PR Event: Charity Communications 08

Today I attended the Charity Communications 08 conference, which took place at Friends House in Euston, London. I was there representing Camp Quality UK, who I am on the board of as Secretary and as a trustee.

The charity has been improving its communications practices in recent months, with a rebranding and social media programme the most notable improvements.

I hoped that the conference would give us plenty of advice and expertise on how our charity can communicate with its stakeholders, the media, and the general public.

I took notes on most of the sessions and will be writing a post on each one, but for the moment the full programme is below:

Changing Attitudes
Can a high profile media campaign change the way we think and live? What are the next big issues facing charities? From AIDS campaigns of the 1990s to the recent smoking and drink driving campaigns. Is the media the right place to be educating the nation?
• Jean Collingwood, chief executive, The Drinkaware Trust
• Kate Stringer, communications officer, Moving People
• Clare Hutchinson, head of planning, WCRS

View the write up to this session here.

The Soundbite Session
Camila Batmanghelidjh, chief executive, Kids Company
The award-winning campaigner and founder of Kids Company tells all about how she uses media coverage to lobby government and represent children's issue to an audience who would not otherwise hear about them.

View the write up to this session here.

I’ll tell you what I want
Our panel of journalists and producers speak candidly about what kind of stories they’re interested in. The panel will reveal exactly what they need for a news or feature story, and delegates will have the opportunity to ‘pitch’ their story.

• Andy Smith, editor, BBC Radio 4 You and Yours
• Sara Ward, deputy editor, Take a Break magazine
• Vikki Cook, executive producer, Sky News
• Emma Tucker, editor, Times2

View the write up to this session here.

Keynote Q&A
• Kelvin MacKenzie, former Sun editor and tabloid expert.

Brave New World
An interactive and entertaining session about the opportunities new media offers to charities, for communications and fundraising. A particularly innovative format; inspiring and a little outrageous.
• Russell Davies, internet marketing guru and columnist, Campaign magazine.

View the write up to this session here.

What’s the worst that could happen?
How to survive a PR disaster or media crisis. Get advice from communications experts who’ve seen it all and from charities who have survived. This session will be packed with info for charities about how to plan for the worst.
• Brendan Paddy, media manager, Age Concern England
• David Cowdrey, head of press and media relations, WWF
• Sue Stapely, crisis communications consultant

The Soundbite Session: Charities Take Control
Charities have voted to hear from the communications campaign they’ve most admired in the last year. The session will be presented by Sarah Fitzgerald, head of communications at Motor Neurone Disease Association, the winning organisation.

The Big Interview
Nick Davies, award winning journalist and author of controversial new book Flat Earth News: Falsehood, Distortion and Propaganda in the Global Media, will talk about how charities can find a way through media misrepresentation to get their stories told fairly.
Polly Toynbee, Guardian columnist and author, will be asking the questions and sharing her own experiences.