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Our Details

What are Happy to Chat Badges?

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Happy to Chat is a familiar concept

There are chatty benches, cafes and buses in places where people are encouraged to sit down and have a chat with others around them.

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Mobile

Rather than having to go to a designated space or time to have a chat, now you can simply put on a Happy to Chat badge and enjoy a conversation with others around you.

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Low Commitment

You can wear Happy to Chat for however long or short as you wish, whether during your shopping trips, walking in the parks or while waiting for buses, etc.

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Inclusive

Happy to Chat badges can be personalised with various designs, covering different topics and in different languages. Happy to Chat is for everyone.

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Happy to chat is inclusive and for everyone

More About Us

Making Social Connections Easier

Older adults are vulnerable to poor social health, including loneliness, social isolation, and disconnection. The reasons for this are complex, including individual level factors, i.e. shrinking social networks because of bereavement and frailty of themselves, family and friends, alongside community level and broader factors, i.e. post COVID social anxiety, transport links and opportunities to socialise in public spaces.

To address this challenge, our interdisciplinary research team, combining the disciplines of consumer behaviour, gerontology and public health economics with input from our older people’s public engagement group developed Happy to Chat badges. Using nudge theory, the badge is a novel potential intervention to promote social engagement for older people in community settings, such as using transport, in the park or when out shopping, making social connections easier for all.

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We are supported by various organisations

Our Videos

Happy to Chat Tips Sharing

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On Going Research​

What did our participants tell us? ​

    Grab a Pack

    Get in touch and take part in Happy to Chat today

    If you would like to participate in Happy to Chat and get a badge, please leave us your details here and we will try our best to post you one. If you think your community would also benefit from participating in Happy to Chat, why not get in touch? We can discuss how our team could support you and your local community to get everyone chatting together.

    Click here to take part in the Happy to Chat research & share your experience with us.
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    Happy to Chat Team

    Our Experts

    The Happy to Chat research team consists of several Brunel colleagues with spanning interdisciplinary expertise, ranging from Marketing communications and consumer behaviour, Gerontology, Public Health Economics and Public Engagement.

    Our Events

    Upcoming Events

    19 Nov

    November 19th – Happy to Chat about Conflict Management and Women’s Safety

    • Tuesday 19th November 11am to 1pm
    • ESGW 102, Brunel University London

    17 Oct

    October 17th – Brunel is Happy to Chat

    • Thursday 17th October from 11am to 2pm
    • ESGW003/003a, Brunel, University of London

    Fassnidge Happy to Chat Coffee Mornings

    • Every Monday and Tuesday 10 - 12 o'clock
    • Kate Fassnidge Community Hall (2 Harefield Road, Uxbridge UB8 1GW)

    12 Jun

    June 12th – Building Resilience in the Community Through Happy to Chat

    • Tuesday 12th June 8:00-10:00 am (UK time)
    • Online webinar, hosted by NTHU Resilience Research Centre, Taiwan

    23 Jul

    Pavilions is Happy to Chat – July 23rd

    • 23rd July from 10:30am to 3pm.
    • Pavilions Shopping Centre, Uxbridge, UB8 1LN

    18 Jun

    Pavilions is Happy to Chat – June 18th

    • 18th June from 10:30am to 3pm.
    • Pavilions Shopping Centre, Uxbridge, UB8 1LN

    30 May

    Brunel Research Festival Jamboree

    • 30th May from 10am to 3pm.
    • Brunel University London - Bishop Green Marquee (Opposite Sports Centre/ Gym)

    28 May

    Brunel Ageing Festival

    • 28th May from 10am to 3pm.
    • Brunel University London - Hamilton Conference Centre

    14 Apr

    John Lewis Conversation Table

    • Every Sunday morning from 11am to 12:30pm
    • Kingston John Lewis Riverside cafe (Wood Street, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1TE)

    1 May

    May 1st Brunel is Happy to Chat (over pizza!)

    • Wednesday 11:30-2:30pm
    • Michael Stirling Building Atrium, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH
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