Annual Conference

9.30am-3.30pm 9th November 2010
St Paul's & St George's Church, 10 Broughton St, Edinburgh, EH1 3RU

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Befriending Network Scotland hold a conference each year in October or November. Each conference explores a theme relevant to the sector (previous themes have included: wellbeing, friendship, resilience, funding, self esteem and volunteer motivation). The full-day format offers delegates a lively combination of theory, discussion and good practice examples.

BNS Conference and AGM 2010: People of Influence

Befriending can have a powerful impact on people’s lives but just what is it that makes someone a person of influence?

People of Influence 2010 will look at the many ways that befrienders and clients are affected and influenced by their experience of befriending. The first half of the conference will explore what is is about the befriending relationship that encourages and enables people to make profound changes in their lives, offering delegates perspectives from both academic and practitioner viewpoints.

The second half of the conference will then explore how and whether policymakers genuinely believe in the power of the relationships and what it is that the befriending sector has to do to influence these decision-makers, these people of influence.

People of Influence 2010 will include presentations, round-table discussions and will showcase examples of good practice in the befriending sector.

Confirmed speakers so far include:

Professor Robbie Gilligan, Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin. He is also Head of the School of Social Work, and Social Policy, and Associate Director (and co-founder) of the Children’s Research Centre at TCD. In addition, he is co-ordinator of the MSc in Child Protection and Welfare. Robbie has been a youth worker, social worker, foster carer and board member of various social service organisations. His research interests include children in state care, family support, and programmes to combat social disadvantage among young people. Robbie has particular interest in strength – based perspectives and experience in evaluation and action-research. He is Vice-President of Childwatch International Research Network and on the Board of the European Scientific Association for Residential and Foster Care. He is also a member of the Editorial and Advisory Boards for several journals.

David Robinson OBE founded Community Links with Kevin Jenkins OBE in 1977. Today Community Links is an influential organisation that runs innovative community-based projects in East London. Community Links has contributed to key national social policy changes as well as changed the lives. Mr Robinson is the author of Change The World For A Fiver, amongst other titles, and the co-founder of the Children’s Discovery Centre.

David Robinson also led The Council on Social Action between 2007 and 2009. CoSA brought together innovators from every sector to generate ideas and initiatives through which Government and other key stakeholders can catalyse, celebrate and develop social action. CoSA defined social action to include the wide range of ways in which individuals, communities, organisations and businesses can seek through their choices, actions and commitments to address the social issues they care about. COSA published Side by Side and People of Influence, publications looking at the impact of and making recommendations for the inclusion of befriending and mentoring strategies throughout private and public enterprise.

Past Conferences

Download previous years' conference reports here: