Listening, learning, and leading for change - Reflections from the CHEX Conference
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 9th July 2025
In a new blog for CHEX, Ruth Glassborow, Director of Place and Wellbeing for Public Health Scotland has shared reflections following her role as a 'keynote listener' at the CHEX Conference earlier this year.
The conference, held in Stirling, was a chance for attendees to learn and reflect about their work supporting their communities and tackling Scotland's health inequalities.
The panel of keynote listeners were asked to reflect on the network members' experiences and insights, and work with CHEX to ensure that our collective knowledge and experience is better understood and fed into work at the national level.
"I also heard clearly," Ruth writes, "the frustration about the amount of time that is spent managing the consequences of [uncertainty around funding], time that would be better spent supporting their communities.
"We’ve listened to what matters to the CHEX network, discussed the challenges in the current system, and are looking at how we work together to strengthen the role of community development and community-led approaches."
CHEX will continue to build on the activity from the conference, using it as a springboard to make connections and understand the challenges, opportunities, and experiences community organisations face as they carry out their vital work.
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