Beyond the Games: The Unconquered Community – Thriving in a Complex and Uncertain World
On Tuesday, 13 October 2020, the Invictus Games Foundation (IGF) conducted the fourth iteration of its ‘Conversation’ entitled ‘Beyond the Games: ‘The Unconquered Community – Thriving in a Complex and Uncertain World’. While the Games continue to inspire as a central component of the Foundation, the Conversation looked at how the work of IGF amounts to more than the Invictus Games themselves. The Foundation is able to support and enable the individual journeys of recovery and rehabilitation of the international Wounded, Injured and Sick community through improving provision, and influencing best practice.
The IGF is again indebted to the invaluable support provided by Ascot Rehab, the Fisher House Foundation and ISPS Handa in enabling the Conversation. It is also delighted that the webinar was attended by circa 100 people drawn from across the international community including the twenty Participating Nations of the Invictus Games.
This session followed on from the first iteration on 13th May entitled ‘Realising and Sharing the Invictus Spirit’, the second one on 8th July with the National Health Service (NHS) entitled ‘Preparing for Recovery: Learning from the Invictus Games Foundation’; and the third on 30th July entitled ‘the Sustainability of Projects post COVID-19’.
You can view the captioned recording of the Conversation here: https://youtu.be/gM2FzCbqzn0 and download the executive summary here: Executive Summary IGF Conversation – 13 October 2020
The Conversation focused on the following themes:
1. Explaining the various schemes and initiatives which have been developed by the Invictus Games Foundation as part of its ‘Beyond the Games’ package in the Improve Pillar. This session was hosted by David Wiseman (Director of Grants & Programmes, IGF) who firstly outlined the reasoning behind extending operations outside of the Games, before highlighting current activity taking place within the We Are Invictus app and active esports and then finally providing a preview of the Invictus: Endeavours Grants programme.
2. Sharing research on key studies into the welfare, support and development of the WIS in the Influence Pillar. This was led by Kacie Kelly, Deputy Director of the Military Service Initiative at the George W. Bush Institute, and Dr Celina Shirazipour, Assistant Professor at Cedars -Sinai Medical Center.
Kacie Kelly shared some of the highlights from her work where she leads the health & well-being portfolio. The Bush Institute’s Military Service Initiative helps post-9/11 veterans and their families make successful transitions to civilian life with a focus on optimizing health and well-being and leveraging meaningful economic opportunities. Dr Celina Shirazipour then shared interim insights from the Invictus Games Longitudinal Study – Beyond the Finish Line which identifies best practice for sport recovery programmes, alongside the impact of the Invictus Games.
3. Curating the experiences and best practice of how the Wounded Injured and Sick Service personnel and veteran community, the Participating Nations and the Invictus Games Foundation as part of the Unconquered Community have addressed and overcome the challenges of an uncertain world, especially during the Covid 19 pandemic. Many of the participating nations submitted insights directly into how their teams are faring preparing for the postponed Games.
The Conversation ended with a Closing Panel Discussion that brought together all speakers and covered topics such as Psychological Conditions and Treatment, including the role of peers or friends and family in recovery, and disseminating Best Practice, including the role of the We Are Invictus app for the whole Invictus community, and how training camps and trials could be opened up to more potential competitors.
Stay tuned to our channels for the next iteration of the Converation, coming soon!
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