I attended the GEM conference in Bristol from 11-13 September and enjoyed delivering a workshop, which was a mapping exercise as part of my work with GEM on work experience, work placements and inclusive pathways. I began with a short presentation on the research so far, and then everyone introduced themselves by placing a postit with their name and organisation on a large map. They responded to the following questions either through discussion or adding to the mapping exercise:

What do you already offer or are aware of in your local area?
What are the challenges & barriers?
Where are the gaps?
What partnerships are enablers?
Where could connections be made that don’t already exist?
What support would you like to see from GEM?

We then ended with everyone writing down on a postcard one thing they could take away as a follow up to initiate change within their organisation or local area - which could be something big or small.

Other conference highlights for me were the keynote speakers Turi King and John Falk, the workshop I participated in focusing on career confidence led by Liz Fraser-Betts from Dot Dot Dash Coaching, and the Museum Bums tour of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery. It was my first conference in real life for six years so good to reconnect with peers I hadn’t seen for a while and to make some new contacts. Thanks to the GEM team for a brilliant experience!