‘MAKING THE HEALTH CONNECTIONS’

 HIIC CONFERENCE 2008

Around 100 Health Issues in the Community students, tutors and other stakeholders made their way to Dunfermline on Monday 2nd June for this year’s HIIC Conference.

See picture above of successful HIIC students receiving their certificates.

The theme of the Conference was ‘making the health connections’ and focused on how HIIC development and delivery connects with and contributes to both local and national health improvement priorities.

Keynote speakers Kathy O’Neill, the General Manager of Clackmannanshire CHP, and David Allan from CHEX spoke about the key health improvement priorities at both national and local level and how HIIC can make a key contribution to building capacity for change.

Workshop sessions included a range of student-led workshops by HIIC groups from Newmains in Lanarkshire, Gorbals in Glasgow, Camelon in Falkirk, Glenrothes & NE Fife and the Literacies Group from Falkirk . There were also a range of practice development workshops looking at HIIC and young people, evaluating HIIC, dealing with difficult situations, and promoting HIIC/recruiting participants.

The Conference again gave us the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of HIIC students over the past year and we were delighted that Cllr. Liz Mogg (the Depute Provost of Fife Council) was able to come along and present Certificates to a range of student groups.

As usual, the participants made the most of the Conference to network, share information and ideas, make new contacts and renew old acquaintances. The feedback was very positive and the event seemed to meet expectations. In the words of one participant … “it was a reminder of the difference I can make” and “good to network with other people with a common interest from the community”

A Conference newsletter will be compiled and disseminated in the near future and a fuller report of the day’s events will appear on the HIIC page of the website shortly.