As our own conference in Birmingham approaches (now fully booked, with a waiting list!) we have been asked to share a few other upcoming events that may be of interest to folk involved in youth work. As it happens, all of them are in Manchester – obviously the place to be for the discussion of all things ‘youth’!

First up, an event on identifying and engaging young people at risk of NEET. This is a free event on the afternoon of March 25th, and although many of us may sigh at the label ‘NEET’, the issues are important and the speakers and topics look great.

Secondly, the Promise project on youth involvement and social engagement has its final conference, 8th-9th April – also free! This is a project we have found really interesting – have a look, it couldn’t be more relevant…

“PROMISE explores young people’s role in shaping society by focusing on the different ways they engage with social, environmental and political issues, and how they present opportunities for social change. PROMISE researchers conducted fieldwork, across Europe, in participation with young people ‘in conflict’ with authority.”

Thirdly, a two day conference 26th-27th June entitled “Collaboration, creativity and complexities: developing networks and practices of co-production with children and young people”. This one is a bit more pricey but if you can get funding it looks fascinating – though as with the NEET conference let’s hope for critical engagement with today’s buzzwords, in this case co-production!

This is one of the first international multidisciplinary conferences to be held in the UK with a focus on co-production and creative methods that welcomes academics and community partners into a shared space. Co-production has become more mainstream recently within a number of disciplines and contexts across the social sciences and arts and humanities. This conference will address methods and ideas in the broad area of co-production with a focus on making change happen. Our interest is on sharing ideas, inspiration and experiences around co-production with children and young people. The conference will explore participatory and creative methods.

Let us know if you go along to any of these, and what you think. ‘Conference reflections’ and other contributions to the website are always welcome.