It has been a little over two weeks since we held our first conference at Aurora – Joining Forces Against VAWG, Independent but Alongside. Having worked in the violence against women sector for over three decades I recognise that once a big job is ‘done’, I have a temptation just to move onto the next most stressful event. I think when you have worked in crisis for a long time the most comfortable space is always in the highest stress environments. But I promised myself I would reflect on the work we collectively did together over those two days in Portsmouth – after all the purpose of the conference wasn’t just a one and done, and I promise it wasn’t just an excuse for good food – my goodness that food 😉…if anyone can re-create those little cake balls come see me immediately – actually don’t, that would be very bad for my menopausal waistline…
Anyway…I digress.
The first day felt like a whirlwind to begin with, on a personal level it was a bit of a gate fever moment, I just wanted to get started and get on with it. But having arrived at the conference an hour and a half prior to the conference kicking off I had to wait…patience has never been my strongest attribute.
We had long chats internally about how were going to pitch the conference to make it as interesting and accessible to all the different types of professionals in attendance. Given this was the first UK conference exploring the landscape of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in Armed Forces communities it was the first time we had has one room where people from MOD, Armed Forces, VAWG sector, academics, and victims, were all together. We could have got it very wrong, and we knew that – in the end we settled with just being ourselves – and once we did get started, I recognised quite quickly the atmosphere and culture of the conference was going to be quite unique.
Of course, I’d like to say that was down to us at Aurora, but that would be an outrageous exercise in misinformation. On reflection I think the success of the atmosphere created was for one simple reason – everyone wanted to be there – and let’s be honest we’ve all been to conferences we don’t want to go to. Of course, if I were to brag further I’d say everyone wanted to be there because of Aurora (you see the theme here), but that would be a lie too…everyone wanted to be there because they all want to make a difference in this space, and that is really something quite special – we need harness that energy and use it as a catalyst to propel us forward.
It’s really important to recognise we don’t all agree, our agendas and cultures in our respective work environments are often very different – some of us challenge the state and the systems within it, and some of us work for the state and create those systems – but that is exactly what we want. We want to have respectful, inspiring, and creative dialogues where we get to the heart of the issues that we care most about and in that vein all we care about at Aurora is getting it right for victims and survivors.
At the conference, that is what everyone cared about – delegates and speakers alike.
I have lost count of the number of contacts I have made and conversations I have had following the conference – and we are proud to have been part of such a wonderful few days. In the following months we are aiming to continue the conversations and there will be an opportunity to involve yourselves in those discussions, please keep an eye on our website and social media for updates.
Ultimately, in the end it wasn’t ‘our’ conference, we merely hosted it, and because of the energy created by everyone who attended, it took on a life of its own. Aurora were simply the conduit – and that is the success we wanted – to create a movement for change, a commitment to collaboration, and a lasting legacy for victims and survivors in Armed Forces Communities.
Dr Shonagh Dillon LLB, DCrimJ
CEO – Aurora New Dawn
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