THE third sector from the wider region came together in Alloa last week as a conference for charities returned for 2023.

Forth Valley Third Sector Conference went ahead over two days, culminating in an in-person event at Inglewood House on Thursday, March 23.

Delegates from the region's charities and good causes attended, in beautiful surroundings, a range of workshops around the conference's theme “Caring, Connected Communities”, having enjoyed digital opportunities the day before.

Topics included kindness in practice, human rights, being a supportive employer, building better relationships, measuring impact, and collaborative approaches to community space.

It was the first time the third sector reunited in-person for the conference since 2019 and one of the highlights saw a speech by minister for mental wellbeing and social care Kevin Stewart.

He spoke about the clear impacts of the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund and the importance of community-based support in mental health and wellbeing, along with the recently developed mental health and wellbeing strategy for Scotland.

He noted the learning taken from funded projects which is being included in the strategy and praised the efforts of volunteers and the sector over last few years.

CONFERENCE: Inglewood House was filled with charity representatives as delegates met in-person for the first time since 2019 - Pictures courtesy of CTSI

CONFERENCE: Inglewood House was filled with charity representatives as delegates met in-person for the first time since 2019 - Pictures courtesy of CTSI

Mr Stewart also acknowledged the work of local projects supported by the fund and said: “I am heartened by the language used in today’s workshops: kindness, human rights, collaboration, building better relationships.

“These are at the heart of supporting mental health and wellbeing in our communities.”

The event was organised jointly by Clackmannanshire Third Sector Interface (CTSI) and its counterparts in neighbouring areas Stirlingshire Voluntary Enterprise (SVE) as well as CVS Falkirk.

Anthea Coulter, chief officer at CTSI, said: “We have shared so much learning over two days with delegates – including visionary thinking about volunteering for a changing world, how to design a caring place and Scottish Government’s work around the wellbeing economy all covered on Thursday, and which all brought much discussion.

“Coming together was fantastic after a long break and so many new and existing connections were made for people across the sector.”

The organisers wanted to thank all involved in the conference – facilitators and stallholders from both days, the venue and catering teams as well as all delegates.