The overall aim of the Manchester Systems Change project has been to increase the capacity and capability of Black and minoritised community organisations to engage in and eventually lead systems change initiatives through:

• Introducing Black and minoritised organisations to systems change strategies and models which increase understanding of systemic issues
• Building the capability of Black and minoritised organisations to respond to systemic social issues in Manchester using creative methodologies and approaches
• Exploring ways of intervening in systems which can facilitate transformational change
• Designing and testing at least one creative response which can help shift stuck systemic issues affecting Black and minoritised communities in Manchester

This report tells the story of the second Crete retreat. The first took place in July 2021, when ten members of the Manchester Black and minoritised system spent a week together exploring who they were as a system of change. It was this group who then decided to convene a second retreat to broaden the impact of the learning and to widen the potential of the work.