PrintConference for the Regions
The annual Conference for the Regions enables Regions to get together and discuss issues of mutual interest, as well as identifying major issues to be considered. The 2009 Conference will take place in Leeds on 17 and 18 September.
Conference Report 2008
The South Wales and West of England Region welcomed over 90 delegates and guests to Plymouth for the annual Conference for the Regions - the main event in the Institute calendar for regional and national volunteers to get together to discuss areas of mutual interest.
Volunteers from all corners of the regional network convened in Plymouth for the event which took place on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September.
The conference was preceded by a civic reception at Plymouth's Council House where delegates were warmly welcomed by the Lord Mayor of the City of Plymouth.
The event itself was opened on the Thursday morning by Mike Owen, Chair of the Board for the Regions and Judith Savage, Chair of the National Students Forum. Mike summed up the considerable progress made by the Regions since the last conference in Dublin as well as setting out the priorities for the event itself.
Mike placed particular emphasis on the role of students in the regional structure - a theme that was returned to a number of times during the event as officers from the student societies led presentations and workshops on their work.
The Conference for the Regions is above all a collaborative event - where volunteers from all Regions work together and learn from each other.
There was therefore a packed programme of plenary sessions outlining good practice in each of the core regional activity areas.
Workshops for Treasurers, Student Society Volunteers, Website Volunteers, and those involved in running events and garnering sponsorship were on offer to those not involved in the Council meeting on Thursday.
Delegates also made great strides towards confirming a new set of regional performance indicators to be adopted by all Regions.
The President's formal address to conference acknowledged that challenges lay ahead but encouraged volunteers to focus on ways in which CIPFA could respond, influence and take advantage of these challenges.
Inspired by the President's words, conference delegates took a little time to celebrate some of the successes of the past year congratulating the winners of the regional awards.
Delegates were delighted with the South Wales and West of England Region's innovative (and educational!) choice of venue for the conference dinner - the National Marine Aquarium - though there was perhaps a little relief that the fish course had been omitted from the menu.
The conference dinner is also the occasion where the Dr Hedley Marshall Award is awarded. This year the award was Paul Treadaway of CIPFA South East.
Drew Cullen, CIPFA's Director of Marketing & Communications got the second day of the event off to a lively start with an informative presentation about major change projects taking place in the Directorate.
This was followed by a presentation by Paul Carroll, Chief Executive of the newly founded Plymouth City Development Company. Mr Carroll, speaking a week ahead of the presentation of the CDC's first business plan, talked about his plan to establish Plymouth as a global niche player. He highlighted the role of the university and the medical school as well as sought after new industries in contributing to this.
Mike Owen brought the conference to a close with an objective setting session - providing the regions with a full programme of work to deliver ahead of next year's event which will take place in Leeds on 17 and 18 September 2009.