annual conference – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Hear Us! Youth members ask Synod to keep in mind their hopes and fears as decisions are made

Young people’s hopes and fears featured prominently at the Scottish Episcopal Church‘s General Synod on Thursday.

Phoebe Pryce, Edinburgh Diocese Youth and Children‘s 18-25 Rep, and Chair of the Scottish Episcopal Church – Provincial Youth Committee (PYC), was among several young people to address the Church’s key annual conference.

Leading the PYC segment, Phoebe championed the views of young people in the SEC nationwide around the need to protect women’s rights, the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, nuclear disarmament, and global equality, justice and peace.

Phoebe Pryce, Chair of the PYC, told members: “We are not a group which tends to bring motions or debates to General Synod, but we do have ideas and opinions on things that you as General Synod make decisions about.

“We are still here to share our experiences and tell our stories, but we are also here today to share our thoughts and our opinions on some of the topics you are discussing later in the agenda.

“We hope that through being here today, you can gather from us where our views lie on these issues, and that you will bear them in mind as you go forward in the next few days.”

Ms Pryce then told the story of Lucy, a 12-18 representative from the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, ahead of Motion 14 on nuclear weapons.

Her opinion echoes the views of youth representatives that nuclear weapons are “highly dangerous and immoral, having the capacity to kill millions if they were ever used, potentially without solving underlying issues”.

Ms Pryce said: “Lucy’s question to you is this: ‘Why is there such investment in the building and maintenance of unethical and illegal weapons when that same money could be invested in other projects and make a real and positive difference to people’s lives?’

“Lucy voices the views of the whole PYC in encouraging you to take a decisive stance against nuclear weapons: we believe it would show that, as a community, the SEC is against the use of these incredibly destructive and immoral weapons.

“Whilst passing such a motion may not have an immediate effect upon our country’s nuclear programme, we think it’s important to show that we do not agree with the production, storage, and potential use of nuclear weapons in the UK, and across the world.

“Please consider this decision as one of human decency, morality and ethics, which reflect the Christian values of peace, compassion, and universal love that we strive to live by.”

Two new speakers announced for Children in Scotland conference

Teen cancer survivor and advocate Molly Cuddihy and Natalie Don MSP join impressive line-up for Children in Scotland Annual Conference 2024

Children in Scotland has today revealed two more speakers for its Annual Conference 2024, with teen cancer survivor and advocate Molly Cuddihy, and Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, Natalie Don MSP, joining the packed lineup of expert voices.

Held on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 May at Murrayfield Stadium, the flagship event will bring together delegates, partners and supporters from across the children’s sector, providing opportunities to exchange ideas, network and learn.

Addressing the conference with a keynote speech on day one, Molly Cuddihy is a passionate advocate for the rights of children and young adults, particularly those living with and progressing from cancer and other serious illness, having been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer when she was just 15 years old.

Currently a Youth Ambassador for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, Molly has a wealth of experience to share with the conference. As co-founder of the charity Every Thank You Counts, and co-ordinator for the acclaimed Radio Therapy podcast, which covers themes including mental health, body image and mortality, the inspiring teen will provide fresh perspectives on topics close to her heart.

Speaking on day two of the conference, Natalie Don MSP, Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, will discuss a range of issues relevant to children and young people, and the wider sector, providing valuable insights.

Natalie Don MSP said: “I’m really looking forward to what is set to be another amazing event run by Children in Scotland.

“I was lucky enough to be invited to their 30th Anniversary Networking event last year where I had the pleasure of meeting a number of past and present staff members, and engaged with the amazing members of the Changing our World children and young people’s advisory group.

“As this inspirational group has been heavily involved with the development, planning, and workshop selection for the upcoming conference, I know it will be a very interesting and thought-provoking event where experts in a wide variety of areas can get together to discuss issues impacting children.”

Alongside powerful keynote speeches, informative panel discussions, and engaging workshops, children and young people’s voices will be central to both days of the Annual Conference, with representatives from Changing our World (CoW) co-chairing the programme.

Ensuring attendees hear directly from the young Scots they work with and for every day has been a key goal for Children in Scotland when planning the Annual Conference 2024, and further highlights of the programme include co-designed workshops and interactive sessions, covering everything from supporting neurodivergent children to suicide prevention, Artificial Intelligence, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, learning through play, youth homelessness, and many more topics.

Poverty Alliance events in October

With Challenge Poverty Week fast approaching we wanted to let you know about a couple of events the Poverty Alliance are organising during the week …

Challenge Poverty Lecture: Baroness Ruth Lister

5th October, 6.30pm

Across a distinguished career as a campaigner and academic Baroness Professor Ruth Lister has explored how we understand and conceive poverty, and how these understandings impact both the experience of poverty and our responses to it. Recurring themes in her work include the connection between poverty and human rights; the differential experiences of poverty; discourses of poverty, in particular the experience of ‘othering’.

For the Challenge Poverty Lecture 2021 Professor Lister will explore these themes and what they mean for addressing poverty in Scotland during and after the pandemic.

This year’s lecture will take place online. For more information and to register please click here

Rights in Recovery: Protecting Rights and Tackling Poverty After Covid

Poverty Alliance Annual Conference

8 October 2021, 9.45am-2pm

As we now look forward towards a period of recovery from the pandemic, this conference will consider how we can both tackle poverty and ensure that the human rights of those who have been most affected can be protected and extended. The discussions at the conference will be used to feed into the development of the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan, as well as the informing the new Human Rights Bill.

Speakers include John Swinney MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery Plans, Professor Olivier de Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Judith Robertson, Chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland, and Moira Tasker, CEO of Inclusion Scotland.

For full details and to register please click here

Key workers: “We’re worth more!”

Ahead of the start of the 124^th STUC Annual Conference today, GMB Scotland members from care, nursing, refuse, ambulance, and school support services, will tell Ministers, “We’re worth more!” as they campaign for a rejection of the NHS and COSLA pay offers for 2021.

GMB workplace representatives in NHS Scotland and COSLA are strongly urging members to reject the respective 4 per cent and £800 increases for the lowest paid workers, arguing the Scottish Government can and should go further after the last twelve months.

The union’s consultative ballot in COSLA will run until Thursday 22 April, and until Wednesday 5 May in NHS Scotland.

GMB Scotland Senior Organiser Drew Duffy said: “We were told at the start of the pandemic that Scotland was prepared for COVID-19, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

“Health and social care staff tackled the first wave of COVID-19 without proper PPE, home carers were left without workplace testing until January, and school support staff were an afterthought in the education recovery plan.

“From PPE, testing, sick pay support and socially distanced working arrangements, everything that’s been put in place to protect the workers on which we all depend had to be fought for by the workers’ themselves.

“And after a wretched year and desperate decade, where their modest incomes have been cut by thousands of pounds, our members are prepared to fight again for their proper value, against pay offers that don’t amount to much more than a £10 a week increase for many.

“They’ve heard the applause and they’ve read all the political platitudes, but now they are telling the Scottish Government to listen, and the message is clear: “We’re worth more.”

The continuing safety concerns due to COVID-19 means that the 2021 annual Congress will be held as a digital event.

Delegates from over 50 affiliated unions and trades union councils, as well as the STUC equalities committees, will meet over three days to debate and agree new policies.

We will also hear from sisters and brothers from other Trade Union Centres and from politicians.

The STUC General Council will deliver its report of the past 6 months work.

The digital format of Congress limits some of the things we can do but we still have a busy fringe event as well as expo sessions from our sponsors and supportive organisations.

You can watch the whole of Congress live on Facebook or YouTube!

Roz Foyer, STUC General Secretary

Debt, dole, worry: Student midwives facing triple whammy threat

Many student midwives are struggling under the weight of financial concerns, poor mental health and an unpredictable job market, according to new findings by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).

Student midwives in England, who must pay tuition fees and take out maintenance loans to cover living costs, will have, on average, a debt of £41,000 when they qualify. Even for those who receive a training bursary, the financial future is bleak.

A staggering 91 per cent of student midwives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said their training bursaries were not enough to live on.

Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the RCM, said: “Our student midwives should not be facing a triple threat of debt, worry and an unpredictable job market Unlike other students, the demanding nature of their course mean they have little opportunity to seek part-time work to supplement their income.

“They have a longer academic year, they work nights, weekends and bank holidays, and are often on-call to go in a at a minute’s notice. They show incredible dedication to their chosen career and there is an overwhelming case to give them better financial support, and to ensure they get jobs in our NHS when they qualify.”

The pandemic’s impact on student midwives cannot be underestimated. The RCM found that 96 per cent of student midwives reported having mild or moderate mental health problems since the pandemic began.

Our survey shows that by the end of July just 36 per cent of students in their final year of midwifery training had been offered a job in the NHS. At the same time, midwifery educator numbers are not keeping pace with the rise in student midwife numbers, potentially leaving students less supported throughout their training.

Gill Walton added: “Throughout the pandemic student midwives have made enormous efforts, working in our maternity services while also continuing their studies. At the same time the pandemic has disrupted midwifery education heavily.

“Some UK governments and institutions are doing better than others, but most are selling our student midwives short. They need to step up and ensure we continue to have the best educated, best prepared new midwives in the world. They are the future carers of mothers, babies, and families and we must invest in them.”