On the last day of the conference my group spent the day learning a lot about mental health. In the morning we heard from Jonny Benjamin, such an inspirational man who told us his story. Jonny Benjamin is a mental health campaigner and educator who launched a campaign called “Find Mike” in order to find the man who comforted him in such a difficult time in his life. By the end of the campaign Jonny found the man who stopped him jumping off a bridge (even though 37 other people came forward claiming to be him).
Tackling Stigmas in Girls’ Health – By Liita Iyaloo Cairney
Liita Iyaloo Cairney is a Namibian woman who moved to Scotland in her twenties to complete a PhD in Global Health Policy.
Today we listened to a very interesting presentation from Liita about her new product designed for women’s menstrual hygiene and the website she has created to provide information about the menstrual cycle.
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Child Protection
Day 2 of the Children in Scotland Annual Conference, we attended a discussion workshop led by Sally Macnair about child protection in Scotland.
Going hungry and the importance of absolute poverty
The first presentation of the day that we attended was ‘Going hungry and the importance of absolute poverty’ by Dr Angela Donkin, Depute Director of the Institute of Health Equity.
Dr Donkin began by stating some statistics regarding children in poverty. In 2013, 1 in 5 children were living in poverty in Scotland. In 2020 there is estimated to be 50,000 more.
From the streets to street soccer star
The final presentation we took part in on day 1 was “From the streets to street soccer star” by Jodie McEwan where she spoke about her story and experiences with homelessness, addiction and how she overcame these problems.
From Syria to Scotland
The second workshop session that my group attended was From Syria to Scotland: welcoming refugees to Argyll and Bute by Morag Brown. I found it so interesting finding out how refugees are so well supported in this country.
Morag spoke about how, since September last year, families have been arriving from Syria and have been supported financially and emotionally. Help has come from a range of people including local volunteer mentors to donations from across the world.
Children’s University Scotland – Learning Beyond the Classroom
Hi everyone, this morning, a group of fellow students and I attended a very interesting workshop presented by Mary De la Peña, the chief executive at Children’s University Scotland. This workshop focuses on the idea of young children ‘learning beyond the classroom’.
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Improving Relationships, Improving Lives
The first workshop we attended was ‘Improving Relationships, Improving Lives’ lead by Duncan Gordon, SCCR trainer for Conflict and Resolution. Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution’s (SCCR) ambition is to be a national resource centre for the best practice in conflict, resolution, mediation and early intervention work. They provide training and digital resources that are designed to enable people involved to feel more confident, knowledgable, and skilled in managing conflict. Common conflict topics in families include alcohol/drugs, respect, going to school, doing what you’re told etc.
Engagment for impact
The first workshop of the afternoon was Engagment for impact: effectively engaging our children and young people.
Speakers came in from Young Edinburgh Action (YEA) to speak to us about their organisation and the positive impact it has had in the city of Edinburgh.
The Strengthening Families Programme
The next workshop we took part in was the ‘Strengthening Families’ Programme by Liz Higgins, Strengthening Families Coordinator for North Lanarkshire. It is an 8 week programme held on Wednesdays from 5-8pm at Coatbridge Community Centre. The programme provides transport for participants, as well as a crèche for younger siblings being available, and is targeted at 10-14 year olds.
It’s time for inclusive education
The first presentation we attended was ‘It’s time for inclusive education’ by Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson of the TIE Campaign.
The two began by stating a few general statistics. 90% of the LGBT community have been bullied at school. 42% have attempted suicide because of this. They social attitudes surveys state that homophobia is decreasing, however it is in fact the opposite.
Kildrum nursery. The Solihull attachment
Hi everyone, this morning my group went to Kildrum nursery to hear a very informative presentation on the Solihull attachment. We heard from Cheryl Valentine and many other speakers about the Solihull attachment programme. It was very informative.
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KWiSA FGM Talk
Hello, the first workshop our group attended this morning was lead by the woman from KWiSA who visited the Children in Scotland Annual conference today.
They were educating us on the subject of Harmful Traditional Practices (HTPs) going specifically into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), about how those involved in working with children can indentify children who may be at risk or already affected by FGM which was followed by a group discussion on how to eradicate the issue.
Hello Scotland!
Young people from St Maurice’s High School, Cumbernauld will be blogging and Tweeting about their experience at the Children in Scotland annual conference (2nd to 3rd November 2016).
Follow #cisac16 on Twitter for the latest updates.
