CLD Talks

In todays episode we chat with Jamie Mallan, Business Transformation Manager at the Tannahill Centre in Ferguslie Park. Jamie and his team were recent recipients of the CLD Award at the Scottish Edication Awards and Jamie takes us through the journey from disused centre to award winning service. Enjoy! Congratulations again to the Tannahill Centre on winning the CLD Award in the Scottish Education...

This week Conor and Ben were invited to the CYCJ National Youth Justice Confrence 2023! Throughout the day we interviewed conference attendees, getting their insights and exploring how they feel the day went. It was a brilliant day for myself and Conor learning more about the Justice system and its impact on young people! Thanks again to CYCJ for inviting us along to a great day! Follow us on Twit...

In todays episode, Iain chats with Shumela Ahmed, Managing Director and Co-founder of Resilience Learning Partnership in Clackmannanshire. Shumela takes us on her journey through education, lived experience of complex trauma and on to starting her ground breaking new organisation. Shumela shares why she thinks Trauma Informed Asset Based CLD is so important and how we can better support people wit...

In todays episode Iain speaks to Mark Langdon, where he explores his journey from taxi driver to Community Education lecturer at UWS. Mark talks us through what social justice means to him, why he finds volunteering so important and his PhD journey. Mark details the many organisations he has been involved in and why he thinks we must get better at tackling the climate emergency. Thanks for Listeni...

In todays episode we chat with Lucy O’Donnell from Girvan Youth Trust. Lucy tells us about her 11 years at GYT as she transitioned from participant to modern apprentice and all the way up to management. Lucy shares about her experiences shaping funding streams in London and how she supports the development of youth work practice as far as St Lucia! Thanks for listening Please follow us on Twitter...

In this weeks episode we chat with Ian Wilson of East Renfrewshire Council. Ian details his journey through CLD from being a young person, to volunteer, youth worker and CLD officer. Ian explores how the support shown to him as a young person by his role models and mentors set him on a path to university which sees him now supporting communities. Thanks for Listening! Please follow us on twitter!...

In this episode Iain sits down with Peter Divers, Streetworker at G15 Youth Project and cofounder of MenMatter Scotland. We explore youthwork, men’s mental health and how both sectors can be better supported. Thanks for listening! Please follow us on Twitter @CLDTalks

This week on CLD Talks Iain Interviews Jack Tully who works with Glass Performance and Vox Liminis. In this episode Jack discusses his journey within CLD! Jack talks about his journey and how his work has shaped him as a better practitioner but also how it can shape you in becoming a better human! He speaks about the different experiences he's had and how that helps in his current roles within...

This week on CLD Talks Conor and Ben travelled to Inverclyde to speak with Chris Paul. Chris is currently a 4th year student at the University of the West of Scotland and is the CEO of Man On! Man On! Is a is a suicide prevention & wellbeing charity for the adults & young people of Inverclyde & beyond. Through our lived-experience and trauma-informed model, we provide a wide range of g...

This week on CLD Talks Conor and Ben travelled to the @ Home Youth Centre in Airdre to speak with June Ford who is the Youth Work Manager for North Lanarkshire Council. June is also the Chair of the LA Youth Work Managers Group and a Co Opted Trustee  of Youth Scotland. In this conversation we discuss June’s experience of finding out what CLD was, to her university experience, first job and t...

Welcome to CLD Talks 2023 and this week our guest is the amazing Beth Parker who is a Community Development worker for Glasgow Kelvin College. Beth is currently working towards a Masters with Glasgow University. We have a great conversation about Beth’s CLD journey from being active within her local community with her Mum, beginning to study CLD at college then uni, her passion for outdoor educati...

This week on CLD Talks Conor and Ben travel to the Capital to speak with Young Scot CEO Kirsten Urquhart. Young Scot is Scotland's National Youth Information Charity. This week marks National Youth Work Week 2022 - so there is no better time than to share this conversation.  Kirsten discusses her non-traditional route into this field, her passion for social media, information sharing; including ke...

In this weeks episode of CLD Talks Iain chats with Ted Scanlon - Community Connector at Thriving Places Drumchapel.  Ted takes us on a journey: exploring popular education in Brazil, explains why he thinks community learning and development is much more than just a career and why collectivism and the distribution of power is so important in the community sector. This was Iain’s first outing as hos...

This week on CLD Talks Conor was welcomed into the Scottish Parliament to have a conversation with Mr. Jamie Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Constituency. Jamie is also the Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training. In this Episode we discuss the Adult Learning and forthcoming Youth Work Strategy and what these mean for practitioners and learners....

This week on CLD Talks Conor catches up with Tila and Ian who formed Catch the Light, which is a Youth and Community Development Consultancy organisation. We have a great conversation from how they met, CLD work they done before Catch the Light, challenges of running a organisation, highlights and so much more! I hope you all enjoy this weeks episodes! Message from Tila: I encourage everyone to si...

This week on CLD Talks Conor sits down with Biddy Kelly who is the Managing Director for Edinburgh based organisation Fresh Start. In this episode we discuss the full circle moment Biddy had when she became the Managing Director, the support Fresh Start off the community, how the organisation has evolved and so much more! Fresh Start's mission is to ‘help people make a home for themselves’. The wo...

This week on CLD Talks Conor is joined by Suzanne Clark and Kieran Wardrop from Vibrant Communities. As Vibrant Communities approaches its 10th birthday, we hear the story of how the service was formed, developed and continues to evolve to best serve communities in East Ayrshire by putting them at the heart of everything we do. Suzanne and Kieran talk us through the opportunities and challenges of...

Welcome to Season 5 of CLD Talks! This week Conor is joined by Charis Roberston and Makaela from Hot Chocolate Trust and Jean McEwan-Short from the University of Dundee. In this episode we discuss the unique partnership and 1st year module called "Youth Work Practice: Hot Chocolate Trust', which is ran from Hot Chocolate rather than the classroom. We discuss Hot Chocolate Trusts origins, how Chari...

This week on CLD Talks Stephanie speaks with Paddy McKenna who is a Community Development Manager with Cassiltoun Housing Association. They have a great chat about how Paddy got into CLD, her travels including learning experiences, the work she currently does and so much more. This is a great conversation and we hope you enjoy! This episode marks the final episode of Season 4 of CLD Talks. Thanks...

This week on CLD Talks Stephanie, Ben and Conor went to the YouthLink Scotland Awards to speak with all the winner! It was an amazing event and we had a great time! This is our first video podcast which can be watched on Spotify!  Congratulations to all the winners: Arts & Creativity (Sponsored by Creative Scotland) Angus expressive arts project Community-Based Youth Work (Sponsored by Sc...

This week on CLD Talks Conor chats with Maggie Murphy who is a Senior Curricular Manager within Glasgow Kelvin College. We have a great chat about Maggie’s career within CLD including secondment posts which changed Maggie's thinking, college options, safe guarding, opportunities to speak at European Parliament, the pandemic and so much more! It was great to come to the college to record this in pe...

This week on CLD Talks Stephanie speaks to Brian Keenan. Brian is currently project manager at Saltcoats Link Up, an asset-based community development project in Ayrshire. Brian shares his CLD journey from working with the homeless community in Dublin, his time in Govanhill in Glasgow to his current role at Saltcoats Link Up. We also chat about his PHD studies exploring the community of Parkrun an...

This week on CLD Talks Conor is joined by Dr. Sarah Ward who is a Lecturer in Learning in Communities within The University of Edinburgh. Sarah tells us about her career in Glasgow, changing focus to complete her PHD, impact of the pandemic, current role and so much more in-between! For more information on the University of Edinburgh’s CLD Courses: MA Learning in Communities (MALiC) https://www.ed...

This week on CLD Talks Conor and Ben went to the capital to meet Orielle Taylor who is a Senior Development Officer within No Knives, Better Lives - National Delivery Team. NKBL is a collaboration between the Scottish Government and YouthLink Scotland—the national agency for youth work in Scotland. We’re a national initiative, delivered at local level with support available to any local authority...

This week on CLD Talks Conor speaks with Jim McHarg who had an amazing career in various roles including Senior Manager in North Ayrshire responsible for Community Empowerment and Community Engagement We discuss Jim’s career in CLD, history of youth work through work Jim’s Dad did after the war, education, the need for more adult learning and so much more! Find us on Twitter @CLDTalks to stay up t...