Conference & AGM 2023

Find out more about our upcoming Conference and AGM.

We're thrilled that our Conference and AGM will be back in person for 2023 and we have a jam packed agenda for you including:

  • AI and the Charity Sector 
  • VONNE's strategic review 
  • VONNE's AGM - A key event for VONNE members to agree the finances of the previous year and vote in new trustees from those nominated to join the board. 

Find out more about each of the themes below.

Conference & AGM 2023 - AI and the Charity Sector

AI & the Charity Sector

We'll be joined by expert speakers and panellists sharing their knowledge on how charities can use AI effectively within their organisation, and what digital trustees need to know about AI when governing an organisation. See the full agenda below - you don't want to miss it! 

Agenda

Torchbox: An Introduction to AI

Edd Baldry from Torchbox will be giving an overview of where the new wave of AI has come from, how charities are already using it an how you can take advantage of it. Torchbox have recently worked with charities including Mind, CRUK, RNIB and Oxfam and will talk about their experiences of AI. 

Charity Finance Group: Thinking about ethics and AI from a charity perspective

Clare Mills is Director of Policy and Communications at Charity Finance Group (CFG). Clare has been leading on the development of CFG's policies around the use of AI, and the central starting point is one of ethics. How do we ensure that our thinking around new ways of working is in line with our values, as an organisation and as individuals? What does our approach say about how we treat people? How do we stay up to date with a really fast-developing field? And how can we ensure that the work product generated by AI meets the high standards we set ourselves? 

Zoe Amar: AI Checklist for trustees and charity leaders

Zoe is the founder and director of Zoe Amar Digital and has a wealth of skills in both the charity sector and digital sector. Using her extensive knowledge and experience, she’ll talk through the essentials trustees and charity leaders need to be aware of when implementing AI. 

Cast & AI: Cast and AI

David Scurr, Projects and Partnerships Lead at CAST will share how the team have been creating a space to learn about the opportunities and challenges of generative AI for their work, and introduce a couple of simple use cases.

Catch22: Practical use case of AI 

Magid is Director of Evidence & Insight at Catch22 and has carved a niche in the data analytics and AI for the third sector by translating complex datasets into actionable insights. He will give a practical use case of AI models in frontline services, where things have worked well and where they haven’t. 

Help First AI: Practical use case of AI

Andy Bell has spent his adult life building apps and sites: for the last 5 years, he has focused on helping charities and social impact organisations. Andy will discuss two AI-powered projects he's delivered for Citizens Advice Scotland - one of which won a handful of awards, the other of which is still in development. With both he starts from the user needs to think about the service design.

Salvia Mirza – Resonant Consulting: The Future of AI

Salvia Mirza is an AI strategist and experienced management consultant, who has dedicated a career to understanding and implementing AI across various business sectors. She will give an overview of AI, it’s current use and potential within charity organisations and be available for questions from the audience. 

 

In addition to this incredible line up, we’ll also have a panel Q&A and two live AI demonstrations, focussing on ChatGPT and Canva to give you a flavour of how you can start using AI in your organisation straight away. 

Meet the speakers

Our AI & the Charity Sector conference will be delivered by expert speakers, and real-life users of digital and AI technologies. Following the presentations, they'll take part in a panel discussion and Q&A. Find out more about our speakers through their bios below. 

Edd Baldry

Director of Innovation, Torchbox

Dr Clare Mills, Chart PR, MCIPR

Head of Policy and Communication, Charity Finance Group

Zoe Amar

Founder and Director, Zoe Amar Digital

David Scurr

Programme and Partnerships Lead, CAST

Magid El Amin

Director of Data and Evidence, Catch 22

Andy Bell

CEO and Founder, Help First AI

Salvia Mirza

AI Strategist and Management Consultant, Resonant Consulting

VONNE's Strategic Review 2024 - 2027

We're in the process of reviewing and developing our current strategic aims to ensure they're fit for purpose for 2024 - 2027. Following surveys with our members, stakeholders, staff and board we'll be taking time to workshop the emerging themes from the survey to inform our future work. 

Read more about our strategy work to day in Carol's blog. 

VONNE's AGM

Our 24th AGM will take place within the conference and is an important opportunity for our members to come together and use voting rights to ensure VONNE's voice is accountable and representative of the sector. 

You'll have the opportunity to vote in new board members from the list of nominees, agree last years financial accounts and approve the minutes from last year's AGM.