Trauma-informed, injuries monitored. Beyond safety and risk with new paradigms

What is the common denominator of a sense of safety from a young professional's eye in the circus sector, and what is important to underline or still missing from reflections on risk? And what about enlarging the spectrum, including the sociological element of safety beyond the circus bubble?
During the conference Circus - a safe(r) space for danger by Circuscentrum, Ell Circo D’ell Fuego and MAD Festival, I attended two workshops exploring safety from a holistic perspective. In this text, I recap my experience as a participant in Mieke Gielen's workshop Trauma-informed Approach and Monitoring the health and wellbeing of circus artists by Marion Cossin (CRITAC) and Janine Stubbe (CODARTS). The closing panel of the second day of the conference, On safety and risk-taking, moderated by Petra van Brabrandt with Stav Zelniker, Laura Tikka, Jan Naets, and Dr. Franziska Trapp as guests ended the day, summarising the topic from a collective viewpoint while honouring the complexities. Some points have been made as an introduction to each paragraph, to highlight the perspectives we came to through each collective experience, thus motivating and inspiring the flow of thoughts around every aspect of this article.

Read all about it, and about the whole conference, on the website of Around About Circus!