We are pleased to announce an extra event in March 2021, as part of our Youth Sector Support Fund Online Conference. Bookings are now open.

Our usual annual face-to-face conference has been taking place online, and we've reshaped the event to meet the new circumstances and needs of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector in light of COVID-19.

Programme for March 30th 2021:

We are pleased to welcome the following speakers, alongside participatory sessions run by the Voscur staff:
•    Andri Nicolaou, Child Sexual and Criminal Exploitation, TOPAZ Child Exploitation Team, Avon and Somerset Police (Speaking about raising awareness of child exploitation)
•    Lesley O'Hagan, Attendance Strategy Manager, Bristol City Council (A contextual approach to school attendance)
•    Rachel Robinson, CEO, Learning Partnership West (Giving an update on Youth Strategy)
•    David Triggle-Wells, Quartet (Giving an update on the Youth Sector Support Fund)
 

The conference has been held over four online sessions between early October 2020 and mid-January 2021, and this extra event gives VCSE organisations another opportunity to get involved. Here's what the conference has included so far:

• Keynote speakers, workshops and opportunities to network with colleagues whose work involves children and young people aged 8-19.
• Speakers have included Gary Davies, Head of Early Intervention & Safer Communities at Bristol City Council; Quartet Community Foundation; Charlene Richardson, Safer Options Manager at Bristol City Council; Wesport; Learning Partnership West; and St Paul's Adventure Playground. We will have even more speakers lined up for the March event; details will be announced soon.
• The chance to feed into the developing Voluntary Youth Sector Strategy.
• Workshops, presentations and other input to keep you updated on the latest ideas about youth work practice, and the latest information to keep your organisation sustainable through difficult times.

The conference is for anyone involved in delivering youth work and managing youth sector organisations. We welcome paid workers, volunteers and trustees.

This work, is part of the Youth Sector Support Fund (YSSF) work carried out by Voscur, Quartet Community Foundation and Bristol City Council. The YSSF helps youth-focused organisations from the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector reach more young people and be more sustainable.

What else do you need to know?

To take part you will need a laptop with a camera, microphone, and Wi-Fi. You won't need any other software. You will be emailed an invitation with a link to join the online training prior to the course.

Voscur is running all training online, due to the ongoing public health situation with coronavirus (COVID-19). This decision was taken in line with local and national health advice, and to safeguard the health of our attendees and staff. We are aware that many VCSE organisations in the city are focusing their efforts on providing and changing their services to respond to communities. For more information about coronavirus, see https://www.voscur.org/content/covid19-service-users.