1st World Conference on Supported Employment

The 1^st World Conference on Supported Employment was held in Belfast, Northern Ireland from 14 – 16 June 2017.  The conference was hosted by European Union of Supported Employment (EUSE) in partnership with Northern Ireland Union of Supported Employment (NIUSE) and European Association of Service Providers for People with disabilities (EASPD).  The title of the conference was “Employment for All – A Global Perspective”.

665 delegates attended the conference from 48 countries from around the world.  Delegates had an opportunity to participate in:-

• A pre-conference event on 14 June 2017 which included 7 workshops and Data Collection and Research Workshop,
• 11 keynote presentations from international experts
• 1 discussion panel focus,
• Select from 47 breakout sessions,
• A VIP Employer event was hosted by Microsoft for local employers,
• Exhibition areas of local and international resources,
• A Civic Reception, held in Stormont Buildings and attended by local Members of the Local Assembly and the Lord Mayor of Belfast,
• Conference dinner was held in the Titanic Belfast.

The World Association of Supported Employment held it’s General Meeting at the Conference and Margaret Haddock (NIUSE and EUSE) was elected as President and Annette Burrows (CASE) was elected as Vice President.

The conference was a great success in sharing practice, knowledge, and innovation from a global perspective.  The 2^nd World Conference on Supported Employment which will be held in Vancouver, Canada was announced at the conference hosted by Canadian Association of Supported Employment.  Everyone is looking forward to the next conference once again to get together and share experiences in practice, policy and innovation.