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Supporting Scotland's vibrant voluntary sector

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.

Heart of the community: village halls conference

On 1 May 2024, we hosted a conference aimed at those running village and community halls across Scotland. Delegates joined us both online and in-person at Birnam Arts to connect, share ideas, and inspire each other.

94 delegates, facilitators and speakers travelled from all across Scotland to join us in-person at Birnam Arts, with over 70 more delegates joining online via Zoom. The programme had a mix of presentations, workshops and breakout sessions, touching on themes like energy and sustainability, succession planning and getting young people involved in village and community spaces, facilities management, and financial stability.

Photography by Lewis Houghton of LewsPics

The registration desk, partner stands and cafe area with delegates milling about

The auditorium with round tables, a presenter at the lectern and a top table panel

View the conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl21a40fFRk

Materials

View and download the presentation slides and supporting materials from the conference sessions

Programme

Programme IN-PERSON - FINAL Download PDF

Programme ONLINE - FINAL Download PDF

Going green amidst an energy crisis

Local Energy Scotland presentation Download PowerPoint presentation

New Practice presentation Download PDF

Succession: who will keep the village hall going?

Succession - Dr Rona Campbell's presentation Download PowerPoint presentation

Governance and compliance: everything you need to know

Governance and compliance - Keegan & Pennykid presentation Download PDF

Governance and compliance - Àrachas³ Download PowerPoint presentation

Running your hall: ideas marketplace

Ideas marketplace: Online breakout sessions summary Download Word document

Booking systems: what makes a good booking system for your hall and why you need it

Booking systems: what makes a good booking system for your hall and why you need it (File coming soon)

Enterprise and culture: keys to financial stability

Enterprise and culture: keys to financial stability - Community Enterprise Download PowerPoint presentation

Community Enterprise speaker at the lectern

Village and community hall case studies

Feedback

Very many thanks for organising such a successful Village Halls conference [...] It really was excellent & I learnt so much much besides appreciating the opportunity to speak informally to some of the speakers at various points [...] I have really welcomed the production of the SCVO handbook for Village Halls. Our village hall is very small & it is great to be able to have such a good reference as a checkpoint.

In-person delegate

I thoroughly enjoyed [the] event at Birnam with the opportunity to meet lots of lovely, energetic and genuine folk each with a heart for what we are doing all over Scotland. Thank you for the time, effort, imagination and resources you put in to making it such a positive and encouraging experience.

In-person delegate