About this Event
Join Wales Working Together for a national conference bringing communities, professionals, charities and public services together to connect, learn and create meaningful change in suicide prevention, mental health, trauma, bereavement and community wellbeing.
A BRIEF OF THE DAY
WHY WE CREATED WALES WORKING TOGETHER
Wales Working Together was created from a simple belief: the challenges facing our communities cannot be solved by one organisation working alone.
The conference brings together charities, NHS and public services, professionals, businesses, community and faith organisations, families and people with lived experience to share knowledge, identify gaps and build stronger connections.
We want to create momentum that continues beyond one day — turning conversations into collaboration, partnerships and practical change across Wales.
THE WHITE ROSE CAMPAIGN
The conference also provides a platform for the wider White Rose Campaign, focused on creating lasting change around:
• Suicide prevention and intervention
• Fair and inclusive bereavement support
• Better support for diverse communities
• Public mortuary provision in Wales
• Education and awareness across the funeral sector and wider community
SPEAKERS
Hear from senior professionals, community leaders, researchers and people with lived experience, including:
Lisa Taylor – Director of Church in Wales Schools
Amy Davies – Public Health Wales
Graeme Hughes – Senior Coroner for Cardiff & the Vale
Emma Wools – South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner
Jay Dave – Retired Superintendent and lived-experience speaker
Alongside representatives from leading charities, public services, research organisations and community groups across Wales.
WORKSHOPS
SUICIDE & SELF-HARM WALES
Suicide Postvention Workshop
Exploring how communities and organisations can respond following suicide or self-harm, support those affected and reduce further harm.
INVISIBLE WALLS
Supporting Families Affected by Imprisonment
Exploring the impact imprisonment can have on families and communities, and how organisations can work together to improve support for families and people leaving Pr*son.
WILD BEING
Wellbeing, Resilience & Connection
Exploring practical approaches to emotional wellbeing, resilience and connection, helping people and communities develop tools to support themselves and others.
Additional sessions will explore trauma, suicide prevention, bereavement, inclusion, community wellbeing and strengthening collaboration between services.
CHARITIES & EXHIBITORS
Delegates will have the opportunity to meet organisations working directly with communities, including:
• Marie Curie
• National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH)
• Invisible Walls
• PAPYRUS
• Action Deafness
• Wild Being
• Age Connects
• Hope UK
• GOT Project
• Caring for the Carer
• Hindu Council of Wales
Alongside other charities, community organisations, professional services and businesses.
The exhibition provides an opportunity to discover services, ask questions, share knowledge and build new partnerships.
OUR SPONSORS
We are grateful to the organisations supporting this year's conference:
CONVO
Sponsoring our BSL interpreters and helping us make the conference accessible to Deaf delegates.
SAIF
Supporting the conference and contributing to the important conversation around bereavement and care.
MEMORIA CREMATORIUM
Supporting the conference and our wider work around bereavement, communities and compassionate care.
INCLUSION
Everyone is welcome.
BSL interpreters will be available, and prayer facilities will be provided, with Friday prayers taking place during the conference.
This is a space for different communities, cultures, faiths, professions and experiences to come together.
THE AIM
Connect people. Share knowledge. Listen to communities. Identify the gaps. Build partnerships. Create change.
STRONGER TOGETHER • BETTER SUPPORT • BRIGHTER FUTURE
WHO WE ARE — WALES WORKING TOGETHER
Wales Working Together brings together organisations from across our communities who share a commitment to improving suicide prevention, mental health, trauma, bereavement and community wellbeing.
Our Steering Group includes charities, community organisations, faith representatives, professionals and people with lived experience, each bringing their own knowledge, experience and connection with the communities they support.
Through this conference, we want to create a space where we can listen, learn from one another, identify gaps and build practical partnerships, rather than working in isolation.
Moving forward, our ambition is to continue working together throughout the year, alongside communities, families and people with lived experience, to develop projects, share resources, strengthen support and turn the conversations we have at this conference into meaningful action.
We believe the people who understand the challenges in our communities should be part of creating the solutions.
Stronger Together • Better Support • Brighter Future
BUILDING THE BRIDGE
The “Connect” element of this conference is about much more than networking. It is about building lasting partnerships between the people, organisations and communities that support people at different points in their lives.
By bringing together diverse sectors — from healthcare and mental health to charities, sporting organisations, education, faith communities, funeral professionals, public services and community organisations — we can begin to create a stronger, more connected network of support.
The National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH), for example, is joining us because of its significant work exploring bereavement and mental health through research. Bringing researchers together with professionals, families, communities and people with lived experience creates an opportunity for research to be informed by the experiences of the people it is ultimately intended to help.
We are also welcoming the Mental Health Lived Experience team working with young people. Their involvement is particularly important because they are exploring how learning from lived experience can influence the development of new services, improve existing support and help shape new referral pathways so that people can access the right help at the right time.
We also want to strengthen the connection between services and faith communities. Faith is an important part of many people's lives, particularly when they experience grief, trauma, illness or crisis. Our work includes exploring how faith and religion can be better recognised within support systems and how resources such as faith and religion apps can help professionals and communities understand different beliefs, practices and cultural needs.
The same principle applies across the conference. A football club, GP, school, charity, employer, mosque, church, funeral director or community organisation may each encounter someone at a different point in their journey. If those organisations understand one another and know where to signpost people, we can create a much stronger web of support.
That is what Wales Working Together is trying to achieve.
Not replacing the services that already exist, but connecting them.
Not speaking for communities, but creating opportunities to listen to them.
Not waiting until people reach crisis, but building relationships and support earlier.
The conference is an opportunity to start building that bridge — and to continue strengthening it long after the day is over.
BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION. CHALLENGE THE SILENCE. HELP SHAPE CHANGE.
Stronger Together • Better Support • Brighter Future
Event venue & nearby stays
Cardiff City Stadium, Leckwith Road, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.