Forces Children Scotland 2 days ago
Public speaking is no easy task, let alone to a conference with over 100 delegates. Seeing children and young people gain confidence and command the attention of the 2025 SCiP Alliance Annual Conference was one of the highlights of our year.
The SCiP Conference, which took place in Glasgow this year, is a key opportunity for people invested in the lives of Armed Forces families to come together. The conference was attended by practitioners, researchers, and decision-makers across sectors and spheres of influence – and crucially, children and young people themselves.
The agenda included a fringe event for children and young people from forces families, sponsored by Anderson Education and starting with a workshop commissioned from Albatross Arts, where they explored their journeys through art and collage. Connecting with peers and reflecting on their collective experiences was excellent preparation for our young speakers at the ‘In conversation with Armed Forces children and young people’ panel later on.
Leading a conference-wide event, children and young people from ages 9-18 introduced themselves and spoke compellingly about their experiences of forces life. Those involved with the Ruby Boots project discussed the benefits of peer support, presenting with posters and a question-and-answer format they had prepared beforehand.
Following the panel, a group of young people led a workshop in the main room, sparking conversation about children’s rights and the co-production of the Forces Children’s Rights Charter using two Rights Charter resources. All throughout, the delegates offered their full attention and respect.
Here’s what one young delegate had to say: ‘I really enjoyed the creativity of Albatross Arts workshop and how free we were do what we liked with our collage. I think that by speaking out to the audience, I went out of my comfort zone. I really liked leading the Tangled Up In Rights activity at our workshop as everyone seemed to really get stuck in and enjoy it.’
Not only did these children and young people enrich the conference by sharing their reflections–as evidenced by the feedback we have received from those in attendance– but they gained confidence from this unique experience.
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