PhD Candidate Gabriel Vivas-Martínez Awarded a Civic Scholar Award
Congratulations to Central PhD candidate Gabriel Vivas-Martínez, who has been awarded a Civic Scholar Award by the Institute for Community Studies.
The Institute for Community Studies is a research institute that places people and communities at the heart of its work, believing that the involvement of communities leads to better decision making on the issues that most affect them. The institute engages with communities and experts across the UK to identify and prioritise the top questions that research and policy need to answer based on what matters, directing research towards the most urgent and salient questions and amplifying community perspectives.
The inaugural Civic Scholar Awards have been awarded to eight scholars based in the UK who are doing research with and alongside communities which focuses on community impact and the exchange of best-practice in their fields. Throughout the coming year, these doctoral students will work together with the Institute for Community Studies to connect their studies with the organisation’s work and deepen their understanding of how to work in and with communities.
Through their Award, the scholars will have an opportunity to connect their research with the Institute’s networks, will have access to a series of seminars and events, will receive dedicated mentoring and best-practice training and will co-author a paper on an area of shared interest and expertise.
Gabriel is currently undertaking his PhD research at Central, examining masculinity and socially engaged theatre-making. He is particularly interested in developing participatory research projects with young people, especially young people with disabilities, with migrant backgrounds and LGBTQI+ young people. For Gabriel, the research process is a creative opportunity to foster collaboration, exchange and transformation.
Alongside his research, Gabriel is also an actor and theatre facilitator. He has worked extensively in The Netherlands, Italy, China, Hungary, Poland, South Africa and the UK. He is currently a freelance trainer of social theatre methods and youth participation in educational programmes of the European Commission. Gabriel believes that researching with and alongside communities is fundamental for engaging with the realities and lived experiences of people, promoting a research culture that connects with activism and advances the potential for social change within an ethics of care.
You can find out more about the Civic Scholar Award and the Institute for Community Studies by visiting their website You can also listen to an interview with Gabriel in which he discusses his work and research on Series 1 Episode 6 of the Discover Central podcast.