On 26th March, we gathered for an exhibition, symposium and dinner to mark ten years of the Susanna Wesley Foundation. The exhibition, entitled Remarkable Women: making a difference in education, featured portraits of leaders from Southlands College history.
The symposium was around the theme of Learning to Make a Difference, and included posters from recent and current research projects that have been supported by SWF and Southlands Methodist Trust.
We also heard presentations from contributors representing the wide scope of SWF and SMT involvement in research, engaging with the Methodist Church, the University of Roehampton, and other stakeholders.
You can view the plenary presentations as a playlist on our YouTube channel. Begin with this introduction from Sue Miller.
We are thrilled that one of our contributors, Dr Ayse Demir, recently won a Rising Star and Highly Commended Collaboration of the Year award through the University of Roehampton. She writes:
I’m truly honoured to receive the Rising Star award, which recognises the early impact of my academic journey in research, community engagement, and social justice. I’m especially thankful to the Susanna Wesley Foundation, whose ongoing support has played a pivotal role in shaping my work. Their commitment to empowering marginalised communities, particularly through gender-focused and sustainability-driven initiatives, has enabled research that bridges academia and real-world change. This recognition is as much a reflection of their vision as it is of my own efforts.
At the celebration dinner we were delighted to be joined by University of Roehampton Vice-Chancellor Jean-Noël Ezingeard as part of our reflections on our relationships within our university home. We enjoyed musical performances from Roehampton music scholars and we heard from President of the Methodist Conference, The Revd Helen Cameron. We were entertained by Cathy Walker’s performance as Susanna Wesley, and welcomed former trustees The Rev’d Dr Tim Macquiban and Dr Clive Norris as Fellows of Southlands College. Throughout the day, we celebrated the journey of SWF and looked forward to continuing to learn to make a difference.
