 36.75%.

Key Campaigns:

Open Call Newsletter: 2,199 opens, 8.02% click rate.
Residency Highlights: Sent to 2,800+ recipients, achieving a 4.5% click rate.

Tag Breakdown:

Arts for Health: 2,000 subscribers
Arts for Social Change: 657 subscribers
EcoGPX: 182 subscribers
Human-Nature Connect: 181 subscribers
IR Practitioners: 147 subscribers

Key Insights:

Primary Audience: The "Arts for Health" tag represents the largest segment of subscribers, making it a priority focus for outreach.
Niche Engagement: Smaller, targeted groups such as "EcoGPX" and "IR Practitioners" offer unique opportunities for personalised campaigns.
Opportunities for Growth: With 2,809 subscribers, there is significant potential to further engage the audience by tailoring content based on subscriber tags.

Social Media Metrics:

Instagram:

Audience: Predominantly women (35-44: 24%, 25-34: 21.8%).
Top countries: UK (53.7%), Brazil (10.6%), and the US (7.9%).
Peak engagement: Thursdays, 3 PM PST.

Facebook:

Audience: 66.1% women.
Peak engagement: Thursdays, 9 AM PST.

LinkedIn:

Key job functions: Business Development (14%), Education (14%), and Programme/Project Management (10%).
Top locations: London (22%), Edinburgh (10%), and Coventry (8%).

Basecamp Networks:

Arts Disability Network: 115 people
Eco-Embodied Network / Human-Nature Connect: 193 people
EcoGPX® Coventry: 25 people
GIRIC (Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities): 268 people
HQ Intercultural Roots Community: 578 people

Website Analytics:

Total views: 80,967.
New visitor views: 44,250 (55% of total traffic).
Key landing pages: “What’s On” and Dr. Feng’s video series.

Index	Event Name	Event	Total	Event Count Per Actve
		Count	Users	User
1	page_view	80,967	44,291	1.83
2	user_engagement	55,434	29,042	1.92
3	session_start	52,278	44,278	1.18
4	frst_visit	44,250	44,117	1.00
7	what_s_on_page	1,880	1,588	1.19
9	add_to_cart	424	247	1.72

Video Content Performance:

● YouTube Channel Analytics Overview

Key Metrics

1. Views: 3,859

Total number of views for our content during the selected period.
Watch Time: 31.7 hours
Total hours of content consumed by our audience.

3. Subscribers: +33

Net gain of 33 new subscribers .

+21 from videos.
+6 from shorts.
Impressions: 67.1K
Our thumbnails were shown 60,200 times on YouTube.

5. Impressions Click-Through Rate (CTR): 3.7%

A moderate CTR. Improving thumbnails and titles could increase this metric.

Traffic Sources

1. YouTube Search: 36.9%

A large portion of views came from search results, reflecting effective SEO and keyword targeting.
External: 29.3%
Traffic from external sources like social media, websites, or direct links.

3. Suggested Videos: 24.9%

Indicates good visibility in YouTube's recommendation algorithm.
Playlists: 3.1%
Views from videos organised into playlists.

5. Channel Pages: 2.3%

Users navigating directly to our channel to view content.

6. Others: 3.5%

Includes minor or uncategorised sources.

Performance Breakdown by Content Type

1. Videos:

Gained +21 subscribers , highlighting their primary role in audience growth.

2. Shorts:

Contributed +6 subscribers , showing potential for short-form content to attract viewers.

Vimeo Views: Increased by 12.5% from last year.
Most Viewed Video: "Dr. Feng’s Qi Gong Introduction," with 14,500 views.
Engagement Trends: Higher interaction with videos under 5 minutes.

Ad Campaign Highlights:

Google Ads Optimisation Score: 88.6%.
Top-performing campaigns:
Dr. Feng’s Qi Gong videos: Conversion rates exceeding 230% with CTR above 8.5%.
Arts for Health classes: Conversion rate of 251.32%, CTR of 8.41%.

● Underperforming campaigns:

Charity donation ads had low impressions and high CPC despite moderate conversions.

○

Trends

Substantial growth in the subscriber base (+9.8%) and newsletter open rates (+11.8% above the industry average) was achieved, driven by campaigns such as the Open Call Newsletter and Residency Highlights. For instance, the Open Call Newsletter achieved an 8.02% click rate, resonating strongly with a broad audience.
Health, wellness, and arts campaigns also performed exceptionally well. Dr Feng’s Qi Gong video series, for example, demonstrated a remarkable ROI increase of 111.68%, highlighting its popularity and engagement.
Audience growth in previously underrepresented regions, including India and Germany, underscores the success of broader outreach efforts. For example, localised ads tailored to emerging markets resulted in an influx of first-time visitors (44,250 new visits).
Social media engagement trends show notable activity among middle-aged and younger adult women on Instagram, with the key demographic being those aged 35–44. This suggests that targeted messaging and programmes could further amplify this trend.

There was also increased representation from academic and artistic demographics in workshops and events, reflecting the success of campaigns aimed at these audiences.
Additionally, we should continue advertising the Practitioner Partnership Programme to expand the network and foster greater collaboration.

Future Strategy: Goals and Implementaton

Growth Objectives

Expand reach in underrepresented regions.
Enhance performance of underperforming campaigns, such as charity donation ads.
Improve donation campaigns by testing creative strategies and refining audience targeting to boost engagement. Additionally, optimise dynamic ads through A/B testing and budget adjustments for greater cost-efficiency.

Planned Actions

1. Targeted Campaigns

Leverage insights from Google Analytics to refine targeting, focusing on high-interest segments like Travel Buffs and Technophiles .
Launch localised campaigns in emerging markets, tailoring messaging to suit cultural nuances and regional interests.

2. Community Engagement

Expand partnerships with grassroots organisations to foster deeper connections within local communities.
Host additional events, such as Friends of EcoGPX® gatherings, to maintain engagement and strengthen relationships.

3. Digital Optimisation

Revise content relevance and keywords to optimise underperforming ad groups.
Explore alternative ad formats, such as video and carousel ads, to improve engagement and reach.

4. Content Strategy

Increase investment in video content, building on the success of Dr Feng’s Qi Gong series.
Develop more interactive formats, such as webinars, live Q&A sessions, and tutorials, to engage audiences more effectively.

5. Measuring Success

Monitor key metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversions, and cost per click (CPC) to assess campaign performance.
Conduct audience surveys to identify evolving preferences and areas for improvement.

Actionable Recommendations

1. Boost Search Visibility

Conduct keyword research to optimise video titles, descriptions, and tags for YouTube search.
Add closed captions and relevant hashtags to improve discoverability.

2. Enhance Thumbnails and CTR

Improve thumbnail designs and create more clickable titles to increase the 3.7% CTR.
Test A/B variations to determine the most effective designs.

3. Capitalise on External Traffic

Promote video content through social media, websites, and newsletters to maximise external traffic sources.
Strategically use embedded videos and backlinks to increase visibility.

4. Engage with Suggested Videos: Create engaging end screens and cards to link related content, increasing visibility in the Suggested Videos algorithm.

5. Leverage Shorts for Growth: Experiment with short-form content to take advantage of its rising popularity and ability to drive subscriber growth.

6. Optimise Playlists: Curate playlists with thematic or related content to boost session duration and overall engagement.

Social Media Strategy

1. Increase Comment Engagement: Incorporate interactive elements such as questions, polls, or calls to action to encourage discussions. For instance, prompt followers to share their opinions or experiences related to posts.

2. Maximise Content Sharing: Build on the success of shareable content. Develop posts that followers are likely to repost, such as infographics or inspirational stories.

3. Post More Visual Content: Share more images, infographics, or videos to grab attention and increase reactions.

4. Focus on Engagement Timing: Experiment with posting at different times to determine when the audience is most active and likely to engage.

5. Celebrate Milestones: Share milestones (e.g., reaching 4000 followers) to engage the audience and attract new followers.

6. Additional Strategic Actions

Email Retargeting: Use personalised content to convert new visitors into repeat users.
Social Media Expansion: Invest in campaigns targeting younger and professional audiences.
Partnership Development: Strengthen collaborations with community organisations to enhance local engagement.
Google Ads Optimisation: Refine ad targeting and expand high-performing campaigns.
Localised Campaigns: Tailor outreach efforts for emerging markets to diversify the audience base.
Content Engagement: Develop interactive content like behind-the-scenes stories, user-generated content, and webinars to deepen audience connections.
Workshops and Residencies: Further promote cultural and artistic residencies by involving local creatives and amplifying these stories via digital platforms.
Feedback Integration: Build on feedback from the EcoGPX, GIRIC, ADN … projects to enhance and diversify offerings.

The past year’s marketing efforts successfully expanded Intercultural Roots’ reach and engagement, particularly in health and arts programmes. Moving forward, the focus will be on penetrating new markets, enhancing campaign effectiveness, and deepening community connections through innovative and inclusive outreach strategies.

	Charity Name Intercultural Roots for Public Health	Charity Name Intercultural Roots for Public Health	Charity Name Intercultural Roots for Public Health	No (if any) 1179885	CC16a
		Receipts and payments accounts
	For the period from	Period start date 01/08/2023	To	31/07/2024 Period end date

Section A Receipts and payments
A1 Receipts	Unrestricted funds to the nearest £ 4,928 10,264 1,726 10,088 £ 27,006	Restricted funds to the nearest £ 49,969 1,279 65,000 20,000 19,820 10,000 1,437 167,505	Endowment funds to the nearest £ - - - - - - -	Total funds to the nearest £ 4,928 10,264 1,726 49,969 11,367 65,000 20,000 19,820 10,000 1,437 194,511 - 194,511 50,853 5,282 36,928 5,300 2,231 2,286 5,606 13,700 374 13,815 2,578 1,346 15 430 810 12,462 544 15,000 169,559 - 169,559 24,953 -	Last year to the nearest £
Events/Online Events	4,928				-
Donations	10,264				-
HMRC Gift Aid	1,726				-
Contract - Innovate UK - Creative Catalyst 2023 'EcoGPX'					-
Infrastructure Support Services	10,088
Cashflow Loan
Contract - Nationlanol Lottery Community Fund - Awards for All 'Arts Disability Network'
Contract - The Big Give Green Match Fund
Contract - The London Community Fund - Peabody Trust					-
HMRC Tax Refund					-
*Sub total*	£ 27,006				-
A2 Asset and investment sales, etc. *Total receipts* A3 Payments
	-	-	-	-	-
	£ 27,006	167,505	-	194,511	-

Wages & Salaries	1,411				-
Artist/Practitioner Fees	2,110
Contract Workers	1,460				-
Infrastructure Support
Website & IT	1,134				-
Venue/Space Hire					-
Hardware & Software Subscriptions	3,407				-
Event Support	3,700
Advertising	111				-
Travel & Subsistence / Catering	1,460				-
Volunteer Expenses	1,855
Donations	1,346
Bank Charges	15
DBS Check Fees
Payroll Fees	684
HMRC Tax & NI
Insurance	544
Cashflow Loan Repayment
**Sub total **	19,237				-
A4 Asset and investment purchases, etc. *Total payments* *Net of receipts/(payments)* A5 Transfers between funds CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
	-	-	-	-	-
	19,237 7,769 -	150,321 17,184 - 1	- - -
					-

	7,769	17,184	-	24,953	-
	-	- 1	-	-	- 31/01/2025

A6 Cash funds last year end *Cash funds this year end*	5,966.17	16,068.96	-	22,035.13	-
	13,735.05	33,252.70	-	46,987.75	-
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities	at the end of the period
Categories Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use	Details		Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ 13,735 33,253 - - - - £ 13,735 33,253 OK OK Unrestricted funds Restricted funds to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) Innovate UK EcoGPX Launchpad 50,000 - - - - Print Name Dr Alexander Boyd		Endowment funds to nearest £
	Cash in the Bank				-
					-
					-
					-
					OK
					Endowment funds to nearest £
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					Current value (optional)
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					Current value (optional)
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					When due (optional)
					01.12.2024





					Date of approval
					15.08.2024

CCXX R2 accounts (SS)

31/01/2025

Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Section A Iiidependent Examiner's Report Report to the trusleesl members of Intercultural Roots for Public Health On accounts for the year onded 31° Juty 2024 Charity no (If any) 1179885 Set out on paoos Rospectlve The charivs trustees a responsible for the preparation of the accounts. responslbllltles of The chanty's trustèes consider that an audit is not required for this year trustsos and •xaminor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the CharitTres Act) and that an independent examination 18 needed. It is my responsibility to- examine the acwnts under section 145 of the Charities Act, to follow the proc8dures laid d¢J¥n in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission (under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities knl, and to state whether particular matters have com8 to my att8ntion. Basls of Independent My examination was carried out in accordarKe wsth general Dlrections given examln•r'8 stat•m•nt by the Charity Commission. An @xamination indudes a review of Ihe accounting rerdS kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also indudes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in Ihe axounts. and seeking explanations frorn the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and cOnsequenY no opinion is glven as to whether the accounts present a 'true arKJ fair. view and Ihe report is limited to those matters set out in the ststement below. Independent In connection with my examinatK, no matter has come to my attentlon •xamlnerf• statement (other than that disclosed below ') which gives me reasonable cause to b81i8v8 that in, any Material respect. the requirements: to keep accounting records in accordance wlth section 130 of the Charities Act,. and to prepare accounts whth accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements ol the Charftles Act have nol been met: or 2. to which, in my opinion, attenlion should be drawn In order to enable a proper under5tsnding of Ihe arKounts to b8 reached. . Ple8se delete Ihe in the brnckets M they do not apply. Signod: Nam•: Pat Davey Relavant profe$slonal qualifl¢ation(s} or body Ilf any): CTA IER March 2012

Address: Sherwood Barn, Chesters Lane High Bentham LA2 7AN Section B Disclosure

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material problems.

IER

March 2012

Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose .

IER

March 2012

Trustees' Annual Report for the period

Section A Reference and administration details

Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)

Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)

Section B Structure, governance and management

Description of the charity’s trusts

Additional governance issues (Optional information)

Section C Objectives and activities

Additional details of objectives and activities (Optional information)

Section D Achievements and performance

Section E Financial review

Further financial review details (Optional information)

Section F Other optional information

Section G Declaration

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Introduction

The Intercultural Roots Ecosystem

Threads and Themes

Links to Charitable Objectives

Participant Numbers

Regenerative Feedback

Branching and Fruiting: Key Successes in 23-24

Seeding and Germinating: Strategic Planning for 24-25 and beyond

Written Report Introduction

EcoGPX®

EcoGPX® Coventry and Warwickshire Launchpad: May-October 2024

EcoGPX® Summary and Prospects for Growth

Arts Disability Network (ADN)

Human-Nature Connect

Human-Nature Connect, ‘Arts and Health in Nature’, Hubberholme, Yorkshire, 1-4

September 2023

Human-Nature Connect, ‘Environmental Arts & Eco Somatic Residency‘, Isle Martin, Scotland, 6-10 September 2023

Human-Nature Connect: Proposing An Eco Somatic Embodied Research by Alex Boyd – 2nd Oct 2023

Human-Nature Connect, ‘“La Selva”:

International Ecological Arts and Eco-Somatic

Residency’, Rome, Italy, 5 - 8 October 2023

International Eco-embodied Network (IE-EN)

Boal Forum Theatre Workshops

Workshops in Pimlico, London, facilitated by Andrea Maciel & Almiro Andrade – 9th30th Nov 2023

Growing Intercultural Roots in Communities (GIRIC)

Practitioner Partnerships

Once Upon a Cube by Irene Fiordilino/Scirocco Dance Company – September 2023

Embracing Paradox: Embodied Transformation by Myra Stuart – 5th Oct-9th Nov 2023

Inside-Out Humanhood in devised performance by Andrea Maciel & Helen Tennison – 21st Oct 2023

Discovering the Benefits of Alexander Technique: A 6-week Basic Course by Adam Rolleston & Jo Roantree – 1st Nov-6th Dec 2023

Tracing The Self: from Drawing to Creative Movement by Rebecca Marta D'Andrea – 7th

Dec 2023 - 25th Jan 2024

Nurture your solo performance practice by Eleni Kollipoulou – 6th Feb12th Mar 2024

Soma Scapes: Eco-Somatic Wellbeing Sessions by Anna Dako and Martina Polleros – 7th-28th Mar 2024

Gifting within the IR ecosystem

Nourishment and Support to Grow: Feedback and Testimonials

Connections and Entanglements: Inclusivity and Equity

Fruiting and Seeding: Celebrating successes, planning future work

Key Successes in 23-24:

Strategic Planning for 24-25 and beyond:

23-24 in numbers and names

Partici ant Numbers p

Finances

Marketing and Promotion, compiled and written by Basma Darouich

Marketing Strategy Overview

Digital Promotion Metrics

Trends and Growth

Future Strategy

Conclusion

Partnerships and Connections

Funders

Donors

Supporting Organisations

Practitioners and Consultants

CIO Board of Directors (Trustees)

Leadership Team

References

Appendices

Appendix 1: Project Reports and Evaluations

Appendix 2: Marketing Data, compiled and written by Basma Darouich

Overall Marketing Strategy and Main Tools Used Strategy Overview

Main Tools Used

● Email Marketing Platforms: