Action on Poverty Conference
In 2022 Staffordshire University held the inaugural Action on Poverty Conference at its Stoke on Trent Campus. The Conference builds on the Action on Poverty work going on across the university by connecting local and national leaders with each other to discuss poverty and actions that can take to improve the lives of people across the United Kingdom.
The two-day conference welcomed people from across the country to attend and discuss the work that they have been doing to combat poverty, hardship, and destitution in the communities that they live and work.
The opening night of the conference connected attendees with Professor Mona Fouad, via live link to the USA, to discuss poverty challenges facing Birmingham, Alabama. The evening finished with a panel discussion about Racism, Asylum Seeking and Associated Poverty Issues in the UK.
The second day of the conference provided lots of different conversations and workshops for attendees to get involved with, including ‘The History of UK Poverty’, ‘The Importance of Place-based Approaches’, and ‘The Roadmap to end the need for Foodbanks’. The conference ended with the panel discussion ‘Addressing Poverty and the Future’ between Barry Knight from Rethinking Poverty, Emma Wincup from Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Chris Gidlow from CHAD at Staffordshire University and Jane Ashworth from Stoke on Trent City Council.
Staffordshire University has introduced MA Leadership in Action on Poverty with start dates in September 2024