We are running over 20 online sessions for out Annual Conference this year.
You can see about all the sessions below.
When you have decided which ones you want to join, sign up online. You can join as many sessions as you want, and they are all free.
All of the sessions at our conference are sponsored by
Join us for the official start of our Annual Conference 2020. See highlights from years gone by and hear from our CEO Zoe Richards about what to expect this year.
We will be joined by our Chair Phil Madden and some special guests who have chair our conferences in the past to tell you what they have been up to recently.
Monday 9 November
10:00 – 10:45 am
Mencap Cymru’s OSN (Our Social Networks) project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has collated the oral histories of people with a learning disability around their personal experience of friendships and intimate relationships. The session will explore the main themes to have emerged from these stories and generate a discussion around the changes needed to better support people’s access to friendships and relationships.
Monday 9 November
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
This session is all about what the Welsh Government is doing to help people who are lonely and find it difficult to meet people.
In February 2020, the Welsh Government published its first ever plan for helping people who are lonely and find it difficult to meet other people. In this session we will explain the affect that feeling lonely and not meeting other people can have on our bodies and our minds and why it is important that we do something about them.
We will set out our plan for how we can help stop these things happening or help people when they do. We would also like to hear about your experiences and what has helped you.
Monday 9 November
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Join the group and put the world right through a coffee and having a laugh.
Brew-it is a community coffee morning in Flintshire, it was set up before lockdown and has not stopped. It is run by the members of Flintshire Do It. Members of Brew-it will tell you how the group works, run an activity, and answer your questions.
Tuesday 10 November
10:00 – 10:45 am
Sensory loss is when someone cannot see or hear well, they may be blind or deaf or both. This session will look at how people with sensory loss can be isolated and the barriers they face.
Join this session to find out more, ways to overcome this and how people with sensory loss can become socially included in society and overcome their feeling of loneliness.
Facilitated by Centre of Sign, Sight Sound
Tuesday 10 November
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
This session will show you a film made by a group of people with a learning disability in North Wales. It highlights what matters to people, raising the profiles of people with a learning disability, focusing on the values and behaviours that people expect from those that support them. People with learning disabilities came together to plan the project, write the script, act in the film and produce the final outcome. The film makers involved in this project have met new people, learnt new and transferable skills, using a range of creative media.
The film makers will talk about making the film and how taking part helped them meet new people, make friends, and increased their confidence.
Facilitated by Hijinx, TAPE and the North Wales Transformation Programme
Tuesday 10 November
2:00 – 3:00 pm
This session is additionally sponsored by First Choice Housing Association.
Engage to Change is working across Wales to support young people aged 16 to 25 who have a learning difficulty, learning disability and/or autism to reach their goals in life. The project supports young people to develop their skills and help them find paid work. We offer job coaching, work placements and supported internships. In this session, young people who have taken part in the project will share their stories. We will talk about how the project has helped with their confidence and social skills, and how this has helped reduce loneliness and isolation.
Wednesday 11 November
10:00 – 10:45 am
This session is additionally sponsored by First Choice Housing Association.
What is friendship? In this accessible and interactive workshop we will explore what it means to us to have friends, why having friends is so important at helping to reduce loneliness and isolation, and look at different types of friendships. We will do this through interactive games, while giving you an insight into how Gig Buddies works to create and support friendships.
Wednesday 11 November 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Additionally sponsored by Mirus.
This session will show you how Mirus have been running social groups in the past, how they look now and what they might look like in the future.
Join this session to see a short film, join in activities to get ideas about how you can do new or different things.
The session will be presented by Rose Waddicor, mirus’ Volunteer Coordinator, and a member of Cardiff ‘Get Social’ groups.
Session full
This session is additionally sponsored by First Choice Housing Association.
Isolation and loneliness are key themes in Welsh policy. Legislation talks a lot about people with learning disabilities being part of their local communities and living as active citizens. But it doesn’t happen. Why? What do we need to do to make this aspiration a reality for people with learning disabilities in Wales?
Bob Rhodes and Joe Powell, will explore, through the lens of asset based approaches, the ways people with learning disabilities can be assisted by purposeful service/support arrangements to play a real part in their local communities as valued and contributing citizens and the impact this would have in reducing isolation and loneliness.
Facilitated by Joe Powell and Bob Rhodes
Thursday 12 November 2020
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Rockbox is a fitness programme for all abilities that uses drumsticks (spoons or chopsticks!) with boxing and fitness moves to rock music. Get your drumsticks, spoons or chopsticks ready as we unleash some moves to rock music! Rockbox is a class where we use boxing moves, drumsticks and exercise to rock music, there’s options for everyone so come and join us and have some fun! Make sure you’ve got some water with you!
After this fun session you will be able to ask us questions.
Facilitated by CanDo Hub
Thursday 12 November 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm
This session is additionally sponsored by First Choice Housing Association.
Voice-it are a self-advocacy group set up and run by members of the North Wales Participation Group, hosted by Flintshire Do It and Tape Music and Film.
Join this session to hear more about Voice-it, how they have been joining forces online to make lives better for all. Members of the Participation Group will tell you how it works, run an activity, and answer your questions.
Friday 13 November 2020
10:00 – 11:00 am
Join this session if you are you in school or College and not sure what you want to do in the future. Careers Wales will help you to start thinking about your options, learn more about yourself and make the right choices for your future. Having a positive next step is a great way to tackle the isolation people can feel when they leave education, helping you to build confidence, stay connected and make new friends!
Friday 13 November 2020
2:00 – 2:45 pm
This session gives insight into the lives of two individuals who are living a Shared Life. They share their inspiring stories and explain the highs and lows of their journeys to independence.
Shared Lives offers a unique opportunity for individuals to experience independence in the safety of a family home. It can build foundations for people whose goal is a life of independence in the future. Shared Lives offers Short Breaks, longer term and long term support.
Monday 16 November 2020
10:00 – 11:00 am
This session will show you video stories and hear from people supported by Drive of how they have been keeping busy in Lockdown using online activities.
This fun session will involve some members of the choir singing and signing along to one of our choir songs. We will perform it first to show you the signs and what to expect. Then we will invite you to join in.
Monday 16 November 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Join this session if you have you finished school or College and are wondering what to do next. Or has your job been affected by Covid-19? These difficult times can make people feel isolated and low on confidence so if you need help to find work experience, further learning, jobs or training, Working Wales is the place to start your journey! We will tell you more about our service and give you some tips on getting started that will help you to make positive steps for your future and reconnect with your community.
Tuesday 17 November 2020
10:00 – 10:45 am
Circle-it is an online course to help people build a strong group of friends and contacts and is run by the members of Flintshire Do It as part of the I-Team project.
Join this session to hear more about Circle-it, how it works and how it helps people meet new people and support friendships. Members of the I-Team project will tell you how it works, run an activity, and answer your questions.
Tuesday 17 November 2020
11:00 – 11:45 am
Self-advocacy has changed a lot during lockdown and many people are digitally excluded.
In this session we will We follow up on the journey of people to be digital self-advocates. Self-advocacy got much more political as we have better access to speak to more people and take part in integrated committees”.
You will see some films from members of North Wales Advice and advocacy and discuss how to overcome isolation in the New Normal as a self-advocate.
Tuesday 17 November 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm
This session is additionally sponsored by First Choice Housing Association.
In this drama session you will get to see some actors perform a short play about loneliness and isolation. You will then get the chance to suggest changes to the play so the characters do things to feel less lonely and isolated. If you have been to one of our conferences before you will know how this works and how much fun it is. You will also get a chance to be in a film being made if you want!
Wednesday 18 November
10:00 – 11:00 am
This fun and interactive session will look at what loneliness and isolation mean to young people who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility.
We will look at the importance of including people of all abilities, how the project has helped young people feel less lonely and isolated and how lockdown is affecting people.
Wednesday 18 November 2020
2:00 – 2:45 pm
Apprenticeships are when you work and learn at the same time, you do a job, earn money, and get a qualification. Anyone over 16 years old can get an apprenticeship. Like all types of job an apprenticeship also give you the chance to meet new people and be less isolated. Because of lockdown lots of work and learning is now done online which can make people feel isolated.
In this interactive session you will find out what support is available for apprenticeship learners with additional learning needs with online learning and well-being. You will have the opportunity to ask questions about becoming apprentice and learn new skills.
Facilitated by National Training Federation for Wales
Thursday 19 November 2020
10:00 – 10:45 am
This session is additionally sponsored by the National Training Federation for Wales.
Join this interactive session looking at how Social Care Wales’s code of professional practice for social care can support people using services to have voice, choice and control about their care and support. For example, wanting to reduce loneliness and isolation.
Thursday 19 November 2020
11:00 – 12:00
SWS (Standards of Wrexham services) is a group of volunteers who have or who used to receive support. The group do not wait for support to step in but to “Do it themselves!”. They have set up person centred activities like the Friendship Hub, Art box, Tales from Lockdown, Safe Places and Cherish Wrexham.
All these group react to the needs of the group and link in with the local community and so friendships have developed – friendships that don’t rely on payments, DBS checks or disabilities.
Join this session to find out how SWS work and get to ask questions about how you can get involved and how you could do something similar.
Thursday 19 November 2020
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Blended learning is when you do some learning face to face, and some learning online. This has become very important while we have to socially distance.
This session will look at why blended learning is so important and how to prepare students for blended learning.
We will show some ways to help students with additional learning needs (ALN) who are learning in isolation. You will hear from Saul Webbe, who is autistic, about his journey to become an animator. He will show his work and talk about how he is developing his animation skills with this tutor Gennie Rose.
National Training Federation for Wales and Gennie Rose (Individual Digital Training Consultant)
Friday 20 November 2020
10:00 – 11:00 am
This session is additionally sponsored by the National Training Federation for Wales.
Join this session to see how Able Radio has worked with people during lockdown and used technology to bring people together. You will get to see a film and be part of making a radio show which will be broadcast that evening.
Friday 20 November 2020
2:00 – 3:00 pm
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