Professor Paul Cooke

Paul Cooke has been Principal Investigator of Project CREATE since its inception in 2023.

In recent years, his work has focused on the use of arts-based practices in adolescent mental health research. This has led him to become involved in the UKRI-funded projects CREATE and ATTUNE, which he currently leads.

Paul is particularly interested in how the arts can be used in interdisciplinary research in a way that plays to their strengths, while also respecting how disciplines from very different research traditions see the world and understand their contribution to knowledge creation.

For Paul, CREATE has been a valuable opportunity to reflect on the diverse contributions of those involved in interdisciplinary, youth-focused work. He has learned especially from the young people at the heart of the project, who truly make it what it is.

Paul is Centenary Chair in World Cinemas at the University of Leeds and a member of the Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures. His main research focuses on participatory arts for community-led research and advocacy, particularly participatory filmmaking.

He has also led projects in South Africa, Nepal, India, Germany, Cambodia, Kosovo, and Brazil and was previously the Principal Investigator of ‘Changing the Story', a 12-country project supporting youth-led development in post-conflict societies.

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