On Wednesday 25 June, we were privileged to support the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum’s second annual conference at Venue Cymru, Llandudno after the success of last year’s event in Butetown, Cardiff. The event was fully booked once again, featuring presentations, breakout groups, exhibitors and even a live choir!

The Forum’s primary goal is to lead the conversation on how mental health services are delivered in Wales, being the recognised ‘voice of lived experience’. The conference has become a key part of this agenda, bringing together people with life experience and friends, family and carers that support them, with professionals and volunteers to discuss, network and collaborate.
Too often, it’s easy to pigeonhole people who have life of experience of mental health. What makes the Forum and the conference so special is that they directly challenge this perception. Yes, the Forum members have lived and living experience of mental health; they’re also creative, passionate, and innovative people with a vast range of experience and skills.

The theme of this year’s conference was “involving lived experience with co-production”, a reality that many organisations struggle to deliver in the right way. It isn’t easy, and we’ve been doing this for 25 years.
Our work with the Forum is about supporting them to deliver on their agenda, not leading it. We facilitate the Forum, providing the administrative support and practical help they need to achieve their goals. They set the programme while we set up the ticket links and make sure the sound system works.
But critically, they also recognise our professional expertise and we work together to shape and drive progress. It is about respect and balance.

It was a packed day, with talks from Maria Bell, Head of Policy at the National Commissioning Board, Steve Clarke from NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, and of course, the Forum members themselves. There was also a keynote from inspirational speaker Tom Fitzsimons, breakout groups on co-production, and songs from the Tenovus Choir.
The conference was a brilliant moment of realizing the impact of co-production. It’s incredibly rewarding to see everyone’s hard work come together on the day. The Forum members were supported to thrive under the pressure of the day, overcoming anxiety and last-minute changes to present to a packed room. It’s easy to forget sometimes that this is a group of volunteers, doing this just because of their passion – they care.
It was great to see that professionals from health boards, local authorities and charities had all come because of the reputation that the Forum has built – not just as a citizen panel, but a leading voice on mental health services in Wales.

Working with the Forum is a privilege. We have a shared mission to help people live more meaningful lives by connecting people, fostering innovation and unlocking potential.
We’re proud that the Wales Mental Health and Wellbeing Forum Conference has joined the National Social Care Conference as a key date in the social care calendar. Every event requires something different, which is why our team specialises in bespoke services and support. To find out more about our work, visit our Co-Production and Event Management pages.