This week we welcomed over 120 of our members and colleagues to our Spring Conference in Edinburgh to contribute to the conversation at a critical moment for the international development sector. Read on for some of the highlights from the day.
The day kicked off with a presentation from Kirsty Smith, Chair of Bond UK, the UK network for organisations working in international development, and CEO of CBM UK, who shared a hopeful message during her keynote; despite the harsh reality of the recent aid cuts which will also affect climate funding, she said:
“There are bright sparks […] Research indicates that there is growing public support against the cuts and growing public support to make polluters [fossil fuel companies and wealthy individuals] pay for climate financing.”
Kirsty also argued for more effective spending of the UK’s aid budget following its reduction to 0.3% of GNI, focussing on maximising the impact of the budget. She stressed the importance of uniting as actors of social justice at this time.
Soomin Oh, Deputy Director of the Development Engagement Lab (DEL) delivered a fantastic presentation outlining the key drivers of public attitudes in Scotland around and engagement with global poverty and development, where she shared insights from DEL’s multi-year survey data which identifies patterns of movement up and down the ‘engagement ladder’.
In the Q&A that followed, Soomin responded to audience questions about the sample used for the data, as well as additional indicators that might be useful in future research. The DEL dataset is publicly available to access online, as well as regular reports on the key findings.
During the panel discussion ‘Bridging Sectors, Engaging Society’, audience members submitted a number of questions to the panel, reflecting regular themes that emerged throughout the day, including how we approach engaging the public around international development issues, and how we make connections between local, national and subnational concerns regarding growing inequality with the broader global context of inequality and the interrelated issues of poverty, conflict and climate justice.
Thanks to our panellists: Gemma Day, Global and UK Director of Communications at WaterAid who presented on WaterAid’s recent rebranding, as well as Dan Paris, Director of Policy and Engagement at Scottish Environment Link, Dr Francisca Mutapi, Professor Global Health Infection and Immunity at The University of Edinburgh, and Deputy Director of the TIBA Partnership, and Mark McAllister, Organisational Lead for Strategic Development at Public Health Scotland for their contributions.
In the coming weeks we will share a more detailed summary of each of the afternoon workshops; ‘Advocacy and Development, 2026’ facilitated by Patrick Grady, Head of Policy and Communications at SIDA, ‘How can Scotland be a good Global Citizen? Exploring the role of Global Citizenship within international development’ led by Charlotte Dwyer, Director of ScotDec and Faith Bateman Education Lead: Professional Learning at WOSDEC, and ‘AI strategy for INGOs’ facilitated by John Fitzgerald (Digital Evolution Project Manager) and Darran Gillan (Digital Inclusion Development Officer) from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
Keep an eye on the event page as we will be updating the page with key resources from the event over the next few days, including presentation slides and a recording of the morning’s talks and panel discussion. Thanks again to our headline sponsors, StoneX Group Inc. and WaterAid for partnering with us for the event.
