This year there will be four Workshops, two preceding the main events on each day of Conference. When Registration opens you will be able to indicate your choice of Workshop on each day. Each Workshop will last for 75 minutes and you will have the opportunity to ask questions. Numbers may be limited and you will be advised about this when you register for Conference.
Note: only the Women in Parliament workshop is now available. All others are full.
Friday, 29th October Workshops:
Women in Parliament
Kerrie Carpenter is the UK Parliament’s Senior Outreach and Engagement Officer (South East region) and delivers workshops and presentations to adults and young people in a variety of settings, from schools and universities to village halls and even tents. These sessions help people to develop their knowledge and understanding of parliament so that they can become engaged and active members of society, if and when they chose to do so. They are politically neutral and equip participants with knowledge and skills to get their voices heard, whether that be through EDMs, Select Committees, petitions, debates or in the legislative process. Our mantra is that no question is too silly: we hope you will enjoy the session and come and find out more!
Toilet Twinning – How to Twin your Town or City
Sarah Suddrey is fundraising manager for Toilet Twinning, a charity campaign that helps provide clean water, proper toilets and hygiene training overseas. She has worked in the voluntary and charity sector for 20 years and has travelled overseas to visit development programmes funded by Toilet Twinning.
Her workshop will give an overview of the charity’s work, explain the criteria required and take you through the stages of how to twin your town or city.
Already several Soroptimist Clubs have helped to achieve Toilet Twinning status in their town or city – could yours be next?
Saturday, 30th October Workshops
Modern Day Slavery
Facilitator: Annette Maudsley – SI Liverpool
Working in Safeguarding for over 20 years, I have worked with women in Taiwan who were being trafficked for sexual exploitation, male and female survivors of trafficking in the UK, and hosting winter night shelters for homeless men. From there, I became a Border Force Immigration and Customs officer and also took the role of a Safeguarding Officer at ports and airports around the UK. Currently working as a civil servant specialising in Safeguarding people against suicide, self-harm, trafficking, abuse and domestic violence. In addition I lead the Liverpool Stop the Traffik group, raising awareness about Human Trafficking and Grooming.
My workshop will be split into three sections:
- What is Human Trafficking and how has C19 changed the way traffickers work
- Working frontline to identify victims and traffickers
- Online safety – keeping our children, and grandchildren safe online – codewords
Using Social Media to Benefit Your Club
Facilitator: Rachel Weinhold – SI Rossendale
As well as being a Soroptimist, I’m also the Managing Director of an award winning Digital Marketing Agency based in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Social media is one of the key tools we use on a daily basis, not only to grow our own business, but also to help grow the online profiles of our clients. Our social media marketing campaigns have won several industry awards for their innovation and success.
In this workshop, I’m going to take some of the mystery out of the world of social media and show you that, even with very little experience or knowledge, you can use social media to your advantage. Many people hate social media – and I’ll readily admit, I probably wouldn’t use it so much if it wasn’t part of my job – but, done properly, it can be a powerful and cost effective tool to help your club grow.
Together, we will answer the following questions;
- What is social media and how do the different platforms work?
- What does social media want from you and how do you use this knowledge to your advantage?
- How do you create content that is interesting, educational and engaging?
- How can you use social media to create a safe space that builds women up?
- How can social media help you reach new audiences and grow your club’s membership?
- What are some practical tips to make your social media marketing as efficient as possible?
You will leave the workshop with a better understanding of how social media works and how to make it work harder for you, in a way that is both time and cost effective.