Community Action Suffolk has developed a suite of conferences for the autumn. Each conference can be attended in its own right but they are designed to complement each other and you may find all three very helpful.
The Grow Your Community conference will enable delegates to explore initiatives, innovations and opportunities to strengthen their community in the current climate of public spending cuts, policy change and state of the economy. There will be a range of presentations and workshop opportunities (see foot of page).
We are now in the final week of bookings so please get in fast while there are places still available.
The Grow Your Community conference is for:
- Staff, trustees and volunteers of Voluntary and community organisations
- Parish and Town Councils
- Community Activists
- Community Development Workers
- Local Authority Officers
- Health Representatives
- Police
- You, if you are interested.
Grow Your Community conference programme
- 9.30am Registration teas and coffees
- 10.00am Welcome & Introduction: Christine Abraham, Community Action Suffolk
- 10.05am Opening Address: Cllr Sarah Stamp, SCC Cabinet Member Communities
- 10.15am Keynote 1: Social Integration Commission report – Richard Bell, The Challenge UK
- 10.40am Keynote 2: Community Ownership – David Westley, The Case is Altered PH, Bentley
- 11.00am Q and A
- 11.15am Coffee and networking
- 11.45am Morning Workshops (see foot of page)
- The role of faith groups in communities
- Asset based community development
- Engaging the business sector in community development
- How to engage young people in the community
- How can we facilitate social integration in our communities
- 12.45pm Lunch and networking
- 1.30pm Keynote 3: Stimulating Social Action – Nick Corke, The Rotary Club
- 1.50pm Keynote 4: Community Safety – Tim Passmore, Police & Crime Commissioner and Gareth Wilson, Chief Constable
- 2.05pm A strategy to address Poverty In Suffolk – Sarah Nivison, SCC Inclusion Manager
- 2.15pm Q and A
- 2.30pm Afternoon Workshops (see foot of page)
- Diversifying your income
- Community consultation
- Stimulating social action
- Working with the local press and social media
- Safeguarding and community safety
- 3.30pm Plenary, thanks and close
Location
The Grow Your Community conference will take place at:
Kesgrave Community Centre
Twelve Acre Approach
Kesgrave
IP5 1JF
How to book
Places for the Grow Your Community conference cost £25 for CAS members, £35 for non-members.
Bookings close on 21st September 2015.
Find out more about CAS membership here.
Places can be purchased online below:
We encourage you to book and pay online, but if you prefer to pay offline, please contact Jane.
Further information
If you have any queries, or for offline payments, please contact [email protected]
Workshop options
Morning workshops (choose one)
The role of faith groups in communities. Does the faith sector tend to be seen as being somehow separate and distinct from the voluntary and community sector as a whole. How do faith groups contribute to the community development and community cohesion. Could they provide that valuable social glue in local communities?
Asset based community development. Everyone is talking about Asset Based Community Development but what is it and how can you use it to improve your community. Too often when approaching community development, we focus on what is wrong and require fixing. How can we put asset based approaches into practice: identification, mobilisation and measurement of assets?
Engaging the business sector in community development. Corporate social responsibility is a big issue in the current climate, and there is an increasing importance for businesses to do more to support the community. Consumers expect businesses to do more and help others while also providing the best products and services. How can communities better engage with local businesses?
How to engage young people in the community. Too often young people are not included in our community work but they are the future community leaders, business owners, public servants, and families. We provide services for young people living in a community so it’s important that they are consulted and involved in the provision of services but how can we engage more young people in a meaningful and impactful way?
How can we facilitate social integration in our communities? How integrated are Suffolk communities? Does social integration matter, and thinking about the recommendations in the Social Integration report what can be done to promote social mixing between people from different ethnic and age groups and income backgrounds in our communities?
Afternoon workshops (choose one)
Diversifying your income. As grant funding becomes harder to access do you know how to look for other ways to generate income to sustain your organisation. Crowd Funding is believed to be a huge income growth area for the VCS and also social investment is still emerging as a new source of funding for addressing complex social problems. Find out more about these approaches
Community consultation. How do we listen to local people, engage stakeholders in the design process and learn from our communities? How do you gather vital local knowledge which can be fed into the planning and design of projects? Excellent consultation empowers local communities and gives them ownership. Is it more than a simple questionnaire?
Stimulating social action. Social action means taking steps to change the things that are wrong in our society and introducing new ideas and processes for doing things better. Is this approach challenging for the “me” generation. How is social action different from volunteering? Should we expect more people to get involved in making their communities better whatever we call it?
Working with the local press and social media. The work of Suffolk communities and organisations is a hidden gem – how do we get more good news stories in the local press? Is the role of social media in delivering news and engaging with readers becoming more important than ever and how do we do it well and safely? Find out how to make best use of blogs, tweets, online videos and more
Safeguarding and community safety. People need to feel safe in their homes but also when out and about in their communities. How safe is your community? Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility – Almost 1 in 5 children have experienced a form of abuse in their lifetime – Do you understand your responsibilities to help make your community safer?