Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. I haven't heard any objections,
either via the list or privately, about us organising the next conference
over here in Yarmouth. I've been encouraged by the general level of
enthusiasm about the prospect, and so unless there are any strong
objections, I think we should go ahead and start planning!
I have started to put together some loose ideas and am looking at themes and
suggestions that have already been raised here through email. So far I've
got an A4 document with possible themes & possible functions for the next
conference, and hope to add to this over the next month or two as issues
arise here on the list. In keeping with my background with qualitative
research methods, I seem to be leaning toward drawing connections between
ideas and looking for ways of pulling them together into a bigger picture.
I'd like to come back to the list about a theme once we've been able to set
up a group to organise the conference and had a meeting or two. I hope that
we'll be able to come up with an overarching theme that can incorporate
several of the suggestions that we've had so far.
I'd also like to use the ideas that have been offered (and ideas yet to be
offered!) to inform the structure of the conference. I think many of the
potential functions that David outlined are compatible and could overlap. I
think one of the things that happened at the Newcastle conference was that
people came with different agendas, and that many of these could be
accommodated within a conference programme that was pretty broad and offered
plenty of choice. However there are some functions that seem less
compatible, and so the conference could be constructed to enable choice.
Three main structures come to mind at this point:
* We could have a selection of sessions peppered across a (yet to be
specified) number of days.
* We could also have different days for different functions, that
people could choose to attend if they want - so one idea could be to have
the first day for more general and introductory stuff - the basics of
community/critical psychology, how it fits with other disciplines, examples
of community psychology in practice, etc. Then the second day we could have
for the 'sustained critical debate' bit without having to explain the
assumptions and basics. We could have a third day, as was suggested at
Newcastle, for action.
* We could have a number of 'streams' going through the conference -
with a focus on different functions.
I'm very aware that each of these structures has potential problems as well
as strengths, and that there are other possibilities that haven't crossed my
mind. Still, I think there's plenty of time for that.
Probably the most pressing issue for now is to think about dates. If we're
going to have a conference, we'll need to book a venue.
I am aware that we have traditionally (!) had the conference in October, and
this coincides nicely with Black History Month - around which there have
been events organised in Great Yarmouth over the last couple of years, and
hopefully will be again next year. It is also possible to have it earlier,
maybe in September when the weather is (a bit!) more predictable, and people
may be more able to enjoy the proximity to the sea! I have also had some
suggestions to move it further forward to August, but am aware that this is
both incompatable with family committments for people who need to be around
at home for school holidays, and also is in the middle of the Gt Yarmouth
holiday season, when there is greater demand on holiday accommodation.
I'd really like to get moving on the venue as soon as possible, so are there
any other issues that need to be considered? What do people think about the
various options?
Wendy
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Franks, Wendy - Clinical Psychologist
> Sent: 23 November 2005 17:06
> To: UK Community Psychology Discussion List (E-mail)
> Subject: On the subject of conferences...
>
> Hello all,
>
> I thought I'd let the dust settle from all the activity around the
> response to the BPS following the last conference, before starting up
> another (hopefully) big topic!
>
> I wondered if we could use some space and time to reflect on the last
> conference and to think about plans for the next one.
>
> Gillian Bowden and I offered at the end of the Newcastle conference that
> we would be prepared to host the conference next year in Great Yarmouth.
> After recovering from the shock, and on further reflection, I have been
> feeling quite excited about the prospect...
>
> ...excited, and a more than just a little nervous about matching the
> standard of UK CP Network conferences that I've attended over the last few
> years!
>
> Each of the conferences had a different, local flavour, and I think that
> this has been a wonderful part of the experience. So hopefully being
> different is no bad thing, and there is enough that has been similar to
> provide a framework on which to build.
>
> I am getting in touch with the list at this point to confirm that people
> would like us to organise the next conference, and that there is an
> interest in coming all the way over Great Yarmouth next year. (we love to
> be beside the seaside here, and hope you will too)
>
> If so, I would like to invite people from the list to talk about whatever
> ways you'd like to be involved in planning the next conference. Clearly
> there are practicalities regarding planning over distances, and we are
> prepared to do the leg-work involved in getting things organised. I'd like
> to find out how much involvement people would like to have, how much you'd
> like to know about our thoughts and ideas and developing plans, and to
> what extent it seems possible to organise an event such as this by
> consensus!
>
> We have a number of people locally who are very excited by the prospect of
> putting on the conference here in 2006 (including me!), and I hope that we
> can cover most of the practical elements of organising the conference.
> We've had a few discussions already about how we'd like it to develop, and
> how we'd like to draw on our own local flavour to make it interesting and
> productive. In general, I think it would be great if we could involve the
> list members to be involved in shaping the conference, from deciding on a
> theme, to discussing the practicalities in terms of how many days, what
> days, what activities, when, etc. I also wondered if people wanted to be
> involved in activities such as reviewing abstracts, or at least to take
> some advice about the process from previous conference organisers.
>
> So, hopefully this isn't too soon after the last conference to start
> preparing...
>
> Wendy
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Wendy Franks
> Clinical Psychologist
> Primary Care & Psychological Services
> Norfolk & Waveney Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
> Northgate Resource Centre
> Northgate Hospital
> Great Yarmouth
> NR30 1BU
>
> Tel: (01493) 337715
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The contents of this email are not necessarily the policy or, opinion or
> representative of any policy or opinion of Norfolk and Waveney Mental
> Health Partnership NHS Trust or any person employed by it. This
> transmission is intended only for the named recipient(s) and is
> confidential in nature. If received in error, please return it to the
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>
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> with NHS regulations.
>
>
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