Kevin, Clarissa, James and Tim wanted to write and invite you to the second in a series of events exploring “Relationships Making the Difference” on 26/4/19 in Camden.

“it’s like being on either side of a glass wall and then you come together, having that moment when you realise you do share common views and goals” – Clarissa (Camden citizen and user of services)

“Relationships improve collaboration whether we always see eye-to-eye or not” - Kevin (Camden citizen and user of services)

Our 1st event - "Strengthening citizenship and community through collective decision making – November 2018

The aim of this event was to highlight the strengths in FGC and developing connected networks. Key features of the event included,

1. The event was co-chaired by a family member and a social worker.

2. Rather than have speakers giving lectures, the “experts” (Prof Anna Gupta, Beverley B Jones MBE, David Tobis, Paul Nixon, Prof Andy Bilson) joined reflective circles alongside members of the community and other attendees to explore the strengths in our communities. The rest of the room became the reflecting team and ideas were shared.

3. An emphasis on listening and sharing. We ensured that all voices were equal.  

Themes emerging from this event included,

i.              This is a universal issue. We heard how the voice of the citizen and people that use services had been heard and responded to in projects across the world. This prompted us to challenge ourselves to develop our own compassionate social movement responding to the needs and voices of the community.

ii.             Collaboration is fruitful and breeds optimism. Participants included local citizens, international academics, local authority senior leaders and representatives from social work regulators.

Our upcoming 2nd Event  - "Relationships making the difference" - 26th April 2019

The aim is to build on this emerging social movement, explore the concept of “relational activism” and discuss what works in developing meaningful helping relationships. Again the event will be chaired by a citizen and a social worker together.

Key features of the event will include,

1.            Attendees have invited to bring a citizen who they have helped (not compulsory!). There will be a number of pairs of people in attendance and these pairs will be invited to reflect in circles as to how they have used relational artistry to move from “what’s wrong to what's strong”.

2.            A focus on telling stories and developing meaning together in the group of attendees through spoken word, drama and music. Joining these circles will be Alex Fox OBE (shared lives), Ela Saltmarshe (Narrative change, Point People), “Annie” (surviving safeguarding) among others.

3.            An emphasis again on opening up the space for attendees from a wide range of backgrounds to listen to one another, share ideas and work together. Citizens, social workers and senior leaders from across the human services will join in conversation.

We hope the event will achieve,

i.      A whole system response and relational analysis to how we manage risk on both an individual and a community/strategic level.

ii.     Working together to develop meaning and worth in shared stories, shared values and the shared lives of our communities.

Please book on by clicking through this link… “Relationships Making the Difference”