BEING Connected 2022 provided professional and educational resources to a developing workforce. The purpose of the event was not only to provide peer workers with the opportunity for professional development as well as methods for maintaining personal wellbeing while doing critical and at-times difficult work.
Hitting Our Objectives with BEING Connected
The event arose from the feedback received from our Peer Workforce Network surrounding peer worker isolation, professional development stagnation and inequity in accessing professional resources and events across different sectors.
With this in mind, we went into the event with very clear objectives:
- Foster better collegiality and connection between peer workers, especially across Community Managed Organisationa and public health.
- Gain insight into the support and educational needs of peer workers.
- Facilitate networking opportunities between peer workers and employers.
- Provide resources and information to peer workers for personal and professional development.
- Create awareness for peer work-specific issues.
- Encourage interaction between rural and remote peer workers and those working in large cities.
- Re-energise peer workers after a difficult few years.
And we’re so pleased with how it went! The feedback we have received has indicated that the event was a huge success and we achieved these objectives!
From Speakers to Panels
The event featured guest speakers from a wealth of backgrounds to reflect on their own personal and professional development and to provide peer workers with new ways of thinking. Presenters spoke on the past and future of peer work, resilience and trauma-informed practices, education and professional needs, suicide prevention.
Each day concluded with a live panel discussion, facilitated by the BEING Policy team. Day one focused on ‘Peer Work in Practice’ and the theme for the panel on day two was ‘Peer Work Pathways’.
The turnout and engagement from the audience were fantastic across both days and we appreciate all the positive feedback we have received.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend a big thank you to all our wonderful panellists. Each brought a wealth of personal and professional experience and their own unique perspective which made for a highly engaging and impactful conversation!
Making Goals a Reality
The team at BEING had such an amazing experience to hosting this event and we were so excited to connect in person with the peer workers we support and advocate for, and see them flourish in a supportive and inclusive environment.
In addition to providing information and resources, BEING – Mental Health Consumers wanted to ensure that the event was an open space for peer workers to network and get to know each other. And we truly feel that we made this a reality.
Thank you to all of the incredible peer workers who attended, the hardworking team, speakers and everyone involved as well as everyone who showed interest in the event or shared it! The response we received was overwhelming and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for the next BEING Connected!
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