Shetland Partnership Network Thursday 25th April 2024

The Shetland Partnership Network aims to help partners create a sense of shared ownership of community planning and to create a safe environment for open and honest conversations around the challenges and opportunities to tackle inequalities in Shetland. The Network brings together representatives of all community planning partners in Shetland and offers opportunities for information sharing, developing ideas and building relationships.

After an introduction on the need for the project, members of the network took part in a giant snakes and ladders game. This demonstrated the highs and lows that people in our community experience when facing stigma, as opposed to being treated compassionately. It was thought-provoking for the members, as scenarios were based on real life local examples and read in first person. Members then heard an update on the project and what has been achieved to date, more about stigma in Shetland, proposed next steps and examples of positive local initiatives. The local examples included reframing language through the Each and Every Child approach within Shetland Island Council (SIC)’s Children’s Social Work team, and trauma informed approaches from SIC’s Justice Social Work team.

After a networking break there was a table discussion on next steps and support before feeding back to the wider group.  The outputs are being used to inform Project Delivery, and partners will be kept updated.

Representatives of 12 partners attended. Feedback from the event included that the discussions were useful with good engagement and learning points; that it was thought-provoking; and the opportunity to network was good.

Up to date information on the Shetland Partnership Delivery Plan will be available on the Projects section of our website.

The next meeting of the Shetland Partnership Network will be held in June.