I've been a regular at The Gathering - SCVO's annual charity sector conference, for the past five or six years. It's always a fascinating (albeit fairly exhausting!) few days, and a brilliant opportunity to meet and catch up with colleagues from across the sector.
This year, I was delighted to be invited by Eden Project Communities to join their panel for their event: 'Why strong community bonds matter'. I've hosted a Big Lunch at Macrobert Arts Centre for the past two years, and this was an opportunity to share all that we've done and learned along the way - hopefully inspiring more Big Lunches to pop up across Scotland in 2020.
Chatting to other attendees throughout the day at the Eden Project's 'Little Land of Big Lunches' (see photo - it was incredible!) really emphasised the range and variety of Big Lunches that people have created. It was such a treat to talk to all kinds of projects and community champions about the ways that Big Lunches can bring people together, connect local people and projects, tackle isolation - and bring joy and fun along the way.
Huge thanks to Eden Project Communities for inviting me along, and to SCVO for another epic Gathering.