Update on Social Work Scotland Annual Conference and Members’ Annual General Meeting

Key points:

• Cancellation of Social Work Scotland’s 2020 Annual Conference and Exhibition
• Annual General Meeting for all Social Work Scotland members, to be held online, Tuesday 24 November, 9:30 – 12:30 pm
• Social Work Scotland’s 2021 Annual Conference to take place on 26 October 2021

2020 Conference

After extensive discussion, we have taken the decision to cancel Social Work Scotland’s 2020 Annual Conference and Exhibition (scheduled for 23 & 24 November). In March, with the onset of the Covid19 pandemic, we took swift action to postpone the event from June to November. Since then we’ve been monitoring the situation, and have now concluded that it is not possible to hold a high-quality conference for our members and partners this year. Our decision was not taken lightly, as, after months of working from home or in de-populated offices, there is an appetite and need for community, discussion and learning. But weighing in the balance the extra pressures now being faced by social work, and the anticipated rise in demand over the winter months on all our members and partners, cancellation of the conference was the only appropriate option.

Annual General Meeting for Social Work Scotland members

With the cancellation of the conference, we are moving our Annual General Meeting online. This will now take place on Tuesday 24 November, 9:30 – 12:30, and will as usual include reflections from the outgoing and incoming Convenors on the position of social work in Scotland today, and elections for Board positions.

But in recognition that over the last six months members have accommodated unparalleled change (with more on the horizon), we will also feature at the AGM some of the content on leadership and implementing change that we had lined up for our conference. This will be tailored to address the issues members are now facing, hopefully providing some new perspectives and tools for the work ahead.

You can register for our AGM now – we hope you will join us for an opportunity to reflect on the last year at Social Work Scotland, and to look ahead to what promises to be an eventful year ahead.

2021 Conference & Exhibition

To minimise the chances of a similar outcome around the conference next year, we’ve acted now to change the format and date of our 2021 event. This will now be a one-day event on 26 October 2021. Save the date in your diary.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions or issues regarding the conference or Annual General Meeting, please contact Stark Events (registration issues) or Flora Aldridge.