The Forum is a great place to solidify connections and make new friends. It’s where you get to finally meet and hug that colleague you’ve only ever seen on screen or heard through an earpiece. We’ve created many opportunities for networking over the next five days. At the welcome event on the first day, we’ll mingle in an atmosphere that’s relaxed and enjoyable, a perfect ease into the formal part of the conference. Once we’ve got to know each other a bit, our Gala dinner on Wednesday night is yet another chance to socialise while celebrating achievements and milestones and honouring very special people.

Throughout the conference, our Pause and Connect slots between sessions present opportunities for delegates to interact and connect around their research and activism, learning, shared interests, and vision. During the programme, the Wellness Team will offer various types of restorative activities. These are opportunities to be present to each other in a different way, something that can complement the other Forum connection spaces. Check out the Forum Wellbeing programme for details.

We want you to savour every aspect of the Forum, including the food! This year, we’ve allocated 2.5 hours for lunch during which time we invite you to Nourish and Network. Please enjoy the delicious spread on offer while networking with new and old friends.

On most days, participant driven events take place before, during (lunch time) and after the formal programme. They are designed to devote more time to a specific topic, project, or initiative. By the nature of their set up, they are more intimate spaces that offer another way to network and become more familiar with an organisation’s work.

Because we aim to ‘one up’ ourselves every two years, we’re proud of the very first SVRI Forum Cinema. On 25 October, we will host film viewing sessions, followed by facilitated discussions focusing on cinematic work related to our work.