CONNECT LIVED EXPERIENCE
SUMMARY SEKEHE
What is the motivation?
The complex challenges our society faces today, such as the shift towards community-based support, demand new kinds of knowledge and skills from the field of social studies. In this shift, there is a strong focus on people’s strengths and capabilities. The expertise of those who have faced vulnerability—whether due to disability, economic hardship, or discrimination—is increasingly recognized as a vital form of knowledge alongside traditional academic and professional insights.
Historically, this "knowledge by experience" has been undervalued, and people in vulnerable situations have often been excluded from shaping it. However, recent projects in the social domain show that including those with lived experience, often as peer workers, fosters openness within professional teams. This approach allows for honest discussions social problems, challenges, and personal insights from team members. In a higher education setting, collaborating with experts by experience could inspire educators to reflect on the importance of lived experiences, enriching their teaching and deepening connections with students.
Momentum is building across Europe to more fully incorporate experiential knowledge into social and medical fields. Higher education can play a crucial role by embracing this development. We aim to improve access for people in vulnerable situations and empower current social studies students integrate experiential knowledge in their professional journeys.
What are the objectives?
The SEKEHE project aims to embed knowledge by experience into higher education Social Studies programs. It has three main goals:
1) To develop and support co-teaching with experts by experience, embedding their insights directly into the curriculum.
2) To create a safe and engaging learning environment by collaborating with experts by experience and teaching/support staff to support students in vulnerable situations and by exploring how to improve access to higher education for future students facing similar challenges.
3) To build a local and international framework that systematically incorporates experiential knowledge into higher education.
These goals strive to drive lasting change, fostering inclusive and diverse educational systems while introducing innovative, interactive teaching methods. Working with people in vulnerable situations often calls for creative approaches, like photovoice, storytelling, and lively libraries, to authentically capture the depth of their experiences.
Our objectives aim to build dialogue among students, teachers, and experts by experience. Often, people in vulnerable situations are seen primarily as “clients” or “service users” by social professionals and students alike. This project challenges that perception, fostering settings where students, teachers, and experts by experience can move beyond traditional roles. Here, they connect and collaborate as equals in co-creative processes, promoting a democratic, rights-based approach to learning that supports equality and social inclusion.