Day 3 saw Andrea and Alison heading back into the main hall, where the main topic under discussion was ‘Social justice in action’. Here they heard from Marie, an extraordinary domestic abuse survivor, who told of her story of having to sleep in her car with her children in order to escape her abuser. Marie has gone on to set up an organisation to support other survivors, supporting many other women and children who find themselves in similar circumstances. This organisation supports others to take back control of their own destiny, assisting them back into work and get them back on their own feet.
Another panel on stage focussed on the exploitation of young people by criminal gangs. This discussion explored ways for parents to free their children from gangs and the importance of bringing in people from outside of the family who have experiences of the challenges gangs can pose. Again the audience heard how it’s the lived experiences of the communities where solutions can be found to many of the problems that society face today.
This theme of supporting young people and getting experiences from others was continued into the next discussion. Here the topic moved to the importance of getting reformed criminals into young offender institutions to talk to other young people. Highlighting that you can change the path your on from people who may have shared life experiences.
Throughout all discussions on the main stage of the conference Alison was thrilled to see sign language interpreters. As a registered Sign Language Interpreter herself Alison was pleased to see how serious the Party took in ensuring that all discussions from the main stage were as accessible as possible to the widest possible audience.
To finish off the day Andrea and Alison attended an evening fringe event held by ‘Save the Children’. With the charity celebrating their 100th anniversary this year this event focused on the impact that UK aid makes for children around the world. Speakers at this event included the International Development Secretary, Alok Sharma MP, and Ruth Davidson MSP.
