Programme

Download Programme schedule

Registration, refreshments, and exhibition

Our registration team will welcome you and check you in, making you feel right at home. 

Enjoy a range of refreshments, meet fellow delegates and visit our exhibitors.

Opening plenary: Hope isn't lost, it's local - moving community power from the margins to the mainstream

Hope can feel in short supply, in a world of increasing threats and division. But Locality Convention will showcase the huge power of community that exists across the globe. We’re bringing together hundreds of inspiring community leaders who are battling the odds to build positive futures for their neighbourhoods. 

Our opening plenary will discuss how politics can support this community-led change, rather than stand in its way. We’ll hear from policymakers and community leaders about how they are seeking to move community power from the margins to the mainstream political arena.

With Melissa Aase, International Federation of Settlements Houses and Neighborhood Centers (IFS); Tony Armstrong, Locality; Joanne Anderson, Kindred; Jane Dawe, Safe Regeneration; Chris Hanway, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement.

Lunch

Enjoy a delicious buffet featuring an array of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

We provide vegetarian food at our events to reduce Locality's carbon footprint. 

1:1 expert surgeries and exhibitions

If you're seeking targeted guidance and support, our expert-led 1:1 surgeries offer personalised consultations with industry professionals. These sessions provide a confidential and supportive environment where you can address specific challenges, gain insights, and receive practical recommendations tailored to your organisation's needs.

Engage with exhibitors across the community sector, from funders to service providers, all offering a wealth of knowledge and opportunities for collaboration.

Afternoon plenary: Hope in action - bridging divides in challenging times

We continue to explore how community power can create hope in a time of increasing threats and division.

We will get practical, sharing powerful stories about how community organisations are bringing their neighbourhoods together and creating places for everyone. Across a series of 'lightning talks', we’ll hear about place-based approaches to racial justice and how to build lasting connections across divides. 

With Letesia Gibson, New Ways; Ed Wallis, Locality; Soye Briggs, The Winch; Maxine Ennis, Rotunda; Tim McGowan, 174 Trust; Vandna Gohil, Highfields Centre; Sunday Ibobor, Umuebu Neighbourhood House Centre for Community Development.  

Workshops, visits & coffee break

Delegates will choose either one workshop or one visit

Expert-led interactive workshops

Supercharge your organisation's impact by participating in expert-led, interactive workshops that address the challenges and opportunities faced by community organisations. 

• Owning our future: exploring community ownership models
• Surplus for purpose: help your community reduce waste
• Making community-led housing happen: finance, partnerships, and people - sponsored by Resonance
• Unlocking the power of heritage - sponsored by Historic England
• AI for communities: practical, clear, and values-first - sponsored by Plinth
• Community organisations in a "Neighbourhood Health Service"

Find out more on our workshops page.

Inspiring visits

See the heart of Liverpool's thriving community sector. Our visits offer a unique opportunity to learn from inspiring community leaders, engage in meaningful conversations, and see the transformative power of community-driven projects first-hand.

• Rotunda: breaking barriers, building futures - therotunda.org.uk
• Lock & Quay community pub and gardens with Safe Regeneration - facebook.com/lockandquaybootle, saferegen.org.uk
• Brick by brick, wash by wash: community-led regeneration of Anfield - Fully Booked - homebaked.org.uk, kittyslaunderette.org.uk
• Remembering the past and building the future: The Florrie - theflorrie.org
• 40 years of empowerment: exploring Blackburne House - blackburnehouse.co.uk

Find out more on our visits page.

Coffee break

Coffee and refreshments will be available in the workshop rooms to help you refuel and recharge.

Drinks reception

Kickstart the beginning of the Locality Awards '25. Join us as we come together to applaud the outstanding achievements of community organisations.

Dinner and Locality Awards ceremony

Join us for a joyful evening of celebration at the Locality Awards '25 ceremony and dinner. This event is a tribute to the extraordinary achievements of Locality members and councils. We'll celebrate the resilience, innovation, and dedication of community organisations that have made a profound impact on the lives of individuals and the communities they serve. 
 

End of Day One

Registration, refreshments, and exhibition

Our registration team will welcome you and check you in, making you feel right at home.

Enjoy a range of refreshments, meet fellow delegates and visit our exhibitors.

Workshops, visits & coffee break

Delegates will choose either one workshop or one visit

Expert-led interactive workshops

Supercharge your organisation's impact by participating in expert-led, interactive workshops that address the challenges and opportunities faced by community organisations. 

• Welcoming new migrants and building belonging in times of division
• Resilient community buildings: energy efficiency, low-carbon technology, and renewable energy - sponsored by Social Investment Business
• Youth action: how community organisations can tap into the potential of young people
• Make social investment work for your community - sponsored by NatWest Social and Community Capital
• Working with the public sector: building stronger relationships for community impact - sponsored by Anthony Collins Solicitors
• Making sport and the arts work for communities

Find out more on our workshops page.

Inspiring visits

See the heart of Liverpool's thriving community sector. Our visits offer a unique opportunity to learn from inspiring community leaders, engage in meaningful conversations, and see the transformative power of community-driven projects first-hand.

• Rotunda: breaking barriers, building futures - therotunda.org.uk
• Lock & Quay community pub and gardens with Safe Regeneration - facebook.com/lockandquaybootle, saferegen.org.uk
• Brick by brick, wash by wash: community-led regeneration of Anfield - homebaked.org.uk, kittyslaunderette.org.uk
• Remembering the past and building the future: The Florrie - theflorrie.org
• 40 years of empowerment: exploring Blackburne House - blackburnehouse.co.uk

Find out more on our visits page.

Coffee break

Step away from the bustling visits and workshops to refuel and recharge.

1:1 expert surgeries and exhibitions

If you're seeking targeted guidance and support, our expert-led 1:1 surgeries offer personalised consultations with industry professionals. These sessions provide a confidential and supportive environment where you can address specific challenges, gain insights, and receive practical recommendations tailored to your organisation's needs.

Engage with exhibitors across the community sector, from funders to service providers, all offering a wealth of knowledge and opportunities for collaboration.

Closing plenary: Ideas to unleash the power of your community - TED-style talks from inspiring speakers – 

Consolidate all the learnings and energy from two days of Convention with a range of inspiring speakers who have been there and done it. Walk away ready to bring it back to your community!

Drawing from diverse backgrounds and expertise, these inspiring speakers will take the stage to deliver thought-provoking talks that will challenge your perceptions, ignite your passion, and recharge your batteries for the next twelve months.

With Roderick Jones - President, Goddard Riverside; Misba Khan - Founder, Evergreen Collective; Rob Huggins - Chief Executive, Gosforth Civic Theatre; Daniel Sukula - Founder and CEO, Be The Change Youth Project; Naomi Martin- Director, Commonside Development Trust; and Melissa Aase, International Federation of Settlements Houses and Neighborhood Centers (IFS)
 

Networking lunch

Come together with both new-found friends and familiar faces, sharing experiences and insights gained throughout the convention. Take with you a network of passionate people who will continue to support and inspire you on your community development journey.

Close of Locality Convention '25

All good things must come to an end... time to get excited for #Locality26!