Scottish Attachment in Action’s (SAIA) 2023 annual conference, Connections and Relationships – helping communities thrive held in November was a resounding success.
One of the key pillars of the conference was the celebration of diversity. Attendees from various backgrounds, professions and sectors gathered to exchange ideas and experiences, recognising the tapestry of perspectives and strengthening the social fabric.
The primary focus of the event was building and nurturing relationships that go beyond mere transactions, emphasizing the profound impact authentic connections can have on the wellbeing of communities.
Delegates heard from two keynote speakers who are well regarded in their field. Sir Harry Burns Professor of Global Public Health at University of Strathclyde and Professor Helen Minnis Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow and a patron of SAIA.
Both speakers provided different and insightful perspectives on how we can work towards strengthening communities, building and nurturing attachment relationships. Click the graphics below to view each presentation.
The event served as a platform for sharing best practice in attachment and the vitality of diverse communities in developing a range of approaches. A world café session created a buzz around the day enabling everyone the opportunity to contribute their thoughts on what more we could be doing and how we can work together to ensure meaningful connections that are inclusive and have an impact of people’s lives and communities.
The walking the talk of attachment session brought together a variety of speakers who set the scene and helped to celebrate successes of work already taking place in our communities. Speakers included Dr Laura Robertson, Senior Research Officer at the Poverty Alliance talked about the impact poverty has on families and in the early years of life. Moira Greentree, Executive Director of The Why Not Trust provided an overview of The Village, an online community for care experience parents to support each other.
During this session delegates also heard from Unity Sisters, a self-organised support group for asylum-seeking women, refugees, and their children, and Sapna Agarwal who curates and co-ordinates the Woodlands Community Anti-Racist Library.
The event also served as an opportunity to launch two pieces of research carried out on behalf of SAIA during the summer. Fatima Durrani and Izabelle McTamney interns from the University of Glasgow looked at attachment, poverty and communities in two different group. Both are now available to read.
